MAGNUS OF FÜSSEN, ST.

Apostle of the Algäu; b. c. 699; d. Füssen, Germany, Sept. 6, 772. A legend-clouded vita confuses him in part with St. Magnoald (or Magnus, d. 666), student of St. gall. Magnus was called from sankt gallen by Bp. Wichpert of Augsburg to Christianize the region of the Algäu. About 746 he established a cell at Füssen on a site that later became the monastery of Sankt Mang. With the support of King pepin he converted the heathen, cleared lands for cultivation and settlement, and opened the region to iron mining. Buried at Füssen, he was recognized as a saint between 838 and 847 and became the patron of Füssen and Kempten. Under the name of St. Mang he is a popular folk saint, especially in southern Germany, Tirol, and Switzerland, where his aid is invoked against snakes, vermin, and mice. A chalice, stole, maniple, and staff, which he is said to have used, are still preserved.

Feast: Sept. 6.

Bibliography: Acta Sanctorum, including the vita, Sept. 2:700–781, second part, 745–756, contains historic core. f. zoepfl, Das Bistum Augsburg und seine Bischiöfe im Mittelalter (Munich 1956), passim. a. bigelmair, Lebensbilder aus dem bayerischen Schwaben, ed. g. von pÖlnitz, v. 2 (Munich 1953) 1–46. Festschrift zum 1200 jährigen jubiläum des heiligen Magnus (Füssen 1950). m. coens, "La Vie de S. Magne de Füssen par Otloh de Saint-Emmeran," Analecta Bollandiana 81 (1963) 159–227.

[d. andreini]