Famous German Saints

Hildegard of Bingen was a German writer, composer, Christian mystic, visionary, philosopher, polymath, and Benedictine abbess of the High Middle Ages. Apart from being the most-recorded composers of sacred monophony in modern history, Hildegard of Bingen is also widely regarded as the founder of scientific natural history.

Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Emperor Nicholas II, was the last Russian tsarina and reigned from 1894 to 1917. She suffered from hemophilia. Alexandra and her entire family were murdered by the Bolshevik revolutionaries. In 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized her as Saint Alexandra the Passion Bearer.

Edith Stein was a German Jewish philosopher who studied at the University of Freiburg and completed her dissertation on empathy. Always interested in Catholicism, she read the autobiography of the mystic Teresa of Ávila and converted to Christianity, and became a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp and is canonized as a martyr.

Albertus Magnus was a friar, bishop, and philosopher. Regarded by some as the greatest German theologian and philosopher of the Middle Ages, Albertus' writings have inspired the iconography of the archivolts and tympanum of the 13th-century portal of Strasbourg Cathedral. Remembered for his contribution to academics, several education institutions have been named after Albertus Magnus.

Not many know that people who stammer and stutter have a patron saint, too, and he is Notker Balbulus, or Notker the Stammerer, a Benedictine monk of the Early Middle Ages. A musician, a poet, and a scholar, he had a prominent stutter. He is also remembered for writing Liber Hymnorum.

Apart from being a Benedictine monk, Rabanus Maurus was also a talented author and is remembered for his 22-volume encyclopaedia On the Natures of Things. He enriched German language and literature and this gained the nickname Teacher of Germany. His works also include translations and commentaries.

Norbert of Xanten was not just the archbishop of Magdeburg but also established the order of Premonstratensian. He is revered as the patron saint of the Kingdom of Bohemia and of safe childbirth. He also defended Pope Innocent II and influenced the German ruler to defend him.

German missionary Johannes Rebmann became the first person to explore Africa from the continent’s Indian Ocean coast and also the first European to discover Mt. Kilimanjaro. Along with his associate Johann Ludwig Krapf, he also stumbled upon Mt. Kenya. His diary later revealed a lot about his experiences in Africa.

Born into one of the noblest Austrian families, Nikolaus Zinzendorf devoted his life to the welfare of the poor. Recognized as a distinguished leader of the Moravian church and a reformer of the Pietist movement, he created a worldwide missionary network that he hoped would sustain an ecumenical Protestant movement.

Bruno of Cologne was the founder of the Carthusian Order. He personally founded the first two communities of the order. Not much is known about his personal life except that he studied theology in Reims. Most likely ordained a priest in 1055, he soon became the head of the Episcopal school. He was much respected as a teacher. 

Twelfth-century German bishop Saint Benno was imprisoned for opposing King Henry IV. Though deposed initially, he later reconciled and was restored. He is revered as the patron saint of the city of Munich and of fishermen and weavers. His images show him holding a fish with keys between its gills.

Tenth-century bishop Ulrich of Augsburg went down in history as the first saint to be canonized by a pope. He had been a mediator in the conflict between King Otto I the Great and his rebel son Liudolf. He is revered as the patron saint of weavers, among others. 

Tenth-century archbishop of Cologne Saint Bruno the Great, also known as Bruno of Saxony, was the brother of Roman emperor Otto I and the youngest son of Henry the Fowler. He established countless institutions, such as the St. Pantaleon in Cologne. In Otto’s absence, Bruno served as the regent.