Saint Fridolin of Säckingen

detail of a stained glass window of Saint Fridolin; date unknown, artist unknown; swiped from Wikimedia CommonsAlso known as

  • Apostle of the Upper Rhine
  • Fridolin Vandreren of Säckingen
  • Irish Wanderer
  • Fridold
  • Fridolinus

Memorial

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Born to the Irish nobility, he became a Benedictine monk at Luxeuil Abbey and at Poitiers, France. Reported to have been present at the baptism of Frankish king Clovis on Christmas day in 496. Fridolin received a vision of Saint Hilary of Poitiers in which he was shown the location of Hilary‘s relics, which had been lost during a Vandal invasion. Fridolin found the relics, and built a chapel to house them. He built churches in Alsace, in Switzerland, and in Burgundy, and became an evangelizing missionary among the Alamanni in the Upper Rhine area of modern Germany; many thought he was a roaming cattle thief, and chased him away. He founded the monastery in Säckingen, Baden (part of modern Germany, and served as its abbot. On the date of his feast, the houses of Säckingen are decorated with the flags of Germany, Switzerland, and Ireland.

Born

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Canonized

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Additional Information

MLA Citation

  • “Saint Fridolin of Säckingen“. CatholicSaints.Info. 6 December 2023. Web. 29 March 2024. <>