Meinrad, Saint
Martyr, born in the Slichgau near Rottenburg, of the Hohenzollern family; died 861. He was educated at the abbey school of Reichenau, where he became a monk and was ordained. After some years at Reichenau and Bollingen, he embraced an eremitical life and established his hermitage on the slopes of Mount Etzel, taking with him a miraculous statue of Our Lady. Saint Meinrad was murdered by robbers who coveted the treasures offered at the shrine by devout pilgrims. On this site was erected the famous abbey of Einsiedeln. Emblems : two ravens, which betrayed Saint Meinrad’s slayers. Relics in the abbey church. Feast , 21 January . See also, patron saints index .