St. Corbinian (670-730) was a missionary bishop who brought the Gospel to Bavaria in southeastern Germany. His feast day is Sept. 8.

Corbinian was born and reared in Chartres, France, famous for its magnificent Gothic cathedral constructed centuries after Corbinian’s death. Corbinian was initially named for his father Waldegiso, but when his father died, he was renamed for his mother Corbiniana. Corbinian became a hermit in the woods by his home near a church dedicated to St. Germain. His piety and learning attracted others to follow his way of life. 

Corbinian had a devotion to St. Peter the Apostle and went on pilgrimage to St. Peter’s tomb in Rome, accompanied by some companions. He came to the attention of Pope Gregory II who asked him to use his talents to evangelize the people of Bavaria. (The pontiff had received a personal visit from the Duke of Bavaria, Theodo of Bavaria, to request missionaries for the conversion of Bavaria to Christianity.) Although initially unwilling to go, Corbinian ultimately agreed, and he set up a Benedictine monastery and school in Freising as the center of his work. Corbinian was consecrated a bishop, probably by Gregory II himself.

Corbinian came in conflict with the Duke of Bavaria Grimoald (son of Theodo) when he condemned the duke’s marriage to his brother’s widow, Biltrudis, declaring it to be incest according to canon law. Corbinian fled Freising for a time as Biltrudis attempted to have him murdered, but returned at the invitation of Grimoald’s successor Huebert.

Corbinian is best known for the story of the bear. When he was traveling to Rome a bear attacked and killed his pack horse. Corbinian ordered the bear to take the place of the horse and carry Corbinian’s supplies to Rome. The bear became docile and submitted. 

A bear carrying a pack has remained a traditional symbol of today’s Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, where Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop from 1977 to 1982. The future Pope Benedict XVI made the bear a part of his coat of arms, explaining, “The bear with the pack, which replaced the horse or, more probably, St. Corbinian’s mule, becoming, against his will, his pack animal, was that not, and is it not an image of what I should be and of what I am?”

St. Corbinian is entombed in a stone sarcophagus in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Freising. He is a patron of Freising, Germany, and the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.