A Benedictine hermit murdered by robbers in the Swiss forest where he had settled, whose cell grew into the abbey of Einsiedeln.

Saint Meinrad von Einsiedeln was a Benedictine monk who left community life at Reichenau to become a hermit in the forested hills of what is now central Switzerland. Tradition holds that he offered hospitality to two robbers who then murdered him, believing his remote hermitage held hidden treasure. His death in 861 did not end his influence: the site of his cell grew into the great abbey of Einsiedeln, still today one of Europe’s most visited Marian shrines, and he is honored both as hermit and as martyr.

Quick Facts

• Died: January 21, 861, at Einsiedeln, Switzerland, aged about 63
• Place: Einsiedeln, Switzerland
• Venerated as: Hermit and martyr

Who Was Saint Meinrad von Einsiedeln?

Meinrad von Einsiedeln was a Benedictine monk who withdrew from community life to become a hermit in the forested hills of what is now central Switzerland, and whose small cell became the seed of the great Benedictine abbey of Einsiedeln. He was murdered by two robbers who believed, wrongly, that his remote hermitage held hidden treasure.

Historical Setting

Meinrad had first been a monk and teacher at the monastery of Reichenau before seeking greater solitude, eventually settling with an image of Our Lady in a remote wooded valley. According to the tradition, the site’s isolation, rather than deterring visitors, drew pilgrims seeking his counsel, and it was this same isolation that made him an easy target for the men who killed him.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Meinrad von Einsiedeln

The Church honors Meinrad both as a hermit devoted to prayer and hospitality and as a martyr, since tradition holds that he forgave his killers and even offered them hospitality before they attacked him. His hermitage became the abbey of Einsiedeln, still today one of the most visited Marian shrines in Europe.

Canonization and Feast Day

No formal modern canonization process is recorded for Meinrad; his veneration is ancient and continuous, rooted in the immediate cult that grew around his hermitage and the abbey that inherited it, rather than in a later papal act.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Meinrad’s readiness to offer hospitality even to the men who would kill him is a striking image of Gospel charity taken to its limit, and it remains a challenge to anyone tempted to withhold kindness from those who seem to deserve it least.

A Prayer to Saint Meinrad von Einsiedeln

Saint Meinrad, hermit of Einsiedeln, who met violence with forgiveness and hospitality, teach us to guard charity in our hearts even toward those who wish us harm. Watch over all who live in solitude seeking God. Amen.

Sources

• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, entry on Saint Meinrad
• Butler’s Lives of the Saints
• Einsiedeln Abbey historical archives, cited generically