November 29th - St. Radbod

Today we meet the great grandson of the last pagan king of Frisia whom we
had met on Nov. 7th. The earlier Radbod in 715 had attempted to kill St.
Willibrord. He would never have conceived that his descendants would embrace
that hated Christian faith, nor would he have believed that his great
grandson would become one of its beloved saints. Tradition tells us that the
elder Radbod preferred to be in hell with his ancestors rather than in
Heaven without them.

Today's Radbod was born of Christian parents near Namur, Belgium. He
received his early schooling under Bishop Gunther of Cologne, his mother's
uncle. He was ordained and spent some time at the court of Emperor Charles
the Bald. About the year 900, Radbod was made Bishop of Utrecht.

Tradition tells us that the Church of Utrecht had been founded by monastic
clergy, so Radbod put on the monastic habit and kept the practices of
abstaining from flesh meats and of fasting. He was well known for his
compassion and love for the poor. One year after his episcopal consecration,
he was driven out by a Norman invasion and moved the diocese headquarters to
Deventer.