Saint
Leopold, c.1073–1136, margrave of Austria (1095–1136). By his marriage
(1106) with Agnes, widow of Duke Frederick I of Swabia (see
Hohenstaufen), he became the stepfather of German King Conrad
III and the father of Otto of Freising and of Duke Henry II of Austria
(see Babenberg).
He
helped arrange the Concordat of Worms (1122), which ended the conflict
over investiture. In 1125 he refused an offer of the imperial crown.
The founder of numerous monasteries (of which Heiligenkreuz, Klosterneuburg,
and Mariazell still exist), Leopold was canonized in 1485 and is the
patron saint of Austria. Feast: Nov. 15. |