Albert of Louvain

Infobox Saint
name=Saint Albert of Louvain
birth_date=c. 1166
death_date=death date|1192|11|24|df=y
feast_day=November 21
venerated_in=Roman Catholic Church


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birth_place=Brabant
death_place=Rheims
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major_shrine=Cathedral of Liège, Belgium
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Saint Albert of Louvain or Albert of Leuven (c. 1166 Brabant – 24 Nov1192 – some say 24 Nov 1191, or 1202 – Rheims) was Prince-Bishop of Liège from 22 Sep 1191 till January 1192. He was canonized in 1613.

He was a son of Godfrey III, Count of Leuven, and brother of Henry I, Duke of Lorraine and Brabant, and was chosen Bishop of Liège in 1191 by the people and the Church. Emperor Henry VI proposed his own choice, causing Albert to journey to Rome to appeal to Celestine III. The pope ordained him a deacon and sent him to the Archbishop of Rheims. The archbishop ordained Albert a priest and consecrated him as a bishop. Outside of Rheims, Albert was accosted by eight followers of Henry VI, who stabbed him to death. It is unsure in what year Albert was killed.

His feast day is November 21. His body reposed at Rheims until 1612, when the Archduke Albert of Austria had the body moved to Brussels. His relics were shared with the Cathedral of Liège in 1822.

Trivia

St Albert is the only patron saint of hats and hat wearing. In the UK St Alberts day is annually celebrated by the taking off of ones jacket and the keeping down of ones hat. Leaning over is prohibited on St Alberts Day and this is because St Albert regularly worked in the fields of his monastery and got a bad back. He was known for keeping his saint hat well down. This kept the sun off his face as workin' down the fields was hard.