One of the most learned men of his time, St. Vergil of
Salzburg (fl. VIII Century) was born in
Ireland and undertook a journey to
Europe in 743. He spent two years at the court of
Pepin the Short and travelled to Bavaria to make peace between the French king and Duke Odilo. Odilo appointed Vergil
abbot of St. Peter's, and
St. Boniface of
Mainz twice complained to Pope Zachary of Vergil's "unorthodox" views. In the first matter, a question of baptismal validity, the pope sided with Vergil and agreed that baptisms are valid even if the
priest mispronounces the formula. In the second, the pope censured Vergil, who may have written a
cosmology under the name of Ćthicus Ister, for believing that people exist in the
Antipodes but took no drastic action. In 767, Vergil was appointed
Bishop of Salzburg, where he dedicated the first cathedral. He translated the
relics of
St. Rupert to the cathedral, where he may also have translated
relics of
St. Samthann and of
St. Bridget of Ireland. Vergil established monasteries in his
diocese and sent missionaries to Carinthia and Styria. The
Apostle to the Slovenes, Vergil was canonied in 1233 by Gregory IX.
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