Saint Cunibert
(also Cunipert, or Kunibert)
(c. 600 – 12 November c. 663) was the ninth Bishop of Cologne from 627 to his death. Contemporary sources only mention him between 627 and 643.
Cunibert (also spelled ‘Honoberht’) was born somewhere along the Moselle to a family of the local Ripuarian Frankish aristocracy. He entered the church and became archdeacon of Trier. He was elected bishop of Cologne in 627. According to legend, he was led by a pigeon to the grave of Saint Ursula.
As bishop, Cunibert served as an advisor to King Dagobert I. He was created co-regent along with the mayor of the palace Adalgisel in Austrasia following the investiture of Sigebert III (633 or 634), the king’s young son, as king there. Following the death of Adalgisel’s successor Pepin of Landen, Cunibert served as the chief public official of the king, in which capacity he revised the Lex Ribuaria.
Throughout his episcopacy, monasticism flourished and churches were founded and restored. He is regarded today as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and his feast day is the day of his death: November 12. He is buried in a church bearing his name in Cologne, city where he lived and died.
