Biography
Gebhard of Constance
About Gebhard of Constance
Gebhard II of Constance was born in the Bregenz region around 949 and educated under Bishop Conrad of Constance. The scholarly Deutsche Biographie marks the often-repeated exact birth date as uncertain, so this record keeps only an approximate year. Gebhard became bishop in 979 and served until his death in 995.
He founded the Benedictine abbey of Petershausen near Constance in 983. Monks from Einsiedeln joined the new house, and Gebhard supported it with his own property. The New Catholic Encyclopedia connects this foundation with his interest in monastic reform. The abbey gave enduring form to his care for religious life and education in the diocese.
Gebhard died at Constance on 27 August 995 and was buried at Petershausen. The Diocese of Augsburg describes a long local veneration and the ceremonial raising of his relics in 1134. Its calendar lists a commemoration on 26 November, while Feldkirch and Freiburg remember him on his death day, 27 August. These are distinct regional observances of the same bishop, not competing death dates.
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