Life
Ulrich was born at Regensburg in Bavaria (formerly also known as Ratisbon) in early 1029. His parents, pious and rich, were Bernhold and Bucca, niece of Bishop Gebhard II of Regensburg. Ulrich was probably educated at the school of St. Emmeram's Abbey, along with William of Hirsau, with whom he remained friends throughout his life, but in 1043 he was called to the court of his godfather, Henry III, King of the Germans where he acted as page to Queen Agnes, who was of the ducal house of Aquitaine, patrons of the reforming Abbey of Cluny. Ordained deacon by his uncle Nidger, Bishop of Freising, he was made archdeacon of the cathedral there, but was deeply moved by the spirit of reform that was sweeping from Cluny through the 11th century church. On his return from a journey to Rome he distributed his possessions to the poor, made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and, after another short visit to Rome, returned to Regensburg, where he founded a religious community, and then entered the Abbey of Cluny in 1061, during the abbacy of Saint Hugh.
Here he was ordained priest and appointed confessor to the convent at Mareigny in the diocese of Autun, and prior of the community of men in the same place. He also lost an eye and was obliged to return to Cluny.
Read more about this topic: Ulrich Of Zell
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