Anselm of Lucca

Who was Anselm of Lucca?

Saint Anselm of Lucca, called the Younger or Anselm II to distinguish him from his uncle, was an Italian bishop, a prominent figure in the Investiture Controversy and in the fighting in Central Italy between the forces of Countess Matilda of Tuscany, the papal champion, and those of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Born in Milan, Anselm was a nephew of Anselm of Lucca the Elder, who became Pope Alexander II in 1061 and who designated Anselm to succeed him in his former position as Bishop of Lucca and sent him to Germany advising him to take investiture from Emperor Henry IV. Alexander II, Anselm's brother or uncle, may have elevated him to the cardinalate ca. 1062.

Anselm went to Germany, but was loath to receive the insignia of spiritual power from a temporal ruler and returned without investiture. In 1073, Pope Gregory VII, again appointed Anselm Bishop of Lucca, but advised him not to accept investure from Henry IV. For some reason, Anselm did so this time, but soon felt such remorse that he resigned his bishopric, and entered the Benedictine Order at Padilirone, a Cluniac monastery near Mantua.