Ansfried of Utrecht

Who was Ansfried of Utrecht?

Saint Ansfried of Utrecht was Count of Huy and the sword-bearer for Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor.

He was married to Heresuint or Hilsondis. After his wife's death, Ansfried wanted to become a monk. However, the emperor Otto made Ansfried the bishop of Utrecht, today in the Netherlands, then a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Before that Ansfried had founded the abbey of Thorn, near the present-day border between Belgium and the Netherlands. In the abbey of Thorn, Ansfried invested his daughter as abbess. As bishop, he founded the abbey of Heiligenberg. He then became a monk after he became blind. His feast day was 3 May but was later moved to 11 May.