Ulrich of Zell
German saint
Feast: 14 July (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Ulrich of Ratisbon, of a pious and rich family, was page to Empress Agnes and became an archdeacon. He gave his possessions to the poor, went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and entered Cluny in 1061 under St Hugh.
He served as confessor and prior, losing an eye, and was sent to found a monastery in Germany; in 1087 he settled with his monks at Zell in the Black Forest. Blind in his last two years, he died at Zell, probably on 10 July 1093.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A courtier who gave everything away to become a monk of Cluny.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Ulric of Zell
- Wikidata Q559189 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Ulrich of Zell (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.