Ability put to good use

There's an old saying, long familiar in the Dairy State, that goes: "Cream always rises to the top." The saying means more than the obvious that, in a container of raw milk, cream will collect on top of the milk, to the metaphorical meaning that the best and brightest in a group will rise above the rest.

Such was the case with St. Godehard or Gothard, whose capabilities and success resulted in his being assigned to more and more tasks in the church.

Godehard was born in 962 at Reischerdorf, Bavaria, where his father worked for the canons, or priests, living at the former Benedictine Abbey of Nieder-Altaich. He was educated there by the canons.

While still a teen, his abilities drew the attention of the bishops of Passau and Regens-burg, as well as the Archbishop of Salzburg, who took him to Rome. When Godehard was only 19, the archbishop placed him in charge of the canons as their provost.

Following his ordination, Godehard became a monk in 990 at Nieder-Altaich, along with several other canons, after the Benedictine rule was reinstated at the abbey. He later was elected abbot.

Because of his accomplishments at the abbey, Emperor Henry II appointed Godehard to reform monasteries of Tegernsee in the Diocese of Freising, Hersfel in Thuringia and Kremsmünster in the Diocese of Passau. While doing that, he remained abbot at Nieder-Altaich. Over a 25-year span, Godehard was in charge of formation for nine abbots.

Henry was so impressed by Godehard's abilities that in 1022, when the abbot was 60, the emperor named him Bishop of Hildesheim. (In the Middle Ages, it was common for civil leaders to appoint bishops.)

As Bishop of Hildesheim, Godehard built churches and schools and encouraged education in the diocese. He imposed strict discipline on the canons at the Cathedral School - some likened the discipline to that found in a monastery.

He also worked among the poor and sick, building a hospice for them on reclaimed swamp land. Despite his sympathy for the poor, Godehard was tough on tramps and would not allow them to stay at the hospice for more than two or three days.

St. Godehard died in 1038. He was named a saint in 1131. We celebrate his feast day on May 4.

St. Gotthard Pass in the Alps in south central Switzerland got its name from a chapel on the summit named for him. A hospice was founded there in the 1300s to help travelers.

St. Godehard invites us to consider how we are rising to the top, particularly by helping others.