St. Albert of Magdeburg Feastday: June 20 A monk of St. Maximin
Benedictine monastery in Treves, Albert was sent by Emperor Otto
the Great to convert the Russian subjects of Princess Olga at
her request after she became a Christian in Constantinople at 70
years of age. When Olga's son Svyatoslav, a pagan, took the
crown from her in 961, the missionaries were forced to flee, and
some were killed near Kiev. Albert escaped, spent four years at
the imperial court in Mainz, and then was made abbot of
Weissenburg Abbey, where he became known as a patron of
learning. In 962, at Otto's insistence, he was named first
archbishop of Magdeburg, Saxony, with jurisdiction over the
Slavs. He spent the rest of his life trying to spread
Christianity among the Wends and reforming religious groups in
his diocese. He died on a visit to Merseburg.