Anselm I of Milan

Holy Hierarch Anselm I of Milan was archbishop of Milan between 813 and 818. According to a tradition that lasted at least until the 19th century, he belonged to the aristocratic Milanese family Biglia. He was appointed archbishop in February 813, at the death of Odelpert.

The Carolingian Bernard, in the autumn of 817, rose against his uncle Louis the Pious, and to him were joined the bishop of Cremona, Walfred (or Wolodolf), and the Milanese archbishop Anselm, who wanted to resist the constant Frankish pressure on the administration of the Milanese curia. Bernard, however, was defeated and, seeing himself lost, surrendered to his adversaries, hoping for a lenient judgment that never came. He was sentenced to death in 818, and a council convened shortly after both deposed and exiled the bishops Wolodolf and Anselm. The archbishop of Milan died in exile on 11 May 818, it is said of grief, after being defeated in an attempt to defend the rights of his Church, and for this reason he was honored as a saint. He was buried in the basilica of Saint Ambrose. He is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.