Irmgard of Aspel and Rees

Irmgard of Aspel and Rees (also called Irmgard of Süchteln, of Cologne or of Zutphen) was a German noblewoman honored at Cologne as a saint, above all at Süchteln and at Haus Aspel near Rees. She is remembered on 4 September. She was born before 1013 at Haus Aspel and died in February 1064 or 1065, or on 4 September, between 1082 and 1089.

She was reigning countess of Aspel. After her parents died she distributed her wealth among hospitals, churches and social institutions. She lived a simple life in solitude and made three pilgrimages to Rome. She spent her last years at Cologne, where she supported chapters and convents. Her relics are kept in a sarcophagus in the altar of Cologne Cathedral.

A legend presents her as a hermit in the forest near Süchteln. Three times, according to the legend, she went to Rome, to the tombs of the apostles, where she received many relics each time; among other things she is said to have brought to Cologne a part of the head of Pope Sylvester I and given it to the cathedral, in which she was buried. Historically nothing in the legend can be supported, and the relics of Sylvester were not removed from Rome. Recent research tries to reconstruct her life through two or three persons: an older Irmgard (of Aspel), a younger one (of Süchteln) and a sister, Irmtrud; other authors consider that she is a single person.

She is a local saint of the West; no Orthodox synodal canonization is known. Her life is largely legendary, and the dates are uncertain.