Albero de Montreuil

Archbishop of Trier, b. near Toul, in Lorraine, about 1080; d. at Coblenz, 18 January, 1152. After acquiring some dignities in the churches of Toul and Verdun, he was made Archdeacon and Provost of St. Arnulf at Metz. Here he became identified with the church reform party which was opposed to Bishop Adalbero IV, and went in person to Rome to secure his deposition from Pope Paschalis II. On his return he brought about the election of Theotger, Abbot of St. George in the Black Forest, who was consecrated against his will in July, 1118, and, being prevented from entering his diocese by the imperial party, died in 1120. Albero then aided in the election of Stephen of Bar, who rewarded his zeal by making him primicerius of Metz. After having been mentioned for the vacant Sees of Magdeburg and Halberstadt, both of which he refused, Albero was in 1130, chosen Archbishop of Trier to succeed Meginher. The position was not an easy one, for the church was in need of reform, and the previous occupants of the see had been dominated by the Burgrave Ludwig. He could not be induced to accept the burden until Innocent II summoned him to the Synod at Reims, and even threatened him with suspension from his priestly functions. He was consecrated by the Pope himself at Vienne.

Albero vigorously prosecuted the work of reform. He restored peace and order in his archdiocese, and before his death made it one of the most important in Germany. In 1136 he accompanied the Emperor, Lothair II, on his expedition into Italy, whither he had been summoned by Innocent II to resist the aggressions of Roger of Sicily, one of the adherents of the antipope Anacletus II. In the dispute which arose between the Pope and the Emperor, Albero showed himself a staunch defender of the Papal cause, and on his return Innocent made him Primate of Belgian Gaul and Papal Legate in Germany. After the death of Lothair he took an active part in the election of Conrad III, founder of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. In 1148, Pope Eugene III visited Trier, after presiding at the Council of Reims, and was entertained by him with great splendour. Albero was a churchman of great zeal and energy. His generosity was unbounded, and though often compelled to take up arms in defence of the rights of the Church, he was none the less a devout priest and a patron of letters. Among his friends he counted St. Norbert and St. Bernard, who seconded his efforts for the restoration of religious discipline in his archdiocese.