Adalbert (archbishop of Magdeburg)

Saint Adalbert (sometimes Albert; died 20 June 981), sometimes known as the Apostle of the Slavs, was the first Archbishop of Magdeburg (from 968) and a successful missionary to the Slavic peoples to the east of Germany. He was later canonised; his feast day is June 20.
Life
Adalbert, possibly born in Alsace, was a German monk at the Benedictine Monastery of Saint Maximinus in Trier. He was consecrated a bishop and in 961 he was sent to Kievan Rus. Princess Olga of Kiev had asked Emperor Otto the Great to provide her with a missionary from the Church of Rome. Her son, Svyatoslav opposed her and took her crown from her as soon as Adalbert arrived in Kievan Rus. Adalbert's mission companions were slain and Adalbert was barely able to escape. Kievan Rus subsequently accepted conversion from Constantinople and Byzantine Christianity.
Upon escaping, Adalbert traveled to Mainz, where he became abbot of Wissembourg in Alsace. Once there, he worked...