Leopold III, margrave of Austria

Leopold III or Saint Leopold, c.1073–1136, margrave of Austria (1095–1136). By his marriage (1106) with Agnes, widow of Duke Frederick I of Swabia (see Hohenstaufen), he became the stepfather of German King Conrad III and the father of Otto of Freising and of Duke Henry II of Austria (see Babenberg). He helped arrange the Concordat of Worms (1122), which ended the conflict over investiture. In 1125 he refused an offer of the imperial crown. The founder of numerous monasteries (of which Heiligenkreuz, Klosterneuburg, and Mariazell still exist), Leopold was canonized in 1485 and is the patron saint of Austria. Feast: Nov. 15.

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