<p>St. Conrad was a member of the powerful Welf Family, and the son of Count Heinrich of Altdorf.&nbsp; He was educated at the Cathedral School in Constance, and became the provost of Constance Cathedral and in 934 was made the Bishop of Constance. &nbsp;</p> <p>One of his noted achievements was that he avoided becoming wrapped up in the politics of his day, and spent his energies on his Episcopal duties.&nbsp; He was however, very close to Emperor Otto I, whom he accompanied to Italy in 962.&nbsp; St. Conrad is said to have made three pilgrimages to Jerusalem as well as a number of them to Rome.&nbsp; He founded a number of churches on the Episcopal estates and the hospital at Kreuzlingen. &nbsp; It was named after a portion of the True Cross, which St. Conrad brought back from Jerusalem. &nbsp;</p> <p>His following was entirely due to the efforts of Bishop Ulrich I, of Dillingen, Bishop of Constance 1111 &ndash; 1127.&nbsp; He wrote extensively about St. Conrad.&nbsp; St. Conrad was canonized at the First Lateran Council in 1123.&nbsp; St. Conrad is sometimes represented as a Bishop holding a chalice with a spider in it or over it.&nbsp; This refers to a story that once when he was celebrating Mass, a spider fell into the chalice.&nbsp; Spiders were believed at the time to be deadly poisonous, but St. Conrad drank the Precious Blood with the spider in it, as a token of faith.&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Practical Take Away</strong></span></p> <p>St. Conrad of Constance was a member of the powerful Welf Family.&nbsp; He was educated at the Cathedral School in Constance, and became the Bishop of Constance.&nbsp; He was noted for not getting wrapped up in the politics of his time, but rathered focused on his Episcopal duties.&nbsp; He did a lot to convert and meet the sacramental needs of his See.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>