July 2 -- Feast of Saint Otto of Bamberg

 I must confess that I was more drawn to Saint Otto by this photo (lower right) of him than his life. The blackened nose tip made him look more than a little clownish. I searched images of Burger King's icon, thinking that Otto could pass for the archbishop of BK's kingdom, but then I found the other picture (right) here and had to post it. By the way, if you enjoy advertising analysis, the link is worth checking out.

Otto's life would actually make a nearly interesting movie. He caught in the middle of the investiture controversy, the dispute about who had the authority to appoint bishops and archbishops. Medieval kings claimed they were the final authority; the popes claim they were the Deciders. Otto was the Chancellor to Emperor Henry IV of Germany (well, the Holy Roman Empire). Henry tried to appoint him bishop of Bamberg, but Otto told his Emperor that only the Pope can appoint a bishop.

I was expecting one of those ugly moments like in Britain when a guy named Thomas (Becket, More) tells a king named Henry (II, VIII) what he can't do and is subsequently chopped. But oddly enough, the German Henry was much more chill. He and Otto took a trip to Rome. Otto's souvenirs included that spiffy hat and fancy stick you see in the photo.

Otto was apparently a better than average Bishop of Bamberg, working hard to keep the peace between the Pope and his Emperor. In his spare time, he converted more than 20,000 pagan Poles to Christianity