Saint Walburga dunned in Germany

Germany's TV licence fee agency has apologised after demanding payment from an eighth-century saint.

Officials sent letters to Frau Walburga St. asking for a monthly licence payment of 16.50 euros.

Father Karl Terhorst initially ignored the letters when they arrived at his Roman Catholic church in Ramsdorf.

But when one letter threatened legal action and a fine he wrote back explaining St Walburga was born in 710 in England and was an abbess and missionary who was made a saint in 880.

NOTE: For those unfamiliar with the concept (including James Taranto, it seems), a number of countries require TV owners to pay regular license fees to help pay for public broadcasting. In the UK, they even have vans equipped with TV-detection gear that cruise neighborhoods looking for unlicensed sets.

Posted by David on January 7, 2003 10:21 AM