Biskop 1453-1486, begravet i Børglum
Mens Chr. I var konge i Danmark (det var han 1448-1481), hed biskoppen i Børglum Stift Jakob Friis.
Friis kom til et uroligt bispedømme og selv var han stridslysten og stejl. Han hævdede bispestolens ret med myndighed i væsentlige forhold og havde stor interesse i klostrene.
Han havde allerede tidligt haft interesse for den spirende bebyggelse ved Sæby, og været med til at opføre den lille Mariekirke på stedet. Han fik stor betydning for stedets udvikling fra fiskerleje til købstad.
I 1562 fik han overdraget den lille kirke i Sæby og en stor grund, mellem kirken og åen, til munke af karmeliterordenen, der påbegyndte en udvidelse af kirken og opførelsen af et stort kloster.
Dette medførte en rivende udvikling i byen, med øget handel og omsætning, koncentreret om byens havn.
Biskoppen har selv taget del i dette, både som landsdelens øverste myndighed, men også som handelsmand. Vi ved fra skriftlige kilder, at han selv har haft handelsskibe på søen.
Han hørte til de herrer som kongen 1464 lod blive tilbage i Sverige, og som måtte overgive Stockholm slot.
Bishop 1453-1486, buried in Børglum
While Chr. I was king of Denmark (he was 1448-1481), the bishop of Børglum diocese was called Jakob Friis.
Friis came to a troubled diocese and he himself was belligerent and steep. He asserted the right of the diocese with authority in essential matters and had a great interest in the monasteries.
He had already taken an early interest in the burgeoning settlement at Sæby, and had helped to build the small Church of St Mary on the site. He had a great influence on the development of the place from a fishing village to a market town.
In 1562, he had the small church in Sæby and a large plot of land between the church and the river handed over to monks of the Carmelite order, who began expanding the church and building a large monastery.
This led to rapid development in the town, with increased trade and turnover concentrated around the town's harbour.
The bishop himself took part in this, both as the highest authority in the land and as a trader. We know from written sources that he himself had merchant ships on the lake.
He was one of the lords whom the King left in Sweden in 1464, and who had to surrender Stockholm Castle.
Sæby Church