Hildegard of Bingen

Blessed Hildegard of Bingen (or von Bingen) (September 16 1098 – September 17, 1179) was a German abbess, monastic leader, mystic, author, and composer of music.

Significance

Hildegard was a powerful woman for medieval times. She communicated with Popes such as Anastasius IV, statesmen such as Abbot Suger, German emperors such as Frederick I Barbarossa, and heads of monasteries like St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Often they asked her for prayers, and other times they asked her for her opinion on various matters. She traveled widely, giving public speeches, a rarity for a woman of the time.

Related Topics:
Anastasius IV - Abbot Suger - Frederick I Barbarossa - Bernard of Clairvaux

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Hildegard was one of the first saints for which the canonization process was officially applied, but the process took so long that all four attempts at canonization (the last was in 1244, under Pope Innocent IV) were not completed, and remained at her beatification. However, she was already called a saint by the people before the canonization attempts. As a result of the long-standing devotion of the people to Hildegard, her name was taken up in the Roman martyrology at the end of the sixteenth century without a formal canonization process, earning her the title of saint. Her feast day is September 17. The shrine with the relics of Hildegard is in her second monastery in Eibingen near Rüdesheim (on the Rhine).

Related Topics:
Canonization - Pope Innocent IV - Beatification - Saint - Martyrology - Sixteenth century - Feast day - September 17

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