ST IDA OF COLOGNE, ABBESS - 26 NOVEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 26th of November

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

ST IDA OF COLOGNE, ABBESS

Saint Ida of Cologne was the daughter of Mathilde, a sister of King and Emperor Otto III and Ezzo. They had ten children, all of whom held important positions in Lower Lorraine. Ida was one of the younger children. Her exact birthdate is uncertain, but was certainly before 1025, when her mother Mathilde died. Her father Ezzo died in 1034.

THEY WERE MOST LIKELY EDUCATED IN GANDERSHEIM ABBEY

Ida and her sister Sophia were most likely educated in Gandersheim Abbey. They left Gandersheim in 1026 and entered the convent of St Maria Altenmünster in Mainz. 

Only one year later, in 1027, they had to return to Gandersheim. 

ST IDA BECAME ABBESS

Around the year 1038, Ida became abbess of St Maria of Gandersheim, which was part of Gandersheim Abbey. Ida became abbess of St Maria im Kapitol in Cologne. 

On July 5, 1049, she was certainly present at the altar dedication in the church St Maria in Kapitol, executed by Pope Leo IX. Emperor Heinrich III was also there during the dedication, which highlights the significance of the church and its abbess. Ida died in 1060 and was buried in the church of St Maria im Kapitol (photo). 

(Information from Wikipedia - 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_(St._Maria_im_Kapitol)