ST MILDGITH, VIRGIN - 17 JANUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JANUARY

Saints celebrated on the 17th of January

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 MILDGITH, VIRGIN AND RELIGIOUS

The princess Mildgith (Mildwida) was the youngest of three daughters of Merowald, king of the Mercia region of England.

Her mother, St Ermenburga, withdrew from the world and entered the convent of Minster-in-Thanet after her two brothers (Mildgith’s uncles) Saints Etheldred and Ethelbright were murdered.

SHE WAS EDUCATED BY HER MOTHER

Mildgith was educated by her mother at Minster-in-Thanet.

Having decided to renounce the vanities of court life as her mother had, Mildgith thereafter entered a convent near Canterbury. 

AN EXTRAORDINARY SANCTITY OF LIFE

As a nun she manifested “an extraordinary sanctity of life, love toward God, and patterns of pious conduct”, as attested by an English martyrology in which she is commemorated. 

Mildgith’s two sisters, Mildred and Milburga, are likewise venerated as saints. She also had a younger brother named Merefin who did not live beyond his teenage years. Although he has not been venerated as a saint, he is said to have been a youth of exceptional piety. St Mildgith died about A. D. 676.

“Let us tell of God’s wonderful works:

let us praise him with all the saints!”