ST AUSTREBERTA, VIRGIN AND ABBESS - 10 FEBRUARY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN FEBRUARY

 Saints celebrated on the 10th of February

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.

SAINT AUSTREBERTA, VIRGIN AND ABBESS 

Saint Austreberta was the daughter of Count Badefrid, one of the first court officials of King Dagobert I, and St Framechildis (May 17), descended from the lineage of the German kings, and was born around 630  in Terouane.

SHE FELT CALLED TO RELIGIOUS LIFE

She cherished her virginity and planned on entering a monastery. She had scarcely heard that her father was thinking of a good marriage match for her when she made up her mind to implement her own plans. 

SHE ASKED THE BISHOP FOR ADVICE

She contacted Bishop Audomar (St-Omer) for advice. After receiving the veil from him, she went back to her parents, who realised that their daughter was really called to serve God in the religious state. She lived happily and harmoniously under their roof once more according to her new status. 

SHE ENTERED THE NEW NUNNERY

Then, to complete her sacrifice, she went to the Abbey of Port in the Somme, not far from Abbeville. Around this time the holy Abbot Philibert of Jumieges (Gemmeticum) had set up a new nunnery at Pavilly (Pauliacum) and St Austreberta was - after some initial resistance on her part owing to her humility - solemnly installed as the first abbess. 

SANCTIFICATION AND PERFECTION

Sanctifying and promoting perfection in herself and her fellow sisters was her chief concern, setting a good example for all. Meanwhile the reputation of the convent of Pavilly for sanctity grew, and fathers and mothers came from all sides, begging the admission of their daughters. 

A REPUTATION FOR PIETY

After a long and blessed leadership of her monastery, our saint died on February 10 (according to Butler in the year 703, according to the Bollandists around 704) and was buried in the monastery church. 

HER RELICS

Thirty years after her death her mortal remains were raised out of the ground for public veneration, and most of the relics were placed in the Abbey of Montreuil (Monstrollum). She is also named in the Roman Martyrology on this day. 

THE NUNNERY'S UNUSUAL COMPANION ANIMAL

[St Austreberta is famous for miracles. One such story, retold time and again, relates how our saint tamed a wolf with prayer and kindness. Henceforth, this unusual pet helped the nuns to carry their clothes to the river and back for them to do their weekly laundry.]

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, 1858)