BLESSED MECHTHILD OF DIESSEN, ABBESS - 31 MAY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MAY

Saints celebrated on the 31st of May

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BLESSED MECHTHILD OF DIESSEN, ABBESS

Blessed Mechthild (Matilda, Mathildis, Mechtildis) was abbess at Diessen (Dießen) in the twelfth century. Her father was Count Berthold von Andechs and Diessen, her mother, Sophia, also Countess Amertalia (of Ammerthal). They were very pious. The blessed abbess had two brothers: Berthold II, Count of Andechs, and Otto, Duke of Meran, who became Bishop of Bamberg in 1177 and inaugurated the new monastery church of Diessen in 1182 in the presence of Bishop Hartwig of Augsburg. She also had two sisters: Blessed Euphemia, abbess of the Altomünster monastery (died in 1186 and buried in Diessen at the side of her sister Mechthild) and Gisela, the wife of Count Diepold von Berg, from which marriage came forth many sons, most of whom became bishops. For example Ulrich II (Diepold) of Passau, Magnoald, Bishop of Passau, Otto II, Bishop of Freising, Henry (Heinrich II), Bishop of Würzburg.

Mechthild was born at Andechs Castle in 1125. Soon after, her parents founded a men's abbey and a nunnery in Diessen upon Ammersee by designating their castle for this purpose. (It was their third foundation.) From the age of five onwards, Mechthild lived at this place. 

As illustrious and noble as her lineage was, she valued her birth of God even more highly. Her devotion was deeply rooted inwardly. What her outward appearance revealed, her heart felt far more. When she received the body of the Lord, she seemed no longer alive to the physical world. She had a streak of hot temper, but mellowed down over the years. In suffering and pain she often scorned every remedy in order to do penance. When the superior died, the sisters thought she alone was worthy of presiding over the rest, while she initially objected against being promoted to this position. 

Once she had become superior, however, she endeavoured to lead more by example than by regulations and punishments. She observed the monastic discipline very closely. After the death of the abbess Gisela, Bishop Conrad (1150-1157) of Augsburg called her to reform the women's convent in Edelstetten, and she fulfilled this task with outstanding success. Here it was that Mechthild began to shine through miracles (in 1153). But when she felt her end approaching, she asked to be brought back to Diessen. Prior to her departure she admonished the sisters in the most touching way to love and unanimity. Finally, Mechthild received the last sacraments and then died at her monastery in Diessen, well prepared for the journey into eternity, on May 31, 1160. (VII. 442-457).

She is also commemorated on July 6.

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875, pp. 308-10)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of the blessed Mechthild may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org