ST BERTHA OF BINGEN, WIDOW - 28 NOVEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN NOVEMBER 

Saints celebrated on the 28th of November

 WELCOME!

ST BERTHA OF BINGEN, WIDOW

Saint Bertha (Berta), born in the 8th century, was a pious Christian woman. Married to a pagan named Roboldus (Robolaus), she descended from the family of the Dukes of Lorraine and received numerous properties on the Rhine and the Nahe (especially in and around Bingen in Rhineland-Palatinate) as her dowry. 

When Rupert, her son, was only three

 years old, his father died in a war against the Christians. Bertha then moved to a place on the Nahe River, built a church there and, despite the many marriage proposals made to her because of her advantages and wealth, she decided to remain a widow for God's sake. 

After Rupert had returned from a pilgrimage to Rome, which he undertook as a teenager, he settled on the Rupertsberg (Mount St Rupert); his mother moved into the area as well. Their life story has been told by St Hildegard of Bingen, who received revelations regarding Rupert's life and work. [She recovered Bertha's relics; they are now kept in the former monastery church founded by Hildegard (today's parish church of St Hildegard and St Johannes in Eibingen in the Rheingau).]

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints [S. Rupertus 2], Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875)

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Bertha 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