ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN OCTOBER
Saints celebrated on the 15th of October
MAGDALENA, COUNTESS PALATINE OF NEUBURG
Among the children of the pious Duke William V and his blessed wife Renata, his youngest-born daughter Magdalena [Magdalene von Bayern], the later Countess Palatine of Neuburg, was particularly distinguished for her piety. Born on July 4, 1587, she was baptised on the same day, and brought up in the fear of the Lord. In addition to Latin, Magdalena also learned Italian, Spanish and French. She also developed a thorough contempt for the world and its vanities.
The first-born son of Count Palatine Philipp Ludwig of Palatinate-Neuburg [Wolfgang Wilhelm (1578-1653), Count Palatine and Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg - Pfalzgraf und Herzog von Pfalz-Neuburg] married her in Munich, at the beginning of November 1612.
Her sincere piety played a major role in her husband's conversion to the Catholic faith. Before her marriage to the Count Palatine Magdalena had concluded a covenant of her heart with Christ and his Church. She carried the document of this covenant with her (which she herself had drafted and written by hand) wherever she went and even had planned to have it placed in her grave one day along with her mortal remains. By her incessant prayers, she helped to bring her husband's subjects back to the Catholic Church. But her main preoccupation was her own sanctification. For this purpose she practised contemplation every day and also examined her conscience in order to get to know all her faults, no matter how hidden. For every mistake she recognised, she subjected herself to the strictest penance, so that her confessor ended up moderating her great penitential zeal.
Magdalena had a great reverence for the Blessed Virgin. She enjoyed visiting the churches dedicated to her and provided them with donations. She often went on pilgrimages to places of grace consecrated to the Mother of God, e.g. Altötting, Lechfeld, etc. and each time she placed gifts there, preferably vestments made by her own hand.
Nothing could disturb the calmness of her heart, as she endeavoured to submit herself completely to God's will. She was also particularly conscientious in caring for her subordinates. Aware of her responsibility for them, she never tolerated injustice that she could remedy and did everything in order to banish gossip and slander from her court. She was always inclined to forgive and full of mercy towards the needy, and the sick, sending them alms and comforting them, and was known to also visit their huts in person. The pious example of this godly princess persuaded many of them to return to the true faith and to become Catholic again. She lived continually in peace and harmony with her husband, who often regretted that he did not quite manage to keep up with his wife in virtue and godliness.
The good Lord called Magdalena away from this temporal life at quite a young age. But her main daily concern for many years had been to prepare for a happy death and a blessed eternity. As the time of dissolution approached, she placed herself entirely in the arms of Jesus. She lovingly encouraged her son, the future Elector Philipp Wilhelm, to remain faithful to the faith with his entire household, not to enter into a mixed marriage [with a non-Catholic] and to promote the knowledge of God among his subjects by thorough instruction in the Catholic religion. The blessed Princess was given the holy sacraments and, praying incessantly, passed away gently and blessedly on October 15, 1628 with the most holy names of Jesus and Mary on her lips.
Her body was ceremoniously buried in the prince's family crypt in the Jesuit church. Her memory remained and remains a blessing to the residents of Neuburg and the entire Bavarian region. (Joch. Bav. S. II. 399–403).
(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 4, Augsburg, 1875, pp. 38-39)
Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations
Sources of these articles (in the original German): books.google.co.uk, de-academic.com, zeno.org, openlibrary.org
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