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ST GERTRUDE, WIDOW AND ABBESS - 6 DECEMBER

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN DECEMBER

Saints celebrated on the 6th of December

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SAINT GERTRUDE, WIDOW AND ABBESS

Saint Gertrude (Gertraud) was the foundress and first abbess of the monastery of Hamai (Hamoy, Hamage) (Hamaticum) on the Scarpe near Marchiennes in Belgium. She was married to a man of high nobility, whom the Bollandists* (Mart. II. 79) call Ingomar, while Migne* calls him Nigomar. 

Once widowed, Gertrude devoted herself solely to prayer and works of charity. As Hubaldus, biographer of Saint Rictrudis (Boll. Maji III. 87), relates, she combined a long life with many virtues. Among her children, Adalbaldus and Gerberta enjoy ecclesiastical veneration. 

According to the Bollandists* (Febr. I. 295), her relics are venerated in Douay. Bishop Saint Vindicianus of Cambray consecrated a church in her honour and solemnly raised her relics. Migne* states that Gertrude went to her eternal reward in 649; it is generally asserted that she flourished in the early 7th century. Bucelin* refers to her as a duchess (Ducissa), for unknown reasons. Lechner* calls her husband Prince Rigomer, states that Gertrude died around the year 650, and goes on to say that her body rests in the monastery of Marchiennes (Marchianae, Marciana).

(Information from Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints, Volume 2, Augsburg, 1861, p. 424)

*A hagiography source used by the authors 

Stadler's Complete Encyclopedia of Saints - Sources and Abbreviations

PRAYER:

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

























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