Saint Gertrude

The life

Gertrude the Great, Saint, Benedictine and mystic writer; b. in Germany, January 6, 1256; d. at Helfta, near Eisleben, Saxony, November 17, 1301 or 1302. Nothing is known of her family, not even the name of her parents. It is clear from her life (Legatus, lib. I, xvi) that she was not born in the neighborhood of Eisleben. When she was but five years of age she entered the alumnate of Helfta. The monastery was at that time governed by the saintly and enlightened Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn, under whose rule it prospered exceedingly, both in monastic observance and in that intellectual activity which St. Lioba and her Anglo-Saxon nuns had transmitted to their foundations in Germany. All that could aid to sanctity, or favor contemplation and learning, was to be found in this hallowed spot. Here, too, as the center of all its activity and the impetus of its life, the work of works—the Opus Dei, as St. Benedict terms the Divine Office—was solemnly carried out. Such was Helfta when its portals opened to receive the child destined to be its brightest glory. Gertrude was confided to the care of St. Mechtilde, mistress of the alumnate and sister of the Abbess Gertrude. From the first she had the gift of winning hearts, and her biographer gives many details of her exceptional charms, which matured with advancing years. Thus early had been formed between Gertrude and Mechtilde the bond of an intimacy which deepened and strengthened with time, and gave the latter saint a preponderating influence over the former.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), article “St. Gertrude the Great”, in the public domain. Some details may since have been revised by later research. Read the whole article on Wikisource.