07 Works, Today, May 3rd, is Saint Wiborada's day, With Footnotes - #124

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Saint Wiborada holding a book and axe, c. 1430/36

Cathedral library of St. Gallen

Saint Wiborada of St. Gall (also Guiborat, Weibrath or Viborata) (died 926) was a member of the Swabian nobility in what is present-day Switzerland. She was an anchoress, Benedictine nun, and martyr, as well as the first woman formally canonized by the Catholic Church. 

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Healing a patient with the comb, relic of Wiborada

Deutsche Heiligenleben , Codex 602 of the Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen, c. before 1451 /60

St.Gallen Abbey Library

Wiborada was born to a wealthy noble family in Swabia. When they invited the sick and poor into their home, Wiborada proved a capable nurse. her brother Hatto became a priest. A pilgrimage to Rome influenced Hatto to decide to become a monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall, a decision which Wiborada supported. After the death of their parents, Wiborada joined Hatto and became a Benedictine at the Abbey of Saint Gall. Wiborada became settled at the monastery and Hatto taught her Latin so that she could chant the Liturgy of the Hours. There, she occupied herself by making Hatto's clothes and helping to bind many of the books in the monastery library.

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Santa Wiborada listens to mass from her little window

At this time, it appears that Wiborada was charged with some type of serious infraction or wrongdoing, and was subjected to the medieval practice of ordeal by fire to prove her innocence. Although she was exonerated, the embarrassment probably influenced her next decision: withdrawing from the world and becoming an ascetic.

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Bishop Salomon of Konstanz arranged for her to stay in a cell next to the church

When she petitioned to become an anchoress, Bishop Salomon of Konstanz arranged for her to stay in a cell next to the church of Saint George near the monastery, where she remained for four years before relocating to a cell adjoining the church of Magnus of Füssen in 891.

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Saint Wiborada became renowned for her austerity, and was said to have a gift of prophecy

She became renowned for her austerity, and was said to have a gift of prophecy, both of which drew admirers and hopeful students. 

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Rachildis, whom Wiborada had cured of a disease, joined her as an anchoress

One of these, a woman named Rachildis, whom Wiborada had cured of a disease, joined her as an anchoress. A young student at St. Gall, Ulrich, is said to have visited Wiborada often. She supposedly prophesied his elevation to the episcopate of Augsburg.

In 925, she predicted a Hungarian invasion of her region. Her warning allowed the priests and religious of St. Gall and St. Magnus to hide the books and wine and escape into caves in nearby hills. The most precious manuscripts were transferred to the monastery at Reichenau Island. Her abbot, Engilbert, urged Wiborada to escape to safety, but she refused to leave her cell.

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Illustration from Deutsche Heiligenleben , Codex 602 of the Stiftsbibliothek St. Gallen

Martyrdom of Wiborada, c. before 1451 /60

Abbey library St.Gallen, Klosterhof, St.Gallen

In 926 the Magyar marauders reached St. Gall. They burned down St. Magnus and broke into the roof of Wiborada's cell. Upon finding her kneeling in prayer, they clove her skull with a fokos (shepherd's axe). Her companion Rachildis was not killed, and lived another 21 years, during which her disease returned. She spent the rest of her life learning patience through suffering. Wiborada's refusal to leave her cell and the part she played in saving the lives of the priests and religious of her convent have merited her the title of martyr. More on Saint Wiborada 

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The Baroque Library of St Gallen, Switzerland – A Sanatorium for the Mind