Bertilia (death 687, also known as Bertilla) was a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

and

virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

from Northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Her parents were wealthy nobles. Bertilia, who was "very beautiful, gentle in speech, and modest in manner",Baring-Gould, p. 52 turned "to the service of God alone"Baring-Gould, p. 51 from an early age. Guthland, a young man also of noble birth, wanted to marry her, but she refused, wanting to live as a hermit instead, but her parents "urged her vehemently" and she agreed to marry him, anyway. She and Guthland, however, at her request, lived together in chastity, "as brother and sister", helping the poor and practicing

hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...

. According to hagiographer Agnes Dunbar, "they spent their lives and fortunes in works of mercy and piety". After her husband's death, Bertilia gave her property to the church, but reserved on small estate in, where she built a church in honor of Amandus, with a small adjoining cell for her residence, and a monastery in Artois. After a long day of prayer, she returned to her cell, where she died after being seized with terrible pain. She was buried at Artois. In 1081, Gerald II, the bishop of Cambray enshrined her remains to honor her as a saint; her relics were moved again in 1221 to Marceuil, where as of the early 1900s, were venerated. Dunbar reported that those seeking healing from blindness made pilgrimages to a fountain at Marceuil. Bertilia's feast day is January 3.

References

Works cited

* Baring-Gould, Sabine (1877). ''The Lives of the Saints'' (1st ed.). London: J. Hodges. 687 deaths 7th-century Frankish saints 7th-century Frankish nuns 7th-century Christian nuns Year of birth unknown Female saints of medieval France {{Saint-stub