Blessed Gertrude of Aldenberg , (c. October 1227 – 13 August 1297) was a German noblewoman and abbess. She was the daughter of Elizabeth of Hungary and of

Louis IV, Landgrave of Thuringia Louis IV the Saint (german: Ludwig IV. der Heilige; 28 October 1200 – 11 September 1227), a member of the Ludovingian dynasty, was Landgrave of Thuringia and Saxon Count palatine from 1217 until his death. He was the husband of Elizabeth of ...

. She became a

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

canoness regular Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by a ...

at the Abbey of Aldenberg, near

Wetzlar Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...

, in the Diocese of Trier, where she spent much of her life leading the community as its

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

. She was

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

in 1728, her feast is August 13.

Life

Gertrude was the youngest of Louis IV and Elizabeth's three children. Her father died while on his way to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

, shortly before she was born. Gertrude was scarcely two years old when her mother left her in the care of the canonesses of the Abbey of Aldenberg, where she later entered the community. In 1248, only 21 years old, she was elected abbess and ruled over the monastery for the next 49 years.Ott, Michael. "Blessed Gertrude of Aldenberg." The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 13 April 2019 With an inheritance she received from her uncle,

Dietrich I, Margrave of Meissen Theodoric I (11 March 1162 – 18 February 1221), called the Oppressed (''Dietrich der Bedrängte''), was the Margrave of Meissen from 1198 until his death. He was the second son of Otto II, Margrave of Meissen and Hedwig of Brandenburg. Biog ...

, Gertrude erected a church and a poorhouse attached to the abbey. She took personal care of the residents there. She also led a life of extreme mortification. When Pope Nicholas IV published a

crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

against the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

, Gertrude and her community took the

Crusaders' cross The Jerusalem cross (also known as "five-fold Cross", or "cross-and-crosslets") is a heraldic cross and Christian cross variant consisting of a large cross potent surrounded by four smaller Greek crosses, one in each quadrant. It was used as the ...

and undertook to support the effort by prayer and acts of sacrifice. In 1270, under Gertrude's direction, the abbey began to celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, being one of the first to introduce this feast into Germany. Pope Clement VI permitted the abbey to celebrate her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

Forbes comte de Montalembert, Charles. ''The Life of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, Duchess of Thuringia'', James Duffy, 1848, p. 268
/ref> and granted indulgences to those who venerated her relics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldenberg, Gertrude of 1227 births 1297 deaths People from Marburg House of Andechs German people of Hungarian descent Premonstratensian nuns 13th-century German abbesses German beatified people Canonical Augustinian beatified people 13th-century venerated Christians Ludovingians