Hildegund (c. 1130–1183) was a Praemonstratensian

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, Copt ...

. Born to nobility, her father was Count Herman of Lidtberg and her mother Countess Hedwig. She was married to Count Lothair of Meer (now

Meerbusch Meerbusch () is a town in Rhein-Kreis Neuss, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been an incorporated town since 1970. Meerbusch is the municipality with the most income millionaires in North Rhine-Westphalia. Geography Meerbusch is a town in ...

), in the modern region of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. Together they had three children, one of whom did not survive into adulthood. At the age of twelve, her son Hermann Joseph was sent to the Premonstratensians (Norbertine) at Steinfeld Abbey, who sent him to the Netherlands to study. Upon his return, he became a

canon 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 ...

of the order and served as provost of the in the

Diocese of Münster In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

. There he developed widespread fame as a mystic.Ott, Michael. "Bl. Hadewych." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 22 October 2021 In 1958 Pope Pius XII formally recognized his cultus, and Hermann Joseph von Steinfeld is regarded as a saint. With the death of her husband, Hildegund made a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, accompanied by her daughter,

Hedwig Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanus Adol ...

. Upon their return to Germany in 1178, despite the opposition of her family, she took vows as a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

of the Premonstratensian Order. She converted her castle into a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

, serving as its first abbessSaint Hildegund
Patron Saints Index She should not be confused with another Hildegund of the same era, who lived her life disguised as a man, and was considered by some as a saint.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hildegund (Widow) German Roman Catholic saints 12th-century Christian saints 1183 deaths Premonstratensian nuns Year of birth uncertain Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 12th-century German nuns