Barbora of Žagarė (1628 – ) was a Roman Catholic laywoman from

Žagarė Žagarė (, see also #Etymology, other names) is a city located in the Joniškis district, northern Lithuania, close to the border with Latvia. It has a population of about 2,000, down from 14,000 in 1914, when it was the 7th largest city in Lith ...

, then

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. According to oral history, Barbora distinguished herself by her Christian virtues and died young under obscure circumstances. Her remains were said to be incorruptible. This inspired a strong following among local people, and numerous miracles are attributed to her. In 2005, the

Diocese of Šiauliai 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 associated ...

began the

beatification Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "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 name. ''Beati'' is the p ...

process, calling her a

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

Biography

There is almost no verifiable information about Barbora's short life, which is shrouded by various

hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

narratives. She was the only child born into a noble family of Umiastowskis. Her mother died early and she had a strict stepmother. Local people tell stories about her care for the sick and generosity for the beggars. She would intercede on behalf of

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed dur ...

and walk to the church on her knees. It is said that her exceptional piousness and devotion to God displeased and angered her father. She wanted to become a nun, and even joined a Franciscan monastery in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, but her non-believer father would not allow it. Narratives tell that she jumped out of the second floor of the manor to escape her father's wrath, and died of injuries. In a document from 1876, vice-governor Vasily Ryzhkov of

Kovno Governorate Kovno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Kovno (Kaunas). It was formed on 18 December 1842 by Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Nicholas I from the western part of Vilna Govern ...

first recorded the claim that Barbora died escaping her father's lust and thus remained a virgin.

Remains

Barbora was first buried either in or Umiastowski family crypt. However, due to growing veneration of Barbora, her body was moved to the old church of Žagarė. In 1655, during the

Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...

, Sweden invaded Lithuania and burned down the church. Barbora's body and hair was blackened, but otherwise untouched by the flames; as a result, her cult grew stronger. Tsarist authorities discouraged Catholicism and the crypt was walled up in 1877 on orders of Pyotr Albedinsky,

Governor-General of Vilna Vilna Governorate-General (, ), known as Lithuania Governorate-General before 1830, was a Governorate-General of the Russian Empire from 1794 to 1912. It primarily encompassed the Vilna, Grodno, and Kovno Governorates. Governors General were als ...

; it was reopened in 1896. The remains were put in a glass coffin in the crypt beneath the high altar. In 1906, an entrance was made to the crypt from outside to ease access. In 1963, during an anti-religious campaign in the Soviet Union, authorities of the

Lithuanian SSR The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...

closed the church and transferred the remains of to an unknown location. At the same time,

forensic pathologist Forensic pathology is pathology that focuses on determining the cause of death by examining a corpse. A post mortem examination is performed by a medical examiner or forensic pathologist, usually during the investigation of criminal law cases an ...

and MGB agent analyzed the body, but his work did not survive. Reportedly, the Soviets considered displaying the remains at the Museum of Atheism. Efforts to locate the remains were unsuccessful. When the church was returned to the congregation, a symbolic casket was placed in the same crypt.

Veneration

The virgin of Žagarė was first mentioned by ,

Bishop of Samogitia A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

, in his report to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in 1755. The report was discovered by historian Jonas Totoraitis in 1938. The bishop reported the story of her unburned corpse and seven other miracles, mostly healing of various ailments, said to have taken place between 1735 and 1748. On 7 January 1860,

Motiejus Valančius Motiejus Kazimieras Valančius (; , also known by his pen-name ''Joteika'' and ''Ksiądz Maciek''; 1801–1875) was a Catholic Bishop of Samogitia, historian and one of the best known Lithuanian/Samogitian writers of the 19th century. Biograph ...

tasked the parish priest at the Old Žagarė church with registering miracles or other divine graces attributed to Barbora's intercession. By December 1940, 97 miracles had been documented, but none have been canonically investigated. The book listing the miracles was thought to have been destroyed during World War II. However, after the fall of Communism in 1990, Boleslovas Babrauskas, parish priest at St Peter and Paul's church in Žagarė, found it. The miracles mainly related to curing ailments related mostly to legs and eyes. Local people venerated Barbara as if she were a saint. It was common to circle her coffin three times on knees. Her cult merged with that of

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

, as the women shared not only name but also similar life stories. Local people celebrated the feast of Barbora Žagarietė on 4 December and sang hymns that were translated from Polish and initially meant for St. Barbara. Other commemorations take place on 29 June, the

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul or Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul is a liturgical feast in honor of the martyrdom in Rome of the apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, which is observed on 29 June. The celebration is of ancient Chri ...

, and 2–9 July, the Great Žemaičių Kalvarija Festival. To express his gratitude to Žagarietė for healing his sister, Alfonsas Lažinskas commissioned an oak

wayside shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mount ...

by Rimantas Zinkevičius to be installed in the churchyard of the Old Žagarė Church. The shrine was blessed by Eugenijus Bartulis, Bishop of Šiauliai, on 6 August 2006. The possibility of Barbora's beatification was investigated by Janina z Ostroróg-Sadowskich Umiastowska, philanthropist and widow of Władysław Umiastowski, and Władysław Kwiatkowski, rector of the , in 1937–1938. In November 2004, Eugenijus Bartulis sent a request to the

to begin the

and

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

for Žagarietė. In May 2005, the Holy See replied that there were no obstacles in initiating the case; it was officially opened by Bartulis on 24 September 2005. In 2006, a group of nine scientists was dispatched on an expedition to find and collect information on Žagarietė.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagariete, Barbora 17th-century Lithuanian people 17th-century Lithuanian women Lithuanian people of Polish descent Lithuanian Servants of God