Eugenia of Alsace (, died 16 September 735), was the second abbess of the

Hohenburg Abbey Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey, also known as Hohenburg Abbey, is a nunnery, situated on Mont Sainte-Odile, one of the most famous peaks of the Vosges mountain range in the French region of Alsace. History It was founded about 690 by Adalrich, Duke ...

, in Alsace from 721 to 735 who is

venerated Veneration (; ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Veneration of saints is practiced, ...

as a Christian saint. She was a niece of

Saint Odile Odile of Alsace, also known as Odilia and Ottilia, born - at Mont Sainte-Odile), is a saint venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. She is a patroness saint of good eyesight and of the region of Alsace. Saint ...

and sister of Saint Attalus. Saint Eugenia's feast day is celebrated on 16 September, which was the day she died of natural causes in 735 in Hohenburg.

Biography

Eugenia was born into nobility as the daughter of Adalbert of Alsace, Duke of Alsace. She followed in the footsteps of her aunt, Saint Odile (died about 720), the first abbess of Hohenburg, who is known as the patron saint of good eyesight and for whom the mountain top is named.

Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey Mont Sainte-Odile Abbey, also known as Hohenburg Abbey, is a nunnery, situated on Mont Sainte-Odile, one of the most famous peaks of the Vosges mountain range in the French region of Alsace. History It was founded about 690 by Adalrich, Duke ...

became a well-known destination for pilgrims. Eugenia's signature as abbess of Hohenburg (Alsace) appears in a document from 722. Like Odile, she gave the example of all the virtues to her holy community. The spirit of the pious founder reigned in these two houses and it was a very edifying spectacle for Lower Alsace to see young virgins from the first families of the country renounce the sweetness of a comfortable and pleasant life to go to devote to the practices of penance. Eugenia governed her monastery for fifteen years. After she died, her body was interred in the convent's chapel of Saint Jean Baptiste, near the tomb of her aunt, Saint Odile. Eugenia's image still appears in mosaic in the chapel. Eugenia's remains were kept secure there from 735 until 1622 when The Thirty Years War allowed Swedish troops to invade the convent, open her tomb and scatter the bones. Only a few relics remained which were collected by the nuns there. Some bones were moved in 1622 to the church of

Oberehnheim Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; ) is commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants having gone up from ...

in Alsace, France. Later, some relics were transferred to the parish church in Willgottheim, Alsace, France.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eugenie of Alsace Date of birth unknown Place of birth unknown 735 deaths 8th-century Frankish saints 8th-century Frankish nobility 8th-century Frankish women Alsatian nobility Alsatian saints Female saints of medieval France Abbesses