Saint Modesta (died c. 680) was the founder and

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 ...

of the monastery of Oeren in

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, Germany. St Irminen 18

Biography

Modesta was the niece of

Itta of Metz Itta of Metz, O.S.B. (also ''Ida'', ''Itte'' or ''Iduberga''; 592–8 May 652) was the wife of Pepin of Landen, Mayor of the Palace of the Kingdom of Austrasia. After his death, she founded the Abbey of Nivelles, where she became a Colombania ...

and a cousin of St. Gertrude (626–659). Modesta became a

Benedictine nun , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

and was appointed the first abbess, by

Saint Modoald Saint Modoald, also known as Romoald, was the Frankish archbishop of Trier from 626 to 645. He is the patron saint of the Reichsabtei Helmarshausen and his liturgical feast is on 12 May. Modoald was born in Aquitaine, the son of Arnulf, later ...

, her uncle, for the convent of Oeren,

, Germany. The abbey was built on the Roman

horrea A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman ''horrea'' were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Hor ...

, the ancient granaries still remaining on the site and the name is also given as Öhren or Ohren, Øhren, Oehren, Oeren, Herren or Horreum. It was later renamed after

Irmina of Oeren Irmina of Oeren (also called Ermina and Hirmina; d. 720) was a saint, founder and abbess of a convent in Oeren (now Alveringem in West Belgium), and co-founder of a convent in Echternach (now eastern Luxembourg). Hagiographer Basil Watkins state ...

, the abbey's second abbess.

Family

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Modesta, Saint 7th-century Germanic people Medieval German saints 7th-century Frankish women German Roman Catholic abbesses