St. Gertrude of Nivelles
Suzi Ashworth
St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the Catholic Patron Saint of gardeners, mental health, mice and cats. She is also associated with saving people from plague, as during the Black Death she was venerated for driving out mice and rats. All of which seems very appropriate during these times!
Gertrude was a 7th century noblewoman whose first notable action was at age 10, when she refused to marry an Austrasian (former kingdom spanning parts of northern france, germany and the lowlands) Prince, stating that she would rather be "married to Christ". Women's feelings were rarely taken in to account, but the marriage did not go ahead as her father died shortly after. To protect Gertrude's virtue and chastity, and (possibly more importantly) prevent her being taken advantage of by suitors only interested in her families wealth and land, Gertrude's mother Itta is said to have shaved the girls head and placed her in a monastery. Gertrude spent the rest of her life fasting, praying and eventually became the Abbess of Nivelles.
She died quite young (by our standards) at 33 years old, with chroniclers crediting her weakened state to excessive fasting and abstinence. She is associated with two 'miracles'. The first was her vision of a burning sphere appearing above the altar she was praying at, and the second was an incident where a ship was attacked by 'a great storm and a sea monster' and was saved when the occupants cried out to Gertrude for help.
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