St. Bilhildis of Altmünster

ST. BILHILD

St. Bilhildis of Altmünster was a 7th-century Frankish noblewoman and Benedictine abbess who founded the Altmünster Abbey near Mainz. After being widowed, she dedicated her life to religious service, establishing a community for women. She died on November 27, 734, and was buried in the abbey church. Her grave was reported to emit a sweet fragrance, and many miracles were attributed to her intercession.

Bilihildis was born in the 7th century in Hocheim, typically identified as modern-day Veitshöchheim near Würzburg, Bavaria, the child of Count Jberin and his wife Mathilda. According to Alfred Wendehorst, however, what is meant is probably Hochheim am Main, with the location in Würzburg and its East-Frankish connections a later "explanation" for the monastery's foundation. Her 11th-century hagiography reports that she was forced to flee the invading Huns and was moved to Würzburg, where she was raised as a Christian. Though she wanted to devote her life to Christ, her parents forced her to marry a pagan Frankish duke named Hetan around 672, whom she loved but was unable to convert. It is not clear whether this is Hedan I or Hedan II. Hetan was called to battle and was killed; during his absence Bilhild saw an opportunity for a religious life and traveled by ship to Mainz, where she asked for and received permission from the local bishop, her uncle Sigibert (a misreading for Rigibert, bishop of Mainz), to start a foundation for religious women. She started this foundation using her considerable wealth (having sold her possessions in Hochheim) to support it. This was the beginning of the Altmünster monastery of which she was the first abbess. She was baptized later in life. She died on 27 November 734 and was buried in the abbey church; her grave soon gave off a sweet aroma and many miracles happened there.After her death, Bilhildis was venerated locally. In 1289, an altar and a reliquary containing her head were established in the monastery. The monastery was incorporated into the Cistercian Order in 1243 and was dissolved in 1781. Her relics were moved to the Emmeranskirche in Mainz and later to the Mainz Cathedral after the church's destruction in 1945. In 1991, scientific examination confirmed the authenticity of her skull relic.

Today, Bilhildis is honored as the patron saint of the sick, particularly in the Mainz and Franconia regions. Her feast day is celebrated with a procession in Veitshöchheim, where her bust is carried through the streets.

Feast Day

27-11-734 AD

Birth Date

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Died Date

27-11-734 AD

Canonised Date

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Altmünster Abbey, Mainz

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ST. BILHILD

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ST. BILHILD

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