Saint Gertrude the Great

Life story

Gertrude was born, according to tradition, on 6 January 1256, in Thuringia or Saxony. Nothing is known of her family. At the age of five she was placed in the convent of Helfta near Eisleben and grew up there in the care of the nuns, especially Mechthild of Hackeborn. Helfta was a community noted for learning and for its spiritual life.

At Helfta Gertrude studied Latin, literature, the liberal arts and the Bible, and absorbed the liturgical texts and the writings of the Fathers. She became a highly educated nun and a copyist, and later an adviser to many of her sisters. She wrote of a significant spiritual turning point around 1281, when she was about twenty-five, and from then on devoted much of her time to prayer and study.

Her works include the Legatus divinae pietatis (Herald of Divine Love), of which only the second book was written by her own hand, the rest being recorded by her sisters from her words, and the Exercitia spiritualia (Spiritual Exercises), a Latin collection of prayers. Her style draws on the Bible and the liturgy, and her works circulated fairly widely afterwards, especially in the sixteenth century.

She died at Helfta around 1301 or 1302 after a period of illness. She is called the Great to distinguish her from other saints of the same name. Her feast was extended to the whole Latin Church in the eighteenth century, and 16 November is her day.

Works and witness

• Grew up from age five at Helfta, studying Latin, the Bible and the liberal arts
• Wrote the Legatus divinae pietatis, partly in her own hand
• Composed the Exercitia spiritualia, a Latin collection of prayers
• Lived at Helfta until her death around 1302
• Called the Great to distinguish her from namesakes

Saints from the same country

Saint Ambrose, Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Saint Bruno of Cologne

References

• Gertrude of Helfta, Legatus divinae pietatis
• Gertrude of Helfta, Exercitia spiritualia
• Martyrologium Romanum

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.