Saint Hedwig of Silesia

Life story

Hedwig was born around 1174 into the counts of Andechs in Bavaria and was educated at the convent of Kitzingen. Around 1186 she married Henry I, called the Bearded, duke of Silesia, in what is now Poland. They had seven children, among them Henry II, who succeeded his father. She was also the aunt of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.

With her husband's support Hedwig founded, in 1202, a Cistercian nunnery at Trzebnica near Wrocław, the first major women's house in Silesia. She also supported hospitals for lepers and the poor, and early sources record her plain diet and her habit of walking barefoot outdoors. While still a duchess she lived chastely by agreement with her husband from about 1209. After his death in 1238 she went to live near the nuns at Trzebnica, where her daughter Gertrude was abbess, though she never took formal vows.

In 1241 her son Henry II the Pious fell at the battle of Legnica against the Mongols, and early sources say she received the news calmly. She died on 15 October 1243 at Trzebnica and was buried in the abbey church. Pope Clement IV declared her a saint in 1267, and her feast is 16 October. She is especially venerated in Silesia and across Poland today.

Her descendants shaped central European history, and her life became a model for noble women who combined public duties with works of charity. Her tomb in the abbey church at Trzebnica remains a destination for pilgrims, and the town is still closely identified with her name.

Works and witness

• Born at Andechs, married Henry the Bearded of Silesia around 1186
• With her husband founded the Cistercian nunnery at Trzebnica in 1202
• Supported hospitals for lepers and the poor
• Lived near the nuns at Trzebnica after her husband died in 1238
• Canonised by Pope Clement IV in 1267

Patron of

Silesia

Saints from the same country

Saint Stanislaus of Kraków, Saint John Paul II, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Saint Faustina Kowalska

References

• Legenda maior de sancta Hedwigi
• Martyrologium Romanum
• Encyclopaedia Britannica – Saint Hedwig

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