What is hildegard of bingen known for

St hildegard miracles
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What is st hildegard the patron saint of

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Hildegard von Bingen: writer, theologian, composer, naturalist... and scourge of a corrupt Church

Read on to learn all about the eventful life, and often transcendental music, of the 12th century abbess, mystic and composer Hildegard von Bingen.

Who was Hildegard von Bingen?

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) was a woman of many talents, from composer and writer to a theologian, philosopher and visionary.

You may think there were many people called Hildegard von Bingen. There was the one who catalogued the animals, birds, fish, plants, trees and precious metals of her native German Rhineland; the one whose medical theories are still valued by holistic therapists today; the one who invented her own, mysterious language of 900 words, its intention a continuing debate among scholars.

Perhaps more famous is the writer, theologian and abbess, whose bold, arresting visions – many depicted in illuminated manuscripts – reflected her own fervent beliefs. Hildegard founded her own monastery. She stood up to monks, bishops, popes and emperors across Europe. And she was the scourge of a

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St. Hildegard

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Born at Böckelheim on the Nahe, 1098; died on the Rupertsberg near Bingen, 1179; feast 17 September. The family name is unknown of this great seeress and prophetess, called the Sibyl of the Rhine. The early biographers give the first names of her parents as Hildebert and Mechtildis (or Mathilda), speak of their nobility and riches, but give no particulars of their lives. Later writers call the saint Hildegard of Böckelheim, of Rupertsberg, or of Bingen. Legends would make her a Countess of Spanheim. J. May (Katholik. XXXVII, 143) shows from letters and other documents that she probably belonged to the illustrious family of Stein, whose descendants are the present Princes of Salm. Her father was a soldier in the service of Meginhard, Count of Spanheim. Hildegard was a weak and sickly child, and in consequence received but little education a

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Image:Wolfgang Sauber, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

September 17: Saint Hildegard of Bingen, Virgin and Doctor of the Church—Optional Memorial

1098–1179
Patron Saint of philologists and Esperantists
Canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012 (equipollent canonization)
Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012
Liturgical Color: White
Version: Full – Short

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Quote:
And behold, He Who was enthroned upon that mountain cried out in a strong, loud voice saying, “O human, who are fragile dust of the earth and ashes of ashes! Cry out and speak of the origin of pure salvation until those people are instructed, who, though they see the inmost contents of the Scriptures, do not wish to tell them or preach them, because they are lukewarm and sluggish in serving God’s justice. Unlock for them the enclosure of mysteries that they, timid as they are, conceal in a hidden and fruitless field. Burst forth into a fountain of abundance and overflow with mystical knowledge, until they who now think