![[Saint Mechtilde of Helfta]](http://saints.sqpn.com/saintm0h.jpg "Saint Mechtilde of Helfta")
Also known as
- Matilda von Hackeborn-Wippra
- Mechtilde von Hackenborn
- Mechtildis of Hackeborn
- 16 November
- formerly 19 November
- formerly 26 February
Profile
Born to a pious, powerful Thuringian noble family; her older sister was a nun. Convent educated from age seven, Mechtilde became a nun at Rodersdorf, Switzerland. She moved to the Helfta monastery in 1258 where her sister served as abbess. Teacher and choir director at the convent school at Helfta. Visionary and mystic. Novice mistress for Saint Gertrude the Great who wrote The Book of Special Grace about Mechtilde’s teachings; she was initially terrified that the book might cause trouble, but Christ appeared to her in prayer and told her not to worry. She became a much sought spiritual advisor to her sister nuns, laity and learned Dominicans. May have been the inspiration for the character Matelda in Dante’s Purgatorio.
Born
- 19 November 1298 at Helfta monastery of natural causes
Additional Information
- Catholic Encyclopedia, by Gertrude Casanova
- Ecole Glossary, by Karen Rae Keck
- For All the Saints, by Katherine Rabenstein
- New Catholic Dictionary
Readings
There has never before been anyone like her in our monastery, and I fear there never will be again. - Saint Gertrude of Helfta, about Saint Mechtilde
MLA Citation
- “Saint Mechtilde of Helfta”. Saints.SQPN.com. 15 November 2009. Web. {today’s date}. <http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-mechtilde-of-helfta/>