![[Saint Wiborada of Gall]](http://saints.sqpn.com/saintw27.jpg "27kb jpg detail from a coloured pen-and ink-drawing c.1433; it is the oldest known portrayal of Saint Wiborada; it is found in a book written for the nuns in the Benedictine convent of Saint Georgen near Saint Gall; manuscript written and perhaps painted by the monk Friedrich Kölner from Hersfeld")
Also known as
- Guiborat of Gall
- Weibrath of Gall
Profile
Born to the Swabian nobility. Her brother, Hatto, was a priest and provost of Saint Magnus church. Wiborada turned her home into a hospital for the sick poor people that her brother brought to her. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy. Benedictine nun at Saint Gall’s monastery, where she worked as a bookbinder.
Subject of virulent criticism, she eventually withdrew further from the world, becoming an anchoress first near Saint Gall’s, then near her brother’s church. Noted for her austerity, and a gift of prophecy, she drew many visitors and would-be students. One of her prophecies involved the Hungarian invasion of her region; her warning allowed the priests and religious of Saint Gall and Saint Magnus to escape, but Wiborada refused to leave her hermit‘s cell and was found by the invaders. Martyr.
Born
- 9th century at Klingna, Aargau, Switzerland
- axed to death in 926
- 1047 by Pope Clement II
- first woman formally canonized by the Vatican
Additional Information
- Book of Saints, by the Monks of Ramsgate
- Institute of Saint Clement I Pope and Martyr
- Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
MLA Citation
- “Saint Wiborada of Gall“. Saints.SQPN.com. 15 May 2013. Web. 19 May 2013. <>