Saint Hedwig

Duchess of Silesia
(c. 1174–1243)

Saint Hedwig was born around 1174 into a noble Bavarian family and was educated from the age of twelve at the Benedictine convent of Kitzingen. In 1186 she was given in marriage to Henry I, Duke of Silesia, and the two together built up one of the most remarkable examples of Christian rule in the medieval period. Over the course of their long marriage they had seven children and governed their duchy with justice, piety, and a care for the poor that distinguished them from many of their contemporaries.

Together they founded numerous monasteries and churches in Silesia. The most important of these was the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, the first convent for women in Silesia, which became the spiritual centre of the region and which Hedwig later chose as her own place of retirement. They also founded a hospital for lepers, a house for the poor, and several other charitable institutions.

When her husband died in 1238, Hedwig retired to Trebnitz, where she had already sent several of her daughters and granddaughters. She lived among the nuns without taking formal vows, attending all the offices, practising great austerity, and giving herself to prayer and works of charity. She walked barefoot through snow and ice despite the protests of those around her, and her only concession was to carry shoes in her hand so that she could put them on if the Duke required her to wear them in his presence.

She suffered greatly in her last years, losing a son and a grandson in dynastic conflicts, and accepting these sorrows with heroic patience. She died on October 15, 1243, and was canonised by Clement IV in 1267. She is the patron saint of Silesia and of Poland, and her feast is celebrated on October 16th.