St. Hildegard of Bingen

**St. Hildegard of Bingen** (1098–1179), known as the "Sibyl of the Rhine," was a German Benedictine abbess, mystic, composer, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church. Born at Bermersheim vor der Höhe to a noble family, she experienced visions from the age of three, which she later described as "the reflection of the living Light." At age eight, she was entrusted to the care of Blessed Jutta of Sponheim at the Benedictine monastery of Disibodenberg. She took vows at fifteen and succeeded Jutta as magistra in 1136. In 1150, following divine command, Hildegard founded a new monastery on the Rupertsberg near Bingen on the Rhine, and in 1165 established a daughter house at Eibingen across the river. Hildegard wrote extensively on theology, medicine, and natural science. Her major visionary works include *Scivias* (Know the Ways), *Liber Vitae Meritorum* (Book of Life's Merits), and *Liber Divinorum Operum* (Book of Divine Works). She also composed over seventy liturgical songs and the morality play *Ordo Virtutum*—the earliest known morality play in history. She corresponded with popes, emperors, and bishops, boldly calling Church leaders to reform. Pope Eugene III approved her writings at the Synod of Trier in 1147 after Saint Bernard of Clairvaux endorsed them. Hildegard died on September 17, 1179. Pope Benedict XVI canonized her on May 10, 2012, and proclaimed her a Doctor of the Church on October 7, 2012—only the fourth woman to receive this honor. **Feast Day:** September 17 **Patronage:** Writers, musicians, linguists, natural scientists