Saint Hedwig of Silesia
October 16, 1174- October 15, 1243
Feast Day: October 16
Patronage: brides, widows, duchesses, those with children who died,
difficult marriages, invoked against jealousy
Saint Hedwig of Silesia was born to royalty and holiness, aunt of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, she was happily married to Henry, Duke of Silesia and had seven children. When Henry died in 1238, she lived as a lay sister at the monastery in Trebnitz. Still, she retained the administration of her property to give personal relief to the suffering, living a life of asceticism, visiting the imprisoned and paying the debt of the poor. She founded a Cistercian convent, hospitals, monasteries, and churches. Hedwig died holding a statue of the Blessed Mother which she carried with her always, and when her coffin was opened, her fingers holding that statue were incorrupt.
