Saint Lioba

Saint

Lioba

Lioba (also Leoba and

in the Celtic language
"kindness," was born
about 710. Her mother
(they were distant
was a friend of her
birth date is unknown,
regarded as a miracle.
old parents who were
Aebbe, dreamed that
in her bosom, which
withdrawn. A nurse
going to have a
dedicate the child to
Anna offered Samuel

Leofgyth), whose name

means
"love"
and
in Wessex, England at
was related to Boniface
cousins), and Boniface
father's. Though her
her actual birth is
Lioba was conceived to
barren. Her mother,
she bore a church bell
rang out merrily when
told Aebbe that she was
daughter and she must
the Church the way
to the temple.

She had been trained

at Minster, then by
Wimbourne and future
the power of mercy
was
a
double
and women did not
entered stayed for life
greater
cause.

St. Lioba's statue in Schornsheim

Born

~710
Wessex, England

Died

28 September 782
Schornsheim, Germany

Venerated in

Roman Catholic Church;

Eastern Orthodox Church

Major shrine

Fulda

first by abbess Eadburg

Mother Tetta, abbess of
saint who believed in
and prayer. Wimbourne
monastery where men
mix.
Women
who
unless there was a

Growing up, Lioba

proved to be serious
Feast
28 September
and pious. A dream
she had of an endless
purple thread from her mouth, she was told, was a sign that her wise counsel would be felt in
other
lands.
That dream was fulfilled when Saint Boniface, who was a monk and missionary in Germany,
asked Tetta to send Lioba to help in his mission. He was convinced that the evangelization of
countries would not be successful without the presence of prayerful women, who are like shining
lighthouses in the darkness of the world. Tetta was not happy to let Lioba go but felt like the
need was too great for her to refuse. Later, Boniface made her abbess of Bischofsheim on the
Tauber, where she led 30 nuns who later became abbesses, one of whom was Saint Agatha of
Wimborne. They based their work at Bischofsheim in Wrzburg, Franconia, followed the
Benedictine Rule, and Lioba served as abbess. She was noted for her intelligence, her endless
optimism and positive attitude for the work, and her constant study of the scriptures. Her work
and the houses she founded were instrumental in the conversion of Germany to Christianity.
Lioba and her sisters faced their own difficulties. In a story that could have come from todays
tragic headlines, a woman discovered a murdered newborn in the river and jumped to the
conclusion that one of the nuns - strangers to the area - had borne and killed the child to cover
up her sin. Lioba and the nuns were horrified. After a series of prayers and processions, a vision

like flames appeared around the guilty party - a crippled girl the nuns had been caring for. (Her
hagiography has other miracles of her healing a very sick nun, putting out a fire, and quieting a
storm.)
According to the life of Lioba (Vita
Leobae) written by Rudolf, a monk of
Fulda in the ninth century she was
respected by kings, that bishops
discussed
spiritual
matters
and
ecclesiastical discipline with her, and that
she was the only woman allowed to pray
in the monastery of Fulda.
A profound friendship aligned Saint Lioba
with Saint Boniface. He often referred to
her as "my comfort during my
pilgrimage." Before his surrender in Frise
(Pays-Bas) where he would become a
martyr, Boniface sensing that his death
was imminent left Lioba his coat as a
sign of friendship. So strong was their
friendship that Boniface asked to have
her body laid beside his when she died, "so we who with a like desire and devotion have served
Christ here may side by side await the day of resurrection" (cited by Eleanor S. Duckett, AngloSaxon Saints and Scholars [New York: Macmillan, 1947], 452.)
Given how close Lioba and Boniface were in life, it might not be a surprise that his parting words
to her would have such an effect. In a letter to him, she reminds her kinsman that her father
died eight years before and her mother was grievously ill. "I am the only daughter of my parents,
and unworthy though I be, I wish that I might regard you as a brother; for there is no other man in
my kinship in whom I have such confidence as in you."
Boniface was buried in the monastery of Fulda where Lioba often went to
pray at his tomb. Lioba lived for 25 years after Bonifaces martyrdom. She
was often invited to the Frankish court and well received and respected for
her wisdom. She was an advisor to Pepin and his sons, Charles and
Carloman. After Carloman died, she still was in Charless favor and
became close to Hildegard. Perhaps, she was even like a second mother
to the young queen, who might have been 13 when she married in 772.
But she detested the life at court like poison, Rudolf wrote. And so she
would
return
to
her
work,
mainly
mentoring
nuns.
At some point, her age and failing health caught up with her. Perhaps
when she was in her 60s, she must have realized she had little time left.
After settling her affairs at the convents under her care, she retired to
Scoranesheim. But Queen Hildegard made one final request

to

see

her.

For the sake of her friendship with the queen, Lioba visited her but soon left. Her farewell is an
intimate gesture. She kissed Hildegard on the mouth, forehead, and eyes, and called her most
precious
half
of
my
soul.
Saint Lioba, who had fulfilled the meaning of her name: "love, kindness," died the 28th of
September, 782, which was just a few days after returning home. The monks remembered
Bonifaces request but they were reluctant to break into his tomb. So she was buried nearby and
moved to a different location in the church several years later. (After her hagiography was
written, she was moved a few more times after that, finally resting in Petersburg Abbey in Fulda.)
Several miracles have been attributed to Lioba both during her life and death. During her
lifetime, Lioba was responsible for many miracles: saving a village from fire; saving a town from
a terrible storm, protecting the reputation of the nuns in her convent; and saving the life of a
fellow nun who was gravely ill. All of these miracles were completed through prayer. According to
Rudolf of Fulda, Lioba's grave was the site of many miracles.
These miracles include: freeing a man of tightly bound iron rings around his arms; and curing a
man from Spain of his twitching disorder. When asked what happened, he said he had a vision
of an old man in a bishops stole accompanied by a young woman in a nuns habit who took him
by the hand, lifted him up, and presented him to the bishop to be blessed. Due to these
miracles, which were witnessed by Rudolf, Lioba's relics were translated twice to ensure their
safety.