Servant of God Barbora Žagarietė

Barbora of Žagarė (1628 – c. 1648) was a Roman Catholic laywoman from Žagarė, then Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to oral history, Barbora distinguished herself by her Christian virtues and died young under obscure circumstances. Her remains were said to be incorruptible. This inspired a strong following among local people, and numerous miracles are attributed to her. In 2005, the Diocese of Šiauliai began the beatification process, calling her a Servant of God. There is almost no verifiable information about Barbora's short life, which is shrouded by various hagiographical narratives. She was the only child born into a noble family of Umiastowskis. Her mother died early and she had a strict stepmother. Local people tell stories about her care for the sick and generosity for the beggars. She would intercede on behalf of serfs and walk to the church on her knees. It is said that her exceptional piousness and devotion to God displeased and angered her father. She wanted to become a nun, and even joined a Franciscan monastery in Riga, but her non-believer father would not allow it. Narratives tell that she jumped out of the second floor of the manor to escape her father's wrath, and died of injuries. In a document from 1876, vice-governor Vasily Ryzhkov of Kovno Governorate first recorded the claim that Barbora died escaping her father's lust and thus remained a virgin. Barbora was first buried either in Žvelgaičiai or Umiastowski family crypt. However, due to growing veneration of Barbora, her body was moved to the old church of Žagarė. In 1655, during the Second Northern War, Sweden invaded Lithuania and burned down the church. Barbora's body and hair was blackened, but otherwise untouched by the flames; as a result, her cult grew stronger. Tsarist authorities discouraged Catholicism and the crypt was walled up in 1877 on orders of Pyotr Albedinsky, Governor-General of Vilna; it was reopened in 1896.