Saint Berlinda of Meerbeke

Berlinda (Latin: Berlindis, Berlenda, Berelenda, other variants; also known as Bellaude; died 702 AD) was a Benedictine nun of noble descent. Her feast day is 3 February. Berlinda was born in Meerbeke (Meerbeche, Marbec) in the Low Countries, (now a district of Ninove in the Denderstreek in the province of East Flanders in the region of Flanders in Belgium). She was the daughter of the wealthy Count Odelard, squire of Duke Wiger of Lorraine, and his holy wife Nona. Her father owned large estates in the center of present-day Belgium. They covered the area between Antwerp and Liège, including the castle of Ombergen between Ghent and Ninove, and Assche between Aalst and Brussels. Nona died when Berlinda was twelve years old. Her father had fought against the Normans, who were finally defeated partly with the help of Arnold of Carinthia. However, his only son Eligard was killed and upon his return to Meerbeke, Odelard came down with leprosy. All this ensured that Odelard became a bitter man. Although Berlinda cared for him with great love, she took every precaution to avoid becoming infected. According to legend one day Odelardo thought he noticed in his daughter a certain disgust for his illness, and thinking she would abandon him, he renounced her in favor of the monastery of Santa Gertrude de Nivelles. Berlinda, disinherited by her father, entered the monastery of St. Maria in Moorsel and became a Benedictine nun. After her father died, Berlinda returned to the family property and buried him next to her mother in the local church of St. Peter. She did not return to Moorsel, but started, with several women from the neighborhood, her own convent and church in her parents' home. For the rest of her life, she helped the poor and needy while living a strict ascetic life. Many miracles were attributed to her intercession.