Saint Emma de Brême

Emma of Bremen, also known as Emma of Lesum or Emma of Stiepel (or Hemma or Imma), born between 975 and 980 and died in Lesum on December 3, 1038, was a widow who dedicated her entire great fortune to charitable works. Celebrated on December 3 (her feast day) and April 19 (the translation of her relics) in the French florist calendar, April 17 is also sometimes cited. She came from a noble family of Saxon kings and was the sister of Saint Meinwerk, Bishop of Paderborn. She was married to a count named Ludger of Saxony and became a widow at the age of forty in 1011. She is honored in the locality of Lesum, north of Bremen, where she lived during her widowhood and which is now a district of the city. Her relics were placed in Verden Cathedral. Although venerated by popular fervor, there is no record of her beatification or canonization.