Saint Wiborada

Wiborada of St. Gall (also Guiborat, Weibrath or Viborata; Alemannic: Wiberat) (died 926) was a member of the Swabian nobility in what is present-day Switzerland. She was an anchoress, Benedictine nun, and martyr. There are two biographies of Wiborada: one by Hartmann, a monk of St. Gall, written between 993 and 1047 (BHL 8866); and another written between 1072 and 1076 by the monk Herimannus (BHL 8867). Wiborada was born to a wealthy noble family in Swabia. When they invited the sick and poor into their home, Wiborada proved a capable nurse. Her brother Hatto became a priest. A pilgrimage to Rome influenced Hatto to decide to become a monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall, a decision which Wiborada supported. After the death of their parents, Wiborada joined Hatto and became a Benedictine at the Abbey of Saint Gall. Wiborada became settled at the monastery and Hatto taught her Latin so that she could chant the Liturgy of the Hours. There, she occupied herself by making Hatto's clothes and helping to bind many of the books in the monastery library. At this time, it appears that Wiborada was charged with some type of serious infraction or wrongdoing, and was subjected to the medieval practice of ordeal by fire to prove her innocence. Although she was exonerated, the embarrassment probably influenced her next decision: withdrawing from the world and becoming an ascetic. When she petitioned to become an anchoress, Solomon III, Bishop of Konstanz, arranged for her to stay in a cell next to the church of Saint George near the monastery, where she remained for four years before relocating to a cell adjoining the church of Magnus of Füssen in 891. She became renowned for her austerity, and was said to have a gift of prophecy, both of which drew admirers and hopeful students. One of these, a woman named Rachildis, whom Wiborada had cured of a disease, joined her as an anchoress. A young student at St. Gall, Ulrich, is said to have visited Wiborada often.