St. Waldetrudis
Feast Day: April 09
Born: (around) 615 :: Died: 686
Waldetrudis was born in Belgium. Her mother Bertille, her father and her sister Aldegondes are all saints. She grew up to be a beautiful girl and even when she was enjoying herself, she had a way of enriching the lives of people.
Several young men wanted to marry her. Since parents chose husbands for their daughters in those days, they chose Count Madelgar. They could not have picked a better man, because he became a saint too. He is St. Vincent Madelgar. Vincent and Waldetrudis had two sons and two daughters. Amazingly, they have all been declared saints. St. Waldetrudis was happy that God had given her such a wonderful family. But jealous ladies spread terrible stories about her and she suffered much in her lifetime. The women were not pure and kind as she was and did not want people to think that she was better than they. But Waldetrudis did not protect herself from their lies. She thought of how Jesus had suffered on the cross and, like him, she forgave them. When their children were grown, St. Vincent told his wife that he wanted very much to be a monk and hoped he could spend the rest of his life in the monastery. His wife understood and gave him her permission. Before going, St. Vincent made sure that his family was well taken care of. The couple was going to miss each other very much. But Waldetrudis would not hold her husband back. She made the sacrifice for God. Two years later, Waldetrudis joined the convent and became a nun. She lived a very self-sacrificing life and was very generous with the poor. People came to her for advice and for healing. St. Waldetrudis died in 688. After her death, many people who prayed at her tomb were miraculously healed.
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