(d. ca. 725)
Her life
+ Bertha was the daughter of a French count and an English princess.
+ When she was 20, she married a nobleman named Siegfried, a cousin of the French king. Together the couple had 5 daughters.
+ Following Siegfried’s death in 672, Bertha built a convent at Blangy, which she later entered as a nun. She was eventually joined by two of her daughters, Deotila and Gertrude.
+ Elected abbess of the community, she worked to ensure the future of the community before retiring to a life of seclusion in a small cell within the convent, spending the rest of her years in prayer.
+ Saint Bertha died around the year 725 and she has come to be offered as a special patron of widows.
Spiritual bonus
On July 4, the Church honors the memory of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young layman who was celebrated for his dedication to prayer, charity for the poor, and his joyful spirit. Pier Giorgio died on July 4, 1925, at the age of 24, and was beatified in 1990. He has been proposed as a model of joy-filled discipleship for young adults today.
For reflection
“Behold a wise woman who has built her house. She feared the Lord and walked in the right path.”—Proverbs 14:1-2
Prayer
O God, the exaltation of the lowly, who willed that blessed Bertha should excel in the beauty of her charity and patience, grant, through her merits and intercession, that, carrying our cross each day, we may always persevere in love for you. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(from The Roman Missal: Common of Holy Men and Women—For a Holy Woman)
Saint profiles prepared by Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S.
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