Feast day: March 14
When did St. Mechthild live: in the Ninth and Tenth Century
Biography of St. Mechthild:
St. Mechthild was the faithful wife of Henry I the Fowler and Duchess of Saxony before becoming queen of Germany. She was educated in the monastery of Herford where she learned to read and write and she was very interested in politics. After the death of her husband Henry, she was not very favorable to the eldest son becoming successor and tried to proclaim King Henry, the youngest. This triggered a conflict between the two siblings, which ended with the coronation of Otto the Great. Mechthild retired to the convent of Nordhausen, where she helped the poor and the sick, and then moved, due to an illness, to the monastery of Quedlimburg where she passed away in 968.
Patronage: Patron of parents of large families
Statues and sculptures of St. Mechthild - portrayal, imagery and emblem: The statue above, skillfully caved and painted by the masters in Val Gardena, shows St. Mechthild with crown, a model of a church and a piece of bread