| Hildegard of Bingen (September 17th) is one of the most fascinating figures ever in the Church. Her extraordinary life and many exceptional accomplishments are manifested in her gifts as a mystic, poet, composer, dramatist, doctor, and scientist! She was born in 1098 in present-day Germany. Her parents' tenth child, she was "tithed to the Church" (!) at age 8 and raised by a nun who eventually became the abbess of a Benedictine convent. At age 15 Hildegard joined that community as a nun.
Her life was uneventful until 1130, when she began to experience dazzling spiritual visions. She struggled with the urge to write them down but feared ridicule. Becoming abbess in 1136, she continued to have the visions and confided to her confessor about them, allowing him to refer the matter to superiors. The Church then guided Hildegard in a long process of dictating the content of her visions. The work took ten years to complete, consisting of twenty-six visions with stunning, highly unusual illustrations drawn by Hildegard herself. The book was officially commended by the Pope and Hildegard became famous. She was sought out for counsel by kings, queens, archbishops, even the Pope himself.
In spite of the low status of women, Hildegard commanded a personal authority that carried the day. She made four preaching missions in northern Europe, which no woman had ever done before. She practiced medicine (focusing on women's needs), composed intensely beautiful music, wrote poems and plays, and produced commentaries on me Gospels. When she died at age 81 on Sept. 17, 1179, she left a rich and unique legacy that speaks across the ages. Her writings are available in several various titles.
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