“Gratitude for suffering is a precious jewel for our heavenly crown. Man should always firmly believe that God sends just that trial which is most beneficial for him.”

Gertrude was born in Germany on January 6, 1256. Nothing is known of her family, not even the name of her parents. When she was but 5, she entered a monastery in Helfta to receive her education and religious formation. At that time, it was governed by the saintly and enlightened Abbess Gertrude of Hackerborn, under whose rule it prospered. It was regarded for its spiritual and intellectual vitality.

Gertrude was confided to the care of Saint Mechtilde and later devoted herself to study with the greatest intensity while living according to her community’s strict practice.

She had the gift of winning hearts and was very charming. She was exceptional and endowed with special natural talents and extraordinary gifts of grace, but she felt she had built a “tower of vanity and curiosity” rather than seeking to love God above all things.

At the age of 26, she was granted the 1st in a series of many visions of Christ. She heard Him say, “I have come to comfort you and bring you salvation.” It provided an awakening of the emptiness of transitory things of this world and of her secular knowledge. She saw it as her new birth, abandoned her previous studies, and sought scripture, early Church Doctor’s writings, and treatises on theology. With zeal she copied, translated, and wrote for the spiritual benefit and growth of others and strove to live in accordance with it.

She was in close communion with God both in contemplation and in her readiness to go to the help of those in need. She was acutely aware of her own persistent faults but came to understand the depths of God’s mercy.

She became one of the great mystics of the 13th century and along with Saint Mechtilde, practiced what is known as “nuptial mysticism,” seeing herself as the bride of Christ. She embraced charity for both rich and poor, and remained simple with a deep solidarity with those in purgatory.

She assisted at the deathbeds and mourned for the loss of both the Abbess Gertrude and Saint Mechtilde. It was then that her health began to deteriorate but continued to only show her love for the Lord.

Throughout her life, she produced numerous writings, although only a few exist today. One of her longest surviving works is Legatus Memorialis Abundantiae Divinae Pietatis comprised of 5 different books.

On November 17, 1301, she passed away due to illness.

She is the only woman saint to be called, “the Great.”

She is the patron saint of Santa Gertrudis de lo de Mora, New Mexico and the West Indies due to a petition from King Philip IV of Spain.

Her feast day is November 16 due to past confusion with the date of her death.

For God’s Glory.