Hedwig of Silesia

Who they were

Hedwig, a Bavarian noblewoman, was married at about twelve, around 1190, to Henry the Bearded, heir to the duchy of Lower Silesia, and bore six children. As duchess she was loved for her generosity to the poor, far beyond what custom required.

She bore with remarkable fortitude the sorrows of her family and the wars of her time, sustained by daily prayer. After her husband's death she entered the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, which she had founded in 1202, and became a nun there. When she died on 15 October 1243, no one doubted that a saint had died.

The miracles

The miracles examined for her canonisation are not described in the sources we have used.

Why that counted as sanctity

Hedwig used her rank to serve the poor, bore great sorrows with faith and ended her life as a nun in the monastery she had founded.

Connected on this site

• Henry II the Pious Servant of God Child
  “A member of the Silesian Piast dynasty, he was the son of Henry the Bearded and Saint Hedwig of Silesia.” — Wikipedia
• Agnes of Bohemia Saint
  “From childhood she was used in marriage negotiations for dynastic advantage; at three she was placed with St Hedwig of Silesia at the Cistercian convent of Trzebnica, who taught her the first things of the faith.” — this site's research