Hilda
Christian saint and the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, England
Feast: 17 November (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Hilda, grand-niece of King Edwin of Northumbria, was baptised by St Paulinus about 627, aged thirteen. St Aidan called her to monastic life in her own country; she ruled a double monastery at Hartlepool and then founded Whitby.
Under her Whitby became famous: the Scriptures were studied there and five of its members became bishops. She received the cowherd Caedmon and admitted him to vows. She died in 680.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: she has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
A wise abbess who made Whitby a school of saints.
Connected on this site
- Hereswith Saint Brother or sister
- Edwin of Northumbria Saint“Hilda, grand-niece of King Edwin of Northumbria, was baptised by St Paulinus about 627, aged thirteen.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Hilda
- Wikidata Q257500 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Hilda of Whitby (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.