Mechthild of Magdeburg
German mystic
Feast: 15 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Mechthild, of a noble Saxon family, felt the Holy Spirit's greeting from the age of twelve. In 1230 she left home to become a Beguine at Magdeburg, living in prayer and mortification under Dominican guidance, and at her confessor's order wrote down her visions.
About 1270 she joined the Cistercian nuns at Helfta, esteemed by St Mechtilde of Hackeborn and St Gertrude the Great. She died there about 1285.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia notes that some call her saint, though she has not been canonised and has never received public veneration.
Why that counted as sanctity
A mystic who wrote of God's flowing light.
Connected on this site
- Gertrude of Hackeborn Saint“In 1270, she tended the sick and gave shelter to Beguine Mechthild of Magdeburg.” — Wikipedia
- Gertrude the Great Saint“About 1270 she joined the Cistercian nuns at Helfta, esteemed by St Mechtilde of Hackeborn and St Gertrude the Great.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Mechtilde of Magdeburg
- Wikidata Q269687 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Mechthild of Magdeburg (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.