Evangelization

St. Matilda, Queen, and Blessed Eva of Liège, promoter of Corpus Christi

Today, March 14, the liturgy celebrates St. Matilda, queen, wife of King Henry I, in the lands of the future Germany (10th century), and Blessed Eva of Liège, friend of St. Juliana. Both sought from Pope Urban IV the extension of the solemnity of Corpus Christi to the whole Church. Blessed Eva helped St. Juliana, and the Pope announced the feast in 1264.  

Francisco Otamendi-March 14, 2025-Reading time: < 1 minute
Stained glass window of St. Matilda in the parish of Lower Austria.

Stained glass window of St. Mechthild in the parish of St. Pancratius, Kirnberg an der Mank, Lower Austria (BSonne, Creative commons - Wikimedia commons).

Saint Matilda, queen, and Blessed Eva of Liège, who together with Saint Juliana promoted the feast of Corpus Christi in the universal Church, together with Saint Alexander and Saint Lazarus, bishop of Milan in the 5th century, are some of the saints of March 14.

Mechthild of Ringelheim was born around 985 to a noble Saxon family. She was educated by nuns in the monastery of Erfurt. She contracted marriage with Henry I who was later Duke of Saxony and King of Germany. They had 5 children, and she was venera because she promoted the evangelization of her people and, after she became a widow, the reconciliation and pacification of the whole family. He helped the poor and the Church.

After the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Blessed Eve of Liège (present-day French-speaking Belgium) was born at the beginning of the 18th century. Her life was greatly influenced by St. Juliana of the monastery of Mont Cornillon. According to the Roman Martyrology, Blessed Eva del Monte Cornelio was imprisoned next to the monastery of Saint Martin. With St. JulianaPrioress of the same monastery, she worked hard so that Pope Urban IV would institute the feast of Corpus Christi, which she succeeded in doing. 

On September 8, 1264, the Pope sent him a bull in which he announced the extension of the solemnity of the Corpus Christi to the universal Church. The inspirational motif of the feast had its origin in Flanders, where the Eucharistic movement against heresies was remarkable. The Eucharistic miracles of Daroca (Sacred Bodies), and Bolsena (Italy) also collaborated. Blessed Eve of Liège died on March 14, 1265.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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