Saint Adelaide – Saint Of The Week

 Saint Adelaide 

Patronage: large families

Feast: 16th December 

I thought Saint Adelaide would be fitting as many of the YCM followers have large families or are heading in that direction. Although going by today’s standards anything over three is considered large, at least according to the centrelink payment scheme! 

OK image this, you are two years old and already have a marriage arrangement. This was the beginning of St Adelaide’s life!

Saint Adelaide was only two when she was set to marry a perfect stranger. When she was sixteen she married Lothair and they had one daughter together. They were the King and Queen of Italy at the time. Yet tragically Lothair died, it was suspected his usurper murdered him. Adelaide refused to marry a man names Berengarius’s and was imprisoned. 

Along came Otto the Great! Heroically he freed Adelaide from prison and married her. Interestingly, Otto’s first son (not Adelaide’s) was against Adelaide and after Otto had died he gave grief to Adelaide and her five children. St Majolus helped Adelaide and Otto’s first son to heal their relationship through reconciliation. Adelaide then sought to bring the life of Christ to the Slavic people. She held close to her heart their conversion and established new monasteries and resorted old ones too. She humbly walked beside people as they converted to Christ. 

St Adelaide, pray for us 

Originally posted 2014-12-14 20:37:36.

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