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Gertrude
was born in Belgium in the seventeenth century. Her father died
when she was fourteen, and her mother founded a monastery in
Nivelles, appointing young Gertrude as its abbess. She became
renowned for her hospitality to strangers, in fact a drink-for-the-road
in modern-day Belgium is called a “St. Gertrude's Cup.”
The water from the well at her convent and the cakes baked in
her oven were said to have the miraculous effect of repelling
vermin, thus her association with cats. Her strict austerities
had exhausted poor Gertrude by the time she was 30, yet she
still felt unworthy to knock on Heaven's door. But St. Ulta
promised her that St. Patrick was waiting for her, and sure
enough, she died on the renowned Irish saints feast day, which
is now also her own. It is believed that good souls spend their
first night of death enjoying the hospitality of Gertrude as
their Divine Hostess. She is also the patron of gardeners, travelers,
good lodgings and the dead; and she's invoked against fever
and rats. Her feast day is March 17. |
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St.
Gertrude
Patron St. of
Cat Lovers |
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