Saint Begga, Widow and Abbess - December 17

IrapuatoDec 17, 2020

Saint Begga, Widow and Abbess - December 17
This saint was daughter of Pepin of Landen, eldest sister to Saint Gertrude of Nivelle, and married Ansegise, son to Saint Arnoul, who was some time mayor of the palace, and afterwards bishop of Metz. Her husband being killed in hunting, she dedicated herself to a penitential state of retirement, and, after performing a pilgrimage to Rome, built seven chapels at Anden on the Meuse, in imitation of the seven principal churches at Rome.
There she also founded a great nunnery in imitation of that which her sister governed at Nivelle, from which she was furnished with a little colony who laid the foundation of this monastery, and lived under her direction. Many holy virgins were trained up by them in the perfect practice of piety. The rich monastery of Anden was afterwards converted into a collegiate church of thirty-two canonesses of noble families, with ten canons to officiate at the altar. It is situate in the forest of Ardenne, in the diocess of Namur. Saint Begga departed to our Lord in the year 698, and is named in the Roman Martyrology.
Many ascribe to Saint Begga the institution of the Beguines, very numerous at Mechlin, Ghent, and other places in Brabant, the Flemish Flanders, and some neighbouring provinces of the Low Countries. They devote themselves to the divine service under simple vows of chastity, and certain pious rules, which only oblige so long as they remain in that state. But Ægidius Aureæ Vallis, and other historians inform us, that the Beguines were instituted by Lambert le Begue or Balbus, a pious priest of Liege, in 1170, and derived from him their name.
MLA Citation
Father Alban Butler. “Saint Begga, Widow and Abbess”. Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Principal Saints, 1866. CatholicSaints.Info. 17 December 2012. Web. 17 December 2020. catholicsaints.info/…saint-begga-widow-and-abbess/>

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Saint Begga of Andenne - December 17
Memorial
17 December
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Born to the nobility, the daughter of Saint Pepin of Landen, mayor of the palace, and Saint Ida of Nivelles. Sister of Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. Married to Ansegilius, son of Saint Arnulf of Metz. Mother of Pepin of Herstal, founder of the Carolingian dynasty of rulers in France, in 635, and of Martin of Laon.
On the death of her husband in 691 in a hunting accident, Begga took the veil, founded founded seven churches, and built a convent at Andenne on the Meuse River (in modern Belgium) where she spent the rest of her days as abbess.
Died
693 at Andenne on the Meuse River in modern Belgium
Canonized
Pre-Congregation
Patronage
Andenne, Belgiu