Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/April 14

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Saint Lidwina (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (April 18, 1380 – April 14, 1433) was a Dutch saint. At age 14, Lidwina was ice skating when she fell and broke a rib. She never recovered and became progressively invalid for the rest of her life. Her biographers state that she became paralyzed except for her left hand and that great pieces of her body fell off, and that blood poured from her mouth, ears, and nose. Saint Lidwina is thought to be one of the first known multiple sclerosis patients and her fall and consequent disability are attributed to the effects of the disease.
Her grave became a place of pilgrimage after her death. A chapel was built in 1434 over it. Thomas à Kempis wrote her biography and veneration for her increased. In 1615 her relics were taken to Brussels, but in 1871 they were returned to Schiedam. On March 14, 1890, Leo XIII officially canonized her. She is the patron saint of ice skaters and her feast day occurs on April 14th. Joris-Karl Huysmans wrote a biography of her in 1901.
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Patronage:ice skaters
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