| Saint Leoba | |
|---|---|
| Born | ~710 Wessex, England |
| Died | September 28, 782 Schornsheim, Germany |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Fulda |
| Feast | September 28 |
Leoba (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – September 28, 782) was an Anglo-Saxon nun who was part of Boniface's mission to the Germans, and a saint.
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Though her birth date is unknown, her actual birth is regarded as a miracle. Leoba was conceived to old parents who were barren. Her mother had a dream in which she would conceive "the chosen/ beloved" child of Christ. This dream also told her mother that her offspring was to lead a spiritual life, and to serve the church. Therefore when the child had grown, she was consecrated and given straightaway to Mother Tetta, to be taught the sacred sciences.[1] She was born Leofgyth in Wessex to a noble family. Her mother was related to Boniface (they were distant cousins), and Boniface was a friend of her father's. She entered Wimborne Minster as an oblate and corresponded with Boniface. Archbishop Boniface later sought out Leoba, who was widely acclaimed for being virtuous, to help him with his mission of spreading Christianity throughout Germany. Archbishop Boniface repeatedly requested for Leoba to accompany him because he thought that many would benefit from her holiness and example. Leoba agreed to accompany him because of a dream that she had. This dream signified "that would have wide consuls, speak from the heart, and carry out in her actions whatever she expressed in her words.".[2] Her acta derives largely from Rudolf of Fulda, who indicates that she arrived in Germany around 748 (likely some time before). One of the nuns who accompanied Leoba included her relative Thecla of Kitzingen.[3]
Boniface established a convent in the Franconian town Tauberbischofsheim, where she became the abbess. Boniface, whose relationship to her could be as near as that of uncle, entrusted Leoba with a great deal of authority, and Rudolf of Fulda indicates that she was not merely in charge of her own house, but all of the nuns who worked for Boniface. In 754, when Boniface was preparing a missionary trip to Frisia, where he would suffer martyrdom, he gave his monastic cowl to Leoba to indicate that, when he was away, she was his delegate.
She was a learned woman, and in the following years she was involved in the foundation of nunneries in Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt. She had a leading role in evangelizing her area, and, during her life, she was credited with quelling a storm with her command. Additionally, bishops in Fulda consulted her, and she was the only woman allowed to enter into monasteries in Fulda to consult the ecclesiastical leaders on issues of monastic rule. She was also favored in the court of Pippin III, and Hildegard, wife of Charlemagne, was her friend.
In her later years, she retired with a few other Anglo-Saxon nuns to an estate near Mainz in Schornsheim. The estate was given by Charlemagne for her exclusive use. She died on September 28 in 782. Boniface's will had originally designated that Leoba was to be buried in his own tomb. However, when Leoba died, she was, instead, placed near him, but not in the same grave. Several miracles were attributed to her gravesite, and she was canonized. Her relics were translated twice and are now behind an altar in a church dedicated to Mary and the virgins of Christ in Petersburg in Fulda. Rudolf of Fulda was commissioned to write the acta of her life in connection with this second translation of relics.
Her feast day in the Roman Catholic Church is September 28.
Several miracles have been attributed to Leoba both during her life and death. During her lifetime, Leoba was responsible for many miracles: saving a village from fire; saving a town from a terrible storm, protecting the reputation of the nuns in her convent; and saving the life of a fellow nun who was gravely ill. All of these miracles were completed through prayer. According to Rudolf of Fulda, Leoba grave was the site of many miracles. These miracles include: freeing a man of tightly bound iron rings around his arms; and curing a man from Spain of his twitching disorder. Due to these miracles, which were witnessed by Rudolf, Leoba's relics were translated twice to ensure their safety.
Medieval Source Book Rudolf of Fulda: Life of Leoba (c.836) http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/leoba.html