Barbora Žagarietė

Portrait of Barbora Žagarietė

Barbora Žagarietė or Barbora Umiastauskaitė (about 1628–1648) was a servant of god from Žagarė, then Grand Duchy of Lithuania. According to oral history, Barbora distinguished herself by her Christian virtues and died young under obscure circumstances. Her remains were said to be incorruptible. This inspired a strong following among the locals and numerous miracles are attributed to her. In 2005, the Diocese of Šiauliai began the process of Barbora's beatification and canonization.

Biography

Practically no verifiable data exists about Barbora's life; her short life is shrouded by various hagiographical narratives.^[1] She was the only child born into a noble family of Umiastowskis.^[2] Her mother died early and she had a strict stepmother. Locals tell stories about her care for the sick and generosity for the beggars.^[2] She would intercede on behalf of serfs and walk to the church on her knees.^[1] It is said that her exceptional piousness and devotion to God displeased and angered her father. She wanted to become a nun, and even joined a Franciscan monastery in Riga, but her non-believer father would not allow it.^[3] The story has it that trying to escape her father's wrath, she jumped out of the second floor of the manor and died of injuries.

Remains

Barbora was first buried either in Žvelgaičiai or Umiastowski family crypt. However, due to growing veneration of Barbora, her body was moved to the old church of Žagarė. In 1655, during the Second Northern War, Sweden invaded Lithuania and burned down the church. Barbora's body including her hair was untouched by the flames, only blackened.^[1] As a result, her cult grew stronger. Tsarist authorities discouraged Catholicism and walled up the crypt in 1877; it was reopened in 1896.^[2] The remains were put in a glass coffin in the crypt beneath the high altar. 1906, an entrance was created to the crypt from outside so that the faithful would have an easier access.^[4] In 1963, authorities of the Lithuanian SSR closed the church and transferred the remains of to an unknown location.^[2] At the same time Juozas Markulis, forensic pathologist, analyzed the body, but his work did not survive.^[4] Efforts to locate the remains were unsuccessful. When the church was returned to the congregation, a symbolic casket was placed in the same crypt.^[4]

Veneration

The virgin of Žagarė was first mentioned by Antanas Tiškevičius, Bishop of Samogitia, in his report to the Holy See in 1755. He reported the story of her unburned corpse and seven other miracles, mostly healing various ailments, that occurred in 1735–48.^[1] On January 7, 1860, Bishop Motiejus Valančius tasked parish priest at the Old Žagarė church with registering miracles or other God's graces attributed to Barbora's intercession. As of December 14, 1940, this book contained 97 entries.^[1] None of these miracles, however, have been canonically investigated. The book was thought to have perished during World War II. Only when Lithuania restored its independence in 1990, Boleslovas Babrauskas, parish priest at St Peter and Paul's church in Žagarė, commenced its search. It was found in 1994.

Locals venerated Barbara as if she was a saint.^[2] It was common to make three rounds around her coffin on knees. Her cult merged with that of Saint Barbara as the women shared not only name but also similar life stories. Locals celebrated the feast of Barbora Žagarietė on December 4 and sang hymns that were translated from Polish and initially meant for St. Barbara.^[2] In November 2004, Eugenijus Bartulis, Bishop of Šiauliai, sent a request to the Holy See to begin the beatification and canonization process for Žagarietė. In May 2005, the Holy See replied that there were no obstacles in initiating the case.^[1] The case was officially opened by Bishop Bartulis on September 24, 2005. In 2006, a group of nine scientists were dispatched on an expedition to find and collect information on Žagarietė.^[3]

To express his gratefulness to Žagarietė for healing his sister, Alfonsas Lažinskas commissioned an oak wayside shrine by Rimantas Zinkevičius to be installed in the churchyard of the Old Žagarė Church. The shrine was blessed by Bishop Eugenijus Bartulis on August 6, 2006.^[3]

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