Walpurga: Saint amongst Saints

St. Walpurga Statue (Johnny Chicago)

Not only was Walpurga a Saint (canonized on May 1^st, thus the name “Walpurgis Night” for the evening of April 30^th) - but her father (Richard the Pilgrim), her two brothers (Willibald and Winibald), and her uncle (Boniface) were, too.  (Wonder who said “Grace” at the family reunions…)

Richard the Pilgrim (otherwise known as Richard of Wessex, Richard of Swabia, Richard the King, and Richard the Saxon) wound up renouncing his royal estate and making a pilgrimage to Italy with his two sons, stopping at most of the shrines along the way.  These two sons, Willibald and Winibald, “sibling-rivaled”

their way to sainthood.  Although both became impressive servants of the Church (Willibald the Bishop of Eichstatt, and Winibald the Abbot of Heidenheim), young Willibald may have had a slight “edge” on sainthood because of his miraculous recovery from a life-threatening illness.

Boniface (also known as the Apostle of the Germans) is the most famous relative of them all.  Whereas “up-and-coming” Christians of the day revered him, dedicated Pagans did not.  One particular incident goes a long way in explaining why this was so.  According to his biographer, Boniface chopped down Thor’s Oak (aka “Donar Oak”), a tree that was deemed sacred by the Chatti (an ancient Germanic tribe - ancestors of

the Hessians).  This he did in order to “prove” the superiority of the Christian God over Thor.

Walpurga managed to hold her own amongst these stalwart family members (no easy feat).  She traveled with her two brothers to what is now Wurttemberg and Franconia in order to assist Boniface in his quest to evangelize the Pagan tribes.  Along the way, she also found time (and stamina) to produce a written record of her brother Winibald’s Palestine journey.  She became a nun in the monastery which was founded by her other brother, Willibald, who later appointed Walpurga as his successor.  Wikipedia reports that her bones were eventually “placed in a rocky niche, which allegedly began to exude a miraculously therapeutic oil, which drew pilgrims to her shrine.” 

Resources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Walpurga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_the_Pilgrim

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Willibald

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Winibald

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Boniface

Copyright May 1, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved