Odile of Alsace

Saint Odile of Alsace was born around 662 in Alsace, near what is now Mont Sainte-Odile, the daughter of Duke Etichon and Bethswinda. Tradition says she was born blind, and because of her disability she was sent away and raised far from her father’s court. As a young girl she was brought to a monastery, where Bishop Erhard of Regensburg baptized her; at her baptism, she miraculously received her sight. Odile later returned home through the help of her brother, but family conflict followed, and she chose a life set apart for God. After years of hardship and reconciliation, she came back to nurse her ailing father, who at last relented and founded the monastery of Hohenburg (Mont Sainte-Odile), where Odile became abbess. She also established a second monastery at Niedermünster, including a hospital, and became known for compassion toward the sick and the poor. Venerated in both the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, she is patroness of Alsace and of those suffering from eye disease. Her feast day is December 13.