Saint Hedwig of Silesia | October 15

Saint Hedwig of Silesia

Feast Day: October 16
Died: October 15, 1243
Patronage: Orphans, widows, duchesses, and Silesia

Saint Hedwig was born into royal lineage but lived as a servant of Christ’s poor. Married to Duke Henry I of Silesia, she was a devoted wife and mother who transformed her court into a center of Christian charity. After her husband’s death, Hedwig took the habit of a Cistercian nun at Trebnitz Abbey, though she continued to live in simplicity and service rather than seclusion.

She became renowned for her works of mercy—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and caring for lepers with her own hands. Her relics repose in the abbey she founded, where pilgrims still honor her as a mother to the suffering. Saint Hedwig teaches that true nobility lies in compassion and the generous surrender of one’s life to God.