There are two biographies of Wiborada: one by Hartmann, a monk of St. Gall, written between 993 and 1047 (
BHL 8866); and another written between 1072 and 1076 by the monk Herimannus (
BHL 8867). Wiborada was born to a wealthy noble family in Swabia. When they invited the sick and poor into their home, Wiborada proved a capable nurse. Her brother Hatto became a priest. A pilgrimage to Rome influenced Hatto to decide to become a monk at the Abbey of Saint Gall, a decision which Wiborada supported. After the death of their parents, Wiborada joined Hatto and became a Benedictine at the Abbey of Saint Gall. Wiborada became settled at the monastery and Hatto taught her
Latin so that she could chant the
Liturgy of the Hours. There, she occupied herself by making Hatto's clothes and helping to
bind many of the books in the monastery library. At this time, it appears that Wiborada was charged with some type of serious infraction or wrongdoing, and was subjected to the medieval practice of
ordeal by fire to prove her innocence. Although she was exonerated, the embarrassment probably influenced her next decision: withdrawing from the world and becoming an
ascetic. When she petitioned to become an anchoress,
Solomon III, Bishop of
Konstanz, arranged for her to stay in a cell next to the church of
Saint George near the monastery, where she remained for four years before relocating to a cell adjoining the church of
Magnus of Füssen in 891. She became renowned for her austerity, and was said to have a gift of
prophecy, both of which drew admirers and hopeful students. One of these, a woman named
Rachildis, whom Wiborada had cured of a disease, joined her as an anchoress. A young student at St. Gall,
Ulrich, is said to have visited Wiborada often. She supposedly prophesied his elevation to the
episcopate of Augsburg.
Martyrdom In 925, she predicted a
Hungarian invasion of her region. Her warning allowed the priests and religious of St. Gall and St. Magnus to hide the books and wine and escape into caves in nearby hills. The most precious manuscripts were transferred to the monastery at
Reichenau Island. However, the main refuge castle for the monks and the abbot was the Waldburg in the Sitterwood. Her abbot,
Engilbert, urged Wiborada to escape to safety, but she refused to leave her cell. In 926, the
Magyar marauders reached St. Gall. They burned down St. Magnus and broke into the roof of Wiborada's cell. Upon finding her kneeling in prayer, they
clove her skull with a
fokos (
shepherd's axe). Her companion Rachildis was not killed, and lived another 21 years, during which her disease returned. She spent the rest of her life learning
patience through
suffering. Wiborada's refusal to leave her cell and the part she played in saving the lives of the priests and religious of her convent have merited her the title of
martyr. ==Veneration==