Saint Sigolena of Albi (fl. 7-8th. c.) was an Albigensian[a][3] deaconess[4] and saint from Albi, France.
Saint Sigolena of Albi | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Statue of St Sigolena the Deaconess (upper) on the South Portal of Albi Cathedral | |
| Abbess of Troclar, Deaconess | |
| Born | 7th or 8th century |
| Died | 769[1] Monastery of Troclar, France[2] |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Major shrine | Albi Cathedral |
| Feast | 24 July |
| Attributes | Crosier |
| Patronage | Albi, France |
Sigolena was born into a noble family of Aquitaine.[5]
Upon her marriage to Gislulf at the age of 12,[6] she offered her husband all of her possessions to "gain the freedom of her body". Her husband granted her desire for a Josephite marriage and encouraged her piety and charity. After ten years of marriage her husband died unexpectedly.[6] At age 24, she had difficulties convincing her parents she did not wish to remarry. After being consecrated by the city's bishop as a deaconess, she was eventually able to persuade her father to build her a convent on his own land.[4]
She was initially buried at Insula.[6]
Her church in Metz was situated near that of Saint Ferreolus of Besançon.[7] Sigolena's biography was written by an anonymous author.[8]
Miracles
editDuring her life on earth, the miracles attributed to her include the cleansing of 2 lepers, the healing of 3 blind people (including a priest), and at least 9 exorcisms. Upon her death, when the nuns removed her garments to wash her body, they reported that "a wonderful odour suddenly became sprinkled around that same place".[6]
Veneration
editThe relics of St Sigolena are in Albi Cathedral.[9]
Notes
edit- ^ In this period, an Albigensian refers solely to one from the city of Albi. The heresy of Albigensianism would not arise until the 12th century.
References
edit- ^ "St. Sigolena of France". The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016.
- ^ "Fiesta Santa Sigolena de Albi 24 de Julio". El Rincón de Edy. July 24, 2020.
- ^ "Sainte Sigolène".
- ^ a b Wemple, Suzanne Fonay (1985). Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900 (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 142, 151. ISBN 978-0-8122-1209-9.
- ^ a b Dunbar, Agnes Baillie Cunninghame (1905). "St. Sigolena". A Dictionary of Saintly Women, Volume 2. Bell. p. 224.
Sigolena of Albi.
- ^ a b c d "The Latin Life of *Segolena (abbess of Troclar, 7th c., S02435) records her life, death and miracles. Written possibly at Albi or Troclar (both south-west Gaul), 642/c.700". The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity. University of Oxford. 2021. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024.
- ^ Claussen, M.A. (2004). The Reform of the Frankish Church: Chrodegang of Metz and the Regula Canonicorum in the Eighth Century. New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 211. ISBN 978-0-521-83931-0.
- ^ York, Laura (2002). "Sigolena of Albi (fl. 7th c.)". In Commire, Anne (ed.). Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publications. ISBN 0-7876-4074-3.
- ^ "Fiesta Santa Sigolena de Albi 24 de Julio". El Rincón de Edy. July 24, 2020.
Further reading
edit- Klapisch-Zuber, Christiane, ed. A History of Women in the West, vol. II: Silences of the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Belknap-Harvard, 1992.