St. Gertrude the Great
Feast 11-16 · Canonized 1677
Patron of
About
Gertrude was born in 1256 and entered the Benedictine monastery of Helfta in Saxony as a child. The community there was a center of learning and mysticism, and Gertrude received an excellent education in Latin and theology.
At the age of twenty-five she experienced a conversion that turned her studies toward prayer and the contemplation of Christ. Her writings, especially The Herald of Divine Love, record her visions and her devotion to the Sacred Heart, centuries before that devotion became widespread.
She died around 1302. She is the only woman saint to be called the Great, and she is venerated as a patron of the souls in purgatory.
Traditional prayer
Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory. Amen.