St. Mildrith
Feast 07-13
Patron of
About
Saint Mildrith, also known as Mildthryth or Mildred, was a seventh- and eighth-century Anglo-Saxon abbess of the monastery at Minster-in-Thanet in Kent. Of royal Kentish lineage, tradition recounts that she was sent as a young woman to be educated at the monastery of Chelles in Francia before returning to England to embrace the monastic life.
Upon her return, Mildrith entered the community at Minster-in-Thanet and eventually became its abbess, governing her sisters with devotion and holiness. Her reputation for sanctity spread throughout Kent.
After her death she was venerated as a saint, and in 1030 her remains were solemnly translated to the church of Saint Augustine at Canterbury, where her shrine became a place of pilgrimage. Her feast is kept on 13 July.
Suggested prayer
O God, who made Saint Mildrith a faithful shepherd of the community at Minster-in-Thanet, grant through her prayers that we may persevere in the monastic virtues of prayer, humility, and charity. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
