Saint Notburga

When her beloved aunt, heartbroken by her husband's affair with the famous Alpaida, who bore him Charles Martel, retired to the city of Cologne, sh e follo Cologne Archiepiscopal see and burial place of the saint. wed her and remained united with her as if she had been her daughter. She rendered her all the services of a faithful companion and lavished upon her all the consolations of the tenderest of friends. Plectrude, disgusted with the world, having founded a convent for noble girls in that city, Noitburge entered it, full of joy to consecrate herself to the Lord. She lived in this monastery as a person entirely dead to the world, breathing only for heaven. Prayer became her sweetest occupation; she never lost sight of the presence of God; she edified all her companions by a marvelous fervor and a perfect exactitude in all her duties; she thought of her body only to afflict it with extraordinary austerities.

However, her cousins, D rogon Drogon Cousin of Noitburge, son of Pepin. and Grimoald Grimoald Mayor of the palace of Austrasia admonished by Romaric. , sons of Pepin, who were deeply attached to her, tried to tear her away from this holy asylum before she had definitively committed herself to it. They formed the plan to marry her to a great lord, in order to create for themselves a new friendship among the nobility, and thus serve the interests of their family. But God, who watched over the pious and noble virgin, granted the vows of her heart. She escaped the pressing solicitations of these two relatives through the death of each of them. She was deeply saddened by this, but she rejoiced greatly to see herself delivered from their urgings, and to find herself free to give herself entirely to God.

The faithful lover of the Savior, believing herself forever freed from any attempt on the part of the world, thought only of surrendering herself to the delights of divine love; but she had counted on a peace that was not reserved for her. Other relatives pursued the plan of her cousins; seeing herself pressed too insistently, and no longer knowing to whom to turn on earth to obtain the freedom to dispose of herself as she wished, she addressed herself, in the ardor of her faith, to Jesus himself, begging him, with many tears and sighs, not to allow her to be torn away from him to be delivered to a mortal man, but rather to take her life by removing her from this miserable world.

Noitburge prayed so well, and poured so much of her heart and faith into her prayer, that her heavenly Spouse heard her. Shortly after, she fell ill, and her illness had no cure. She eventually rendered to her Beloved a pure and spotless soul, to be crowned in His glory. The angels carried her soul to the delightful garden of the Spouse of virgins, and heaven permitted that her body should become an instrument of miracles: it was a source of life and health for those who approached it. As her inanimate remains were being carried to the church of Saint Peter, église de Saint-Pierre Site of the resurrection miracle during a funeral. they encountered the corpse of a man who was about to be committed to the earth; as soon as this body had approached that of Noitburge, it was restored to life. The entire city of Cologne was edified by this prodigy. So many other miracles occurred at her tomb that the church where it was located took the name of Saint Noitburge. Her relics are preserved toda y in the church of the Charterhous église de la Chartreuse de Cologne Location where the saint's relics are preserved. e of Cologne.

*Life of Saint Noi tburge, by the paris M. le curé de Vittel Author of the cited life of Saint Noitburge. h priest of Vittel.*