Saint Hilda of Whitby

Saint Hilda of Whitby was the daughter of Hereric and Breguswith, sister of Saint Hereswitha, and grand-niece of King Saint Edwin of Northumbria. She was baptized in 627 at the age of thirteen by Saint Paulinus of York. Hilda lived as a lay woman until age thirty-three, when she entered the Benedictine monastery at Chelles in France. Returning to England, she served as abbess at Hartlepool before founding the famous double monastery of Whitby in 657, where both men and women lived under her guidance. Under her wise leadership, Whitby became one of the most important centers of learning in Anglo-Saxon England, producing five bishops. In 664, she hosted the celebrated Synod of Whitby, which resolved the dispute between Celtic and Roman liturgical practices in favor of Rome. Known for her wisdom, she was sought out by kings and commoners alike for counsel.