Profile
Bathilde was kidnapped in her youth from her native England and sold into slavery in France to Erkenwald, the Mayor of the Palace of King Clovis II. When she grew up, she was placed in charge of the household. She married King Clovis II in 649 and became the Queen. She became the mother of three sons, all of whom became kings: Clotaire III, Childeric II and Thierry I. She used her royal position to protect the Church, and help the poor. She was widowed in 655. She served as regent. Upon taking her late husband’s power, she immediately forbade the enslavement of Christians. She endowed religious houses, including Chelles Abbey, and helped the work of Saint Eligius. In 665, when her son Clotaire was 15, she handed the throne over to him, and entered Chelles Abbey, spending the rest of her life in prayer and care of the sick. She was the godmother of Saint Radegonde of Celles whom she helped raise, and whose relics are interred with hers.
Born
- c.630 in England
Died
- 30 January 680 of natural causes
- buried in the Abbey of Chelles
- relics enshrine in the abbey church of Our Lady of Chelles
Canonized
- by Pope Nicholas I
Patronage
- against bodily ills
- against illness
- against sickness
- children
- sick people
- widows
- Chelles, France
Representation
- crowned nun often performing menial tasks or giving alms to the poor
- ladder extending into heaven
- standing before an altar of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Source: https://catholicsaints.info/saint-bathilde/
