Today the Church celebrates the feast of St. Henry, an 11th Century king (duke, then emperor) of Bavaria. While we do not have a particular devotion to St. Henry, his wife happens to be a household name in our monastery. ??!!
St. Henry was married to St. Cunegunda. There are several different accounts associated with the name "St. Cunegunda" -- sometimes spelled with a "K" and sometimes with a double "n." The wife of St. Henry is also sometimes confused with St. Kinga, the patroness of Poland whose name, in English is sometimes represented as "Cunegunda." For some reason, however, the name "Cunegunda" is used in our community when we anticipate a sister's first vows and the giving of her religious name. Although we do not have any "Sister Mary Cunegundas" in our cemetery, we often tease the soon-to-be-professed that "Sister Mary Cunegunda" would make a nice name -- second only, perhaps to Sister Mary Quodvultdeus.
Little is known about the saintly wife of "Good King Henry" but sources indicate that both she and her husband were devout and prayerful people who showed generosity to the poor -- a worthy reason to be remembered (and to be a household name!)
No comments:
Post a Comment