Christina the wonderful

Page from the Legenda aurea with a biography of Christina

Christina the Wonderful (Christina of Belgium, Latin: Christina mirabilis ; * around 1150 in Brustem ; † around 1224 in Sint-Truiden in what is now Belgium) was a mystic . Her feast day is July 24th . She is considered the patron saint of millers as well as the mentally ill and their helpers.

We know about Christina's life from the testimonies of the contemporary encyclopaedist Thomas von Cantimpré and Cardinal Jakob von Vitry , who knew her personally. Christina is said to have worked numerous miracles: Her saint's vita begins with a near-death experience due to her excessive contemplation and asceticism. She was levitated from the coffin at the following funeral and reported on her experiences in heaven, hell and purgatory . Her virgin breasts are said to have secreted milk and oil on various occasions in order to save them. Other miracles include physical integrity in fire, freezing cold, and other hazards, although she suffered great pain in the process. She is also said to have claimed to be able to smell the stench of human sin . This was so unbearable for her that she tried to escape from the stench in remote corners. Among other things, she is said to have climbed trees and houses and hid in ovens and cupboards. The Vita ends with further levitations and a further raising from the dead.

In the present, Christina was a wider audience through the song Christina The Astonishing by Nick Cave known.

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• Thomas von Cantimpré: De S. Christina Mirabili Virgine Vita ( Memento from December 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) [Acta Sanctorum Julius 24 (1868) 5, pp. 650–656] (Latin)
• English translation: The Life of Christina the Astonishing, by Thomas de Cantimpré, ed. by Margot H. King, Toronto 1999. ISBN 0-920669-44-1
• Jakob von Vitry: De Vita beatae Mariae Oigniacensis (Christina the Wonderful is mentioned in the foreword)

literature

• Anke E. Passenier: The life of Christina Mirabilis. Miracles and the construction of marginality . Pages 145–178 in: Anne Marie Korte: Women and Miracle Stories . Boston 2003.
• Alois M. Haas: Mysticism in Context , 2004. Chapter Christina mirabilis: History and fictionality in mystical texts
• Ekkart Sauser :  Christina the wonderful. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 17, Bautz, Herzberg 2000, ISBN 3-88309-080-8 , column 240.

Web links

Commons : Christina the Wonderful  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Article from an older dictionary of saints
• Article from an encyclopedia of saints ( Memento from May 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (English)