Doctor of the Church · 12th century · Bingen
St. Hildegard of Bingen
A Benedictine abbess whose visions, music, and theology lit the Rhine Valley and the whole medieval Church.
I am a feather on the breath of God.
Source: Letters of Hildegard of Bingen
A twelfth-century Benedictine abbess whose visions and music are now read across the universal Church
Hildegard of Bingen was given as a tithe to the Church at age eight — a common practice of devout medieval families — and enclosed with a holy woman named Jutta at the monastery of Disibodenberg. From that enclosure she would eventually emerge as one of the most remarkable figures in the history of the Church.
From childhood, Hildegard received what she described as visions of living light — not dreams, but waking experiences of illumination that she kept largely to herself for decades. In her early forties, after receiving what she understood as divine command, she began recording her visions with the help of a monk named Volmar. The result was Scivias (Know the Ways), a monumental visionary work completed over ten years.
She was also a composer. The Symphonia — her corpus of sacred songs and the morality play Ordo Virtutum — are among the most distinctive sacred compositions of the medieval Church. Her music is spare, otherworldly, and unlike anything else in the Gregorian tradition. Listening to it before reading her texts is often the most direct way into her world.
Hildegard corresponded with popes, emperors, abbots, and ordinary clergy across Europe. She preached publicly — unusual for a woman in her century — and undertook preaching tours in her sixties and seventies along the Rhine. She was declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, only the fourth woman to receive the title.
Hildegard's relics are venerated at the Abbey of Saint Hildegard in Eibingen, Germany. Her music is recorded and performed worldwide. Her feast day is September 17.
A life, in years and approximate ages.
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c. 1098BirthBirth in Bermersheim vor der HöheHildegard is born, the tenth child of a noble family. From early childhood she reports visions of light.
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c. 1106About 8Given to the Church at DisibodenbergHildegard is given as a tithe to God — a medieval practice — and enclosed with a holy woman, Jutta of Sponheim, at the monastery of Disibodenberg.
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c. 1136About 38Becomes AbbessAfter Jutta's death, Hildegard is elected abbess of the community. Her authority and her visions begin to reach a wider audience.
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c. 1141About 42–53Writing SciviasAfter receiving what she understood as divine command, Hildegard begins recording her visions. With the help of a monk named Volmar, she completes Scivias over ten years.
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c. 1147About 49–52Foundation of Rupertsberg MonasteryHildegard moves her community to a new monastery on the Rupertsberg near Bingen — a decision requiring years of struggle against the Disibodenberg monks who profited from the community's presence.
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c. 1179About 81Death at RupertsbergHildegard dies on September 17 at Rupertsberg, after a long life of visionary work, composition, correspondence, and preaching. Contemporary accounts describe lights appearing in the sky at her death.
Dates are approximate where the surviving record is traditional or incomplete.
3 places where this witness remains visible.
Abbey of Saint Hildegard, Eibingen
The active Benedictine abbey above the Rhine, where the relics of Saint Hildegard are venerated. The community continues the Benedictine life she embodied.
Bingen am Rhein
The town at the confluence of the Nahe and Rhine where Hildegard built her Rupertsberg monastery.
Disibodenberg
The monastery ruins where Hildegard lived for over thirty years and wrote the first part of Scivias.
Where the body is venerated.
A principal relic site is named, with other fragments or reliquaries noted separately.
Abbey of Saint Hildegard, Eibingen
The active Benedictine abbey above the Rhine, where the relics of Saint Hildegard are venerated. The community continues the Benedictine life she embodied.
- Heart and tongue of Saint Hildegard (traditionally venerated)
- Relics preserved in the abbey church
Visitors are welcome at the abbey church and for the Divine Office. The abbey sells its own recordings of Hildegard's music and other products. A day visit from Rüdesheim is well suited for pilgrims.
Saints connected to Hildegard of Bingen
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Saint Benedict
The father of the monastic tradition within which Hildegard lived and grew. -
Saint Cecilia
The patron of sacred music — a natural companion for the woman who composed the Symphonia. -
Saint Gregory the Great
The pope whose reform of sacred chant shaped the liturgical tradition Hildegard both inherited and extended.
Kept on September 17.
September 17 is Hildegard's feast day. Celebrations are centered at the Abbey of Saint Hildegard in Eibingen, Germany, where her relics are venerated. Concerts of her sacred music are held at the abbey and at churches throughout the Rhineland.
The Abbey of Saint Hildegard in Eibingen is the primary pilgrimage destination. The abbey is an active Benedictine community — visitors should observe Benedictine hospitality customs. The nearby town of Bingen and the Rhine Valley preserve the landscape of her ministry.