Holy Godelina

Holy Godelina (also called Godelieve or Godeleva) - (1049 - 1070) - Holy and Belgian martyrdom.

Its life

Godelina, girl of Hemfried, lord of Wierre-Effray, were of Flemish nobility. Beautiful and pleasant, she refused the applicants, wishing to become nun. A noble gentleman, Bertolf of Gistel, however, wanted at all prices to marry it and asked it via Eustace II, count de Boulogne, suzerain of the father of Godelina.

The mother-in-law of the young woman obliged it to live in a tiny cell, with eating very little, which did not prevent Godelina from dividing its thin food with the poor. On its side, Bertolf made run of false rumors on his wife, and the marriage was not consumed.

Godelina flees and turned over in his/her parents. There, his/her father called upon the bishop of Tournai to oblige Bertolf to take again his wife and to return his rights and his dignity of wife to him.

Godelina turned over to Gistel, where, rather not arrived, she was strangled by two servants of her husband, which tried to make pass this murder for a natural death.

After its death

Bertolf remaria. It had a girl, born blind. The tradition reports that the child was cured by the intercession of Holy Godelina. After this miracle, Bertolf repented, and from went away to Rome to obtain the discharge of its fault. It then left in pilgrimage in Holy Land and was made monk with Bergues.

His/her daughter founded a monastery blessing with Gistel under the patronage of Holy Godelina.

In 1084, the bishop of Turned and of Noyon made exhume the body of Godelina, which since then accepted a great popular veneration and was in the beginning many miracles.

external bonds

Summarized life of Holy Godelina]

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