Ermelinde
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Saint Ermelinde (born 510 in Lovenjoel, died 590 in Meldert, Hoegaarden), is a Brabant Saint of the 6th century.[1]
Her parents, rich chatelains, wanted her to marry, but once she refused, they permitted her to follow her vocation and gave her a little land. She spread her charity to the poor and lived as a hermit in a forested area, probably around Beauvechain. Later, she set up a hermitage in Meldert and spent the rest of her life in prayer and mortification of the flesh.
Worship and devotion
- The parish church of Meldert, in Belgium, (dedicated to Saint Ermelinde) possesses a reliquary containing the relics of the hermit saint.[1] Every fifty years, the relics are presented in devotion to the parishioners. On the Tuesday of Pentecost, in Meldert, a procession is organised in the honour of Saint Ermelinde.
- Saint Ermelinde is also venerated in Moergestel, in North Brabant (in the Netherlands). In 2008, in Moergestel, a Saint Ermelinde park was inaugurated.
- In the Liturgy, Saint Ermelinde is commemorated on 29 October.