Sainte Rictrude, Musée d'histoire locale de Marchiennes
Abbesse (+ 688)
Duchesse de Douai, mère
de toute une famille de saints. "Une femme chrétienne est un trésor pour
toute sa famille" écrivit son biographe. Après la mort de son époux, Saint
Adalbade, elle doubla le monastère de Marchiennes d'un monastère de
moniales où elle prit le voile.
"C'est en 630 que
l'abbaye est fondée par Adalbaud, comte de Douai. Son épouse, Sainte Rictrude,
aristocrate d'Aquitaine, se retire dans le monastère à la mort de son mari.
Cette dernière crée en 643 un monastère de femmes qui cohabitera avec l'abbaye
Bénédictine des hommes jusqu'en 1024."
Marchiennes de 630 à nos
jours (source: Office
de tourisme de Marchiennes)
L'église paroissiale
Sainte Rictrude reconstruite aux XVIIIe et XIXe s. en style néo-classique
abrite le gisant de Sainte-Rictrude - classé monument historique. (le portail
de la culture - recherche
sur le site du ministère)
Trois églises accueillent
les fidèles à Ronchin. La plus ancienne, Sainte-Rictrude est inscrite au
patrimoine historique. Le début de sa construction se situe au XIe siècle. (Ville
de Ronchin)
Au monastère de
Marchiennes dans le Cambrésis, vers 688, sainte Rictrude, abbesse. Après la
mort violente de son mari, Adalband, sur le conseil de saint Amand, elle reçut
le voile sacré et entra au monastère où ses trois filles l’avaient précédée.
Elle en devint l’abbesse et dirigea les moniales avec la plus grande rectitude.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saints/6966/Sainte-Rictrude.html
Sainte
Rectrude, Musée d'histoire locale de Marchiennes
RICTRUDE DE MARCHIENNES
Veuve, Abbesse, Sainte
ca. 614-688
Rictrude, d'une des plus illustres familles de
l'Aquitaine, naquit en Gascogne vers l'an 614. Sa piété la rendit infiniment
plus recommandable que sa naissance et ses richesses. Elle fut mariée à
Adalbaud, un des principaux seigneurs de la cour de Clovis II. De ce mariage
sortirent quatre enfants, que leur bienheureuse mère éleva dans les sublimes
maximes de la perfection, et qui sont présentement honorés d'un culte public
dans l'Église. C'est ainsi que des parents vertueux attirent les bénédictions
du ciel sur toute leur famille.
S. Amand ayant été exilé dans la partie méridionale de
France, Rictrude eut occasion de le voir et de l'entretenir. Elle ne fut pas
longtemps à s'apercevoir que c'était un homme véritablement rempli de l'esprit
de Dieu. Elle se mit sous sa conduite, afin d'apprendre de lui la manière la
plus parfaite de servir le Seigneur. Toutes ses pensées n'eurent plus que le
ciel pour objet, surtout après la mort de son mari. Adalbaud fut assassiné par
des scélérats en revenant de Flandre en Gascogne. Sa sainteté a été reconnue
par l'Église, qui l'honore au mois de février.
Rictrude était encore jeune lorsqu'elle devint veuve.
Clovis II lui proposa de passer à de secondes noces, et d'épouser un de ses
favoris. Mais elle refusa constamment de se prêter aux propositions du roi, qui
lui permit à la fin de recevoir le voile des mains de S. Amand.
Il y avait quelque temps que, par l'avis du même
saint, elle avait fondé une abbaye d'hommes dans la terre de Marchiennes, au
diocèse d'Arras. Lorsqu'elle fut devenue veuve, elle en fonda une de filles
dans le même endroit. On l'élut supérieure de la communauté, qu'elle gouverna
pendant quarante ans. Elle portait le cilice, jeûnait presque continuellement,
et donnait beaucoup de temps à la prière et aux veilles. Sans cesse elle
soupirait après les biens invisibles ; chaque jour elle travaillait à purifier
son cœur par le détachement de toutes les choses créées; la vivacité de son
amour lui rendait insipides toutes les consolations humaines, et elle désirait
avec ardeur le moment où, affranchie des liens du corps, elle irait se perdre
dans le sein de Dieu. Ce fut pour vaquer plus librement à ses exercices de
piété, qu'elle se démit de la supériorité quelque temps avant sa mort, qui
arriva le 12 mai 688. Elle était âgée de soixante-quatorze ans. Son corps,
renfermé dans une châsse fort riche, est chez les Bénédictins de
Marchiennes a. On lit son nom dans divers calendriers locaux et
monastiques. Il y avait anciennement en Flandre un grand nombre d'églises et
d'autels dédiés sous son invocation. Dans l'église de Saint-Ame à Douai, on
voit, dans la chapelle de Saint-Mauront, la statue de sainte Rictrude entre
plusieurs autres de la même famille.
SOURCE : Alban Butler : Vie
des Pères, Martyrs et autres principaux Saints… Tome III. –
Traduction : Jean-François Godescard.
SOURCE : http://alexandrina.balasar.free.fr/rictrude_de_marchiennes.htm
Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude : Chapelle
Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude :
Monument à Sainte-Rictrude
Miracles de
sainte Rictrude
in "Vie
abrégée de sainte Rictrude : duchesse de Douai, patronne de Waziers" Abbé
André Leroy, imprimerie Dechristé, Paris, 1877
Notre sainte fut
favorisée du don des miracles non-seulement après sa mort, mais même pendant sa
vie.
Sainte Berthe , veuve du
comte Sigefrid , avait suivi l'exemple de sainte Rictrude à l'époque de sa
viduité. Elle avait quitté le monde et pris le voile de religion. Ses
abondantes richesses avaient servi à bâtir un monastère de religieuses ; mais
il arriva que l'église nouvellement bâtie s'écroula peu de temps après sa
construction. A grands frais on la reconstruit, mais à peine terminée , une
nouvelle ruine s'annonce. Sainte Berthe, affligée, recourt à sainte Rictrude,
qui était douée d'un esprit de Dieu très-efficace pour consoler les âmes
affligées et que la Providence éprouve pour augmenter leur mérite.
Sainte Rictrude s'efforce
de consoler cette âme et d'aviser avec elle au moyen d'assurer son œuvre.
Pendant qu'elles étaient ainsi occupées, tout à coup Berthe tombe comme
évanouie. Sainte Rictrude lui demande la cause de cette défaillance arrivée si
subitement. — «Hélas ! répond Berthe, Dieu vient de me faire entendre le bruit
de la nouvelle ruine de mon église, comme si j'y avais été présente » En effet,
l'église venait de s'écrouler pour la seconde fois.- «Ne serait-ce pas un
signe, reprit Rictrude , que Dieu a choisi un autre lieu pour votre fondation ?
Prions ensemble, afin qu'il nous fasse connaître sa volonté.» Après trois jours
de prières et de jeûne, un ange apparaît à Berthe , lui présente le plan d'une
église en tonne de croix , qui devait être bâtie à Blangy (Pas-de-Calais).
Berthe obéit à la voix du
Ciel et va fonder son monastère et son église en ce village.
Deux démoniaques, qui
rompaient leurs chaînes, sont en un instant délivrés des malins esprits, l'un
ayant été attaché par force sur le tombeau de sainte Rictrude, l'autre à la
seule invocation de son nom.
Deux aveugles recouvrent
la vue par son intercession. Le premier l'avait perdue par un châtiment de
Dieu, car voulant mettre le feu à une grange de l'abbaye de sainte Rictrude, il
devint subitement aveugle. S'étant fait conduire à l'autel de la sainte, il y
pleura sa faute et s'y endormit.
Pendant son sommeil,
sainte Rictrude lui apparut revêtue d'une robe blanche, et lui passant la
manche de sa robe sur les yeux, il fut aussitôt guéri. L'autre aveugle, qui
était un homme de bien, fut guéri en se lavant les yeux et en buvant de l'eau
d'une fontaine, qui se trouvait dans le bois de Marchiennes et que sainte
Rictrude lui avait désignée en songe.
Un prêtre, atteint de
cette terrible maladie qu'on appelle la pierre, fut guéri subitement en disant
la messe le jour de Sainte Rictrude. Il sentit une grosse pierre bien formée
lui tomber de la vessie sans qu'elle y laissât aucune cicatrice.
En 1866, à
Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude (Pas-deCalais), un jeune homme appartenant à une des
familles les plus respectables de Valenciennes , se livrait à la chasse : il se
fit une blessure d'une gravité telle que ses jours étaient en danger. On a
recours à la puissante intercession le sainte Rictrude et la guérison est
obtenue. En reconnaissance de ce signalé bienfait, les parents du jeune homme
offrirent à la paroisse une relique de sainte Rictrude, et le 12 mai 1867, une
grande joie régnait à Boiry, les habitants étaient au comble du bonheur,
recevant une relique de leur bien-aimée patronne.
Mais , entre tous les
miracles de sainte Rictrude, il en est un que nous ne pouvons taire et que nous
rapporterons avec d'autant plus de bonheur qu'il a été accompli à Waziers
: L'église paroissiale était en feu ; en vain les habitants faisaient des
efforts pour éteindre les flammes, le feu se développait avec une rapidité
effrayante. Ce fut lorsque tout paraissait désespéré, que sainte Rictrude
apparut au milieu des flammes, et qu'avec les manches de sa robe elle arrêta l'incendie.
Que n'aurais-je pas
encore à dire sur les miracles de notre sainte ! Mais les bornes d'une notice
me forcent d'être court et de terminer en disant que sainte Rictrude a guéri en
un instant les maux des intestins , des pieds , des bras ; délivré des femmes
travaillées par les douleurs extrêmes de l'enfantement ; redressé les enfants
boiteux et les paralytiques ; sauvé du danger un religieux qui allait être
écrasé par une poutre ; sauvé plusieurs personnes d'horribles chutes ; rompu
les chaînes des esclaves" secouru les voyageurs sur terre et sur mer, qui
se trouvaient dans les plus grands périls.
En présence de marques si
nombreuses de sa protection , pouvons-nous lui refuser notre confiance, nous
surtout habitants de Waziers , qui avons le bonheur de l'appeler notre patronne
?
A son exemple, pères et
mères, apportez tous vos soins pour donner à vos enfants une éducation
solidement chrétienne ; donnez-leur l'exemple de la pratique constante de notre
sainte Religion , et ces enfants deviendront comme vous de fervents chrétiens ;
ils feront votre bonheur et votre gloire sur la terre , en attendant qu'ils
soient votre couronne dans l'éternité.
SOURCE : http://histoiresdunord3.blogspot.com/2015/03/miracles-de-sainte-rictrude.html
Cartulaire
de l’Abbaye de Marchiennes
Abadía
de Marchiennes, en un cartulario del s. XVI
Saint Richrudis of
Marchiennes
Also
known as
Richtrude
Rictrude
Rictrudis
7
February on some calendars
Profile
Born to the nobility, the
daughter of Ernold. Married to
the Frankish nobleman Saint Adalbald
of Ostrevant. Her family objected to Adalbald‘s
military incursions into their region, and endlessly opposed the marriage. Mother of
four – Saint Eusebia
of Hamage, Saint Clotsindis
of Marchiennes, Saint Adalsindis
of Hamay, and Saint Maurontius.
The couple dedicated themselves and their fortunes to care for the poor and
to religious projects including founding a Benedictine double
monastery at Marchiennes, Flanders, Belgium.
After Adalbald was murdered,
she was pressured by the royal court to remarry.
She refused, and with the help of her friend, Saint Amandus,
she became a Benedictine nun at
the Marchiennes monastery. Abbess there
for forty years. Three of her children, Adalsindis, Clotsindis,
and Maurontius, lived there in religious life
during her time.
Born
12 May 687 in
Marchiennes, Belgium of
natural causes
relics translated
to Paris, France
relics destroyed
in 1793 during
the French
Revolution
nun holding
a church in her hand
nun Saint Eusebia
of Hamage, Saint Clotsindis
of Marchiennes, Saint Adalsindis,
and Saint Maurontius
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Saints
of the Order of Saint Benedict, by Father Aegedius
Ranbeck, O.S.B.
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Richrudis of
Marchiennes“. CatholicSaints.Info. 29 January 2022. Web. 7 May 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-richrudis-of-marchiennes/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-richrudis-of-marchiennes/
Église
Sainte-Rictrude, Bruyelle (Belgique)
Saints of the Day – Rictrudis of
Marchiennes, Widow
Article
Born in Gascony; died
688. Saint Rictrudis was born into a noble Gascon family. She married Saint
Adalbald, a Frankish nobleman serving king Clovis II, despite some opposition
from her family. The couple had four children, all of whom are counted among
the saints: Saints Adalsindis, Clotsindis, Eusebia, and Maurontius.
After 16 year of a happy
married life at Ostrevant, Flanders, Adalbald was murdered while visiting in
Gascony by relatives of Rictrudis who disapproved of the match. After several
years, King Clovis ordered her to marry, but with the aid of her old friend and
spiritual advisor, Saint Amandus, Clovis relented and permitted her to become a
nun at Marchiennes, Flanders – a double monastery that she had founded.
Adalsindis and Clotsindis joined her, and sometime later Maurontius, on the
point of marrying, left the court and became a monk there, too. Rictrudis ruled
Marchiennes as abbess for 40 years (Benedictines, Delaney).
In art, Rictrudis holds a
church in her hand. She may also be pictured with her children (Roeder).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
11 June 2020. Web. 7 May 2022.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-rictrudis-of-marchiennes-widow/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-rictrudis-of-marchiennes-widow/
Sint-Rictrudiskerk
in Reninge.
Church
of Saint Rictrude in Reninge. Reninge, Lo-Reninge, West Flanders, Belgium
Sint-Rictrudiskerk in Reninge.
Church of Saint Rictrude in Reninge. Reninge, Lo-Reninge, West Flanders, Belgium
Saints
of the Order of Saint Benedict – Saint Richtrude, Abbess
Rightly is the Feast of Saint Amandus followed by that
of Saint Richtrude; not that this is the date of her birth, but that on this
day the translation of her remains, after a lapse of many years, was
accompanied by numerous miracles throughout Belgium. She
was born in Gascony, of noble parents, Ernoldus and Lucia, who, however, were
blinded by the mists of idolatry. As kind Heaven was unwilling that so bright a
soul should be lost, it sent Saint Amandus to rescue her from the thrall of
inherited superstition. Saint Amandus at this time was an exile in Gascony,
which was one among the many provinces in Gaul then debased by the worship of
false gods. Wherever exile directed Saint Amandus’ footsteps, he waged
persistent war on idols. To show that they were mere bronze, or wood, or stone,
he often with a breath blew them to the ground. These miracles were followed by
numerous conversions, among which Saint Amandus found it an easy task to win
over to the true Faith a virgin who had erred more through the bringing-up of
her parents than through love of idols.
On the death of
Aritbertus, the King of the Gascons, all the provinces of Gaul passed by right
of inheritance to his brother Dagobert. As permission to journey through France
was now granted to all who desired it, Adalbaldus, a noble Belgian, through
love of travel, proceeded from his native land to Aquitaine, and there he met
Richtrude. With her beauty, nobility, and sweet character Adalbaldus was
completely smitten. He pressed his suit with so much modesty that he won her
consent. Four children were the fruits of this happy union, Maurontus,
Clorsenda, Eusebia, and Adelsenda. Thus far all went well with this fortunate
pair. It happened that Adalbaldus had to make a journey into Gascony to see
after the dowry and property of his wife. The Gascons, especially the kinsmen
of Richtrude, were jealous of Adalbaldus as a foreigner; they grudged him both
his beautiful, nobly-born wife and her wealth; so, having secretly planned an
ambuscade, they murdered him. The sad news soon sped to Belgium. Richtrude was
in despair as to what she should do; to Amandus, as being the good father
through whom she was born again to the Faith, she entrusted the control of her
affairs and of her life. His advice was conveyed in the words of Saint Paul and
of our Lord Himself.
Saint Richtrude never
faltered; she pleaded neither the bloom of her youth nor the wants of her
children, but placed herself entirely in the hands of the Prelate.
The Evil One left no
means untried to disappoint the pious wishes of the widow. Dagobert was not
willing that his palace should be robbed of such youth and beauty; he intended
her for the wife of one of the noblest of his courtiers. The King’s persuasion
and threats were alike of no avail. More stringent steps were about being taken
to compel Richtrude’s consent, when, by the advice of Saint Amandus, she
pretended to yield. Dagobert and his nobles were bidden to a banquet at her
country estate. There she was the life and soul of the feast. Towards the end
of the banquet, the Saint threw herself at the King’s feet, and, with a most
engaging gesture, asked if it were allowed her to do as she liked in her own
house. The King, thinking she was about to ask for permission to pledge him in
a cup, readily granted the request. Then Saint Richtrude, drawing from beneath
her robe the sacred veil, which she had previously obtained from Saint Amandus,
threw it over her head, crying, “Now Richtrude is the bride of Heaven, and no
force shall ever tear from me this emblem of chastity.” Astonishment seized
all. The King, giving utterance to terrible threats, rushed from the mansion in
a furious rage.
Then our Saint began to
lead the life of a Religious, bidding farewell to all her wealth and
distributing it amongst the poor. Clothed in the black robe, and wearing under
it sackcloth, she spent her days and nights in prayer and mortification. The
anger of the King being at last appeased when he saw Richtrude earnestly
devoting herself to the service of God, she began to look round for a Convent
in which to spend the rest of her life. This Convent she found at Mont de
Marsan, which, lately built by Saint Amandus for men, she turned into a
Convent. Thither she brought her daughters Adelsenda and Clorsenda. Husebia was
sent to Hamay, while her son Maurontus was commanded to attend the court and
camp of Dagobert. Our Saint was the first Abbess of Mont de Marsan, and she
governed it so strictly that the fame of her sanctity was in the mouths of all.
Her daughter Adelsenda, while yet a child, preceded her to Heaven. Clorsenda,
on her mother’s death, succeeded her as Abbess. At Hamay, Eusebia was elected
Abbess, though she was only in her twelfth year.
Richtrude was distressed
that her daughter, who was little more than a child, and entirely without
experience, should venture to rule others. Therefore she employed all her
persuasive powers to induce Eusebia and her Community to leave Hamay and join
her at Mont de Marsan. As her advice was not listened to, she laid the matter
before Dagobert, and he compelled the Sisters of Hamay to come to Mont de
Marsan. There, under her mother and Abbess, Eusebia so well discharged all the
duties of her holy calling, that after death she was numbered among the Saints.
She was sent back to Hamay, and died there before she had completed her
twenty-third year, a light from Heaven flooding her chamber as she was breathing
her last.
Saint Richtrude, now worn
out by old age – she was in her seventy-fourth year – was called to her
everlasting reward on the 12th May A.D. 687.
– text and illustration
taken from Saints
of the Order of Saint Benedict by Father Aegedius
Ranbeck, O.S.B.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-order-of-saint-benedict-saint-richtrude-abbess/
_%C3%A9glise.JPG)
Église
Sainte-Rictrude de Marchiennes
Église Sainte-Rictrude de Marchiennes intérieur
May 12
St. Rictrudes, Abbess
THIS mother of saints was
a lady of the first quality in France, born in Gascony in 614, and married to
Adalbald, one of the principal lords of the court of king Clovis. She had by
him four children, who, copying after her example, and being happily educated
in her maxims of perfect piety, deserved all to be honoured among the saints:
namely, St. Mauront, abbot of Breüil; St. Clotsenda, abbess of Marchiennes; St.
Eusebia, or Isoye, abbess of Hamay; and St. Adalsenda, a nun at Hamay. So great
a benediction does the sanctity of parents draw upon a whole family. St. Amand
being banished into the southern parts of France, Rictrudes finding him to be
truly a man of God, committed herself entirely to his direction to walk with
fervour in the paths of evangelical perfection. The death of her husband, who
was assassinated in his return from his estates in Flanders, not only set her
at liberty, but was a powerful means to wean her heart perfectly from the
world. Thus the most grievous temporal affliction proved her greatest spiritual
blessing. She was yet young, and exceedingly rich; and king Clovis II. sought,
even by threats, to oblige her to marry one of his favourite courtiers.
However, she maintained her ground, and at length was permitted to receive the
religious veil from the hands of St. Amand. She had before this founded an
abbey of monks on a marshy ground in her estate of Marchiennes, under the
direction of St. Amand. Being now a widow, she built a separate monastery for
nuns in the same place, which she governed herself forty years. She was clad
with rough hair-cloth, and fasted, watched, and prayed almost without
intermission. She sighed continually after the goods of the heavenly Jerusalem;
for, as St. Bernard says: 1 “Thou
desirest not sufficiently the joys to come if thou dost not daily ask them with
tears. Thou knowest them not, if thy soul doth not refuse all comfort till they
come.” When the film with which the love of the world covers the eye of the
soul is removed, by a perfect disengagement of the heart from its toys, then
she sees and feels the weight of her distance from her God. And till she can be
drowned in the ocean of his love, she finds no other comfort in her banishment
but in the contemplation of his goodness, and in sighs excited by his love.
Rictrudes, that she might more freely pursue these exercises, which were the
delight of her heart, resigned her superiority some time before her happy
death, which happened on the 12th of May, 688, she being seventy-four years
old. This nunnery was abolished, and its revenues given to the monks in the
same place, in 1028. The body of St. Rictrudes is honourably entombed in the
church of that great Benedictin abbey. Her name is inserted in many monastic
and local calendars, and several churches and altars have been formerly erected
in Flanders under her invocation, mentioned by Papebroke. In the church of St.
Amatus at Douay, in the chapel of St. Mauront, among the statues of the saints
of his family the third is that of St. Rictrudes. Her life was compiled by
Hucbald, a learned monk of St. Amand’s, in 907. Surius altered the style; but
this is restored to its original integrity by Mabillon (Act. Bened. t. 2, p.
938), and Papebroke the Bollandist, who has enhanced the value of this work by
judicious remarks (t. 3, Maij, p. 80), and has added several long histories of
her miracles compiled by several monks of St. Marchiennes and St. Amand’s in
different ages.
Note 1. Serm. 2, in
cap. Jejun. n. 4. [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume V: May. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/5/126.html
Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude :
Panneau touristique
Santa Rictrude Sposa,
badessa
612 – 678
Martirologio
Romano: Nel monastero di Marchiennes vicino a Cambrai in Austrasia, nel
territorio dell’odierna Francia, santa Rictrude, badessa, che, dopo la morte
violenta di suo marito Adalbaldo, su consiglio di sant’Amando prese il sacro
velo e con grande rettitudine governò le vergini consacrate.
Santa Rictrude nacque in Guascogna nel 612 da una famiglia ricca quanto devota. In giovane età ebbe come direttore spirituale Sant'Amando di Maastricht, esiliato proprio in quella regione dal re Dagoberto, del quale aveva condannato la condotta licenziosa.
Amando visse così in quel periodo ospite della famiglia di Rictrude e da questo luogo il santo franco intraprese l'opera di evangelizzazione della Guascogna. Un altro nobile franco, Sant'Adabaldo, giunse in seguito in quella casa, guadagnandosi il favore del re Clodoveo II, e nonostante l'opposizione dei nobili guasconi chiese ed ottenne Rictrude in sposa. I due andarono a vivere insieme presso Ostrevant nelle Fiandre ed ebbero ben quattro figli anch'essi tutti venerati come santi: Adalsinda, Clotsinda, Mauronto ed Eusebia.
Amando era solito far loro visita: essi conducevano una vita “Devota e lieta”, come asserisce il suo biografo. Tuttavia questa felice esistenza non era destinata a durare e nel 652 Adabaldo venne ucciso dai guasconi, presumibilmente ancora ostili al matrimonio celebrato con Rictrude ormai da sedici anni. Meritò così di essere onorato come martire, anche se la sua tradizionale commemorazione al 2 febbraio ad onor del vero non è più riportata dal Martyrologium Romanum.
A causa della tragica scomparsa del marito, Rictrude espresse il desiderio di farsi monaca, ma Amando le consigliò di attendere ancora, almeno finché suo figlio Mauronto fosse diventato abbastanza grande per essere introdotto nella vita di corte.
Clodoveo II serbava però ben altri progetti per lei, desiderando che andasse sposa ad uno dei suoi protetti. Amando riuscì però fortunatamente a persuaderlo a lasciarla libera ed ella poté così felicemente recarsi a Marchiennes, ove aveva fondato un monastero maschile ed uno femminile. Ne fu badessa per molti anni e le sue due figlie maggiori, Adalsinda e Clotsinda, si unirono a lei. Più tardi anche il figlio Mauronto. La prima figlia morì giovane, mentre invece la seconda succedette alla madre come badessa quando costei morì nel 678. L'ultima figlia, Eusebia, visse con la nonna.
Questa famiglia, ascesa al gran completo alla gloria degli altari, non è che uno dei molti casi simili verificatisi in duemila anni di cristianesimo. Santa Rictrude è commemorata dal Martyrologium Romanum al 12 maggio.
Autore: Fabio Arduino
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/92778
Église
Boiry-Sainte-Rictrude
