Saint Agatha Hildegard

Agatha Hildegarde was the wife of the Count Palatine Paul. He had covered himself in glory in war; she had worked to adorn her soul with all the virtues of the Saints. However, her life, so pure, was not sheltered from slander. The Count, deceived by false reports, suspected Agatha's fidelity and first had her locked in a tower of the castle of Stein, wit hout allowing he r a word for her justification. Agatha endured with angelic patience the loss of her freedom, which she regretted only because of the unfortunate whom she could no longer relieve. Calm and resigned, she consoled the servants tasked with bringing her food. Everyone at the castle was convinced of her innocence. But the Count, whose fury was stoked by treacherous instigations, harbored sinister plans. Having gone one day to Agatha's prison, she, far from giving herself over to complaints or reproaches, gave him a tender welcome, happy at last to find an opportunity to disabuse him; but the Count did not give her time to utter a single word. Having led her, under the pretext of a walk, to the terrace of the keep, he threw her into the castle moats. He then let out a piercing cry and, feigning deep despair, ran to announce to his people that the Countess had fallen from the top of the walls. The servants rushed over, believing they would find nothing but a corpse. But what was their surprise to see Agatha, on her knees and praying to God! They imagined they were seeing a specter and fled in terror. Having risen, she called them back and told them that God, to whom she had commended herself at the moment of her fall, had permitted her to fall without doing herself any harm. At the sight of this prodigy, the Count came to his senses, recognized his crime, and expiated it through a long penance. Hildegarde lived for several more years, which she spent doing good works. She died on February 5, 1024.