Ermelinde

Saint Ermelinde (born 510 in Lovenjoel, died 590 in Meldert), is a Brabant Saint of the 6th century. 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. 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.