Leoba | |
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Born | ~710 Wessex, England |
Died | 28 September 782 Schornsheim, Germany |
Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church; Eastern Orthodox Church |
Major shrine | Fulda |
Feast | 28 September |
Leoba, (also Lioba and Leofgyth) (c. 710 – 28 September 782) was an Anglo-Saxon Benedictine nun and is recognized as a saint. In 746 she and others left Wimborne Minster in Dorset to join her kinsman Boniface in his mission to the German people. She was a learned woman and was involved in the foundation of nunneries in Kitzingen and Ochsenfurt. She had a leading role in evangelizing the area. Leoba was acclaimed for many miracles: saving a village from fire; saving a town from a terrible storm; protecting the reputation of the nuns in her convent; and saving the life of a fellow nun who was gravely ill – all accomplished through prayer. Her first letter to Boniface contains the first poetry known to have been written by an English woman.[1] |