Lidwina of Schiedam | |
|---|---|
 Lidwina's fall on the ice, Wood drawing from the 1498 edition of John Brugman's Vita of Lidwina | |
| Mystic | |
| Born | April 18, 1380 Schiedam, County of Holland, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | April 14, 1433 (aged 52) Schiedam, County of Holland, Holy Roman Empire |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Canonized | March 14, 1890, Saint Peter's Basilica, Kingdom of Italy by Pope Leo XIII |
| Major shrine | Schiedam, South Holland, Netherlands |
| Feast | April 14 |
| Patronage | chronically ill, ice skaters, town of Schiedam |
Lidwina (Lydwine, Lydwid, Lidwid, Liduina of Schiedam) (1380–1433) was a Dutch mystic who is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church. She is the patroness saint of the town of Schiedam, of chronic pain, and of ice skating.
Lidwina is also thought to be one of the first documented cases of multiple sclerosis. At the age of fifteen, she suffered a serious injury while ice skating and became progressively disabled. Hendrik Mande wrote for her consolation a pious tract in Dutch. She fasted frequently and acquired a reputation as a healer and holy woman. Upon her death in 1433, her grave became a place of pilgrimage.