Gertrude was the daughter of Count Louis of Thuringia and Hesse, and his wife,
St. Elizabeth of Hungary. She was dedicated to God from the womb by her father
as he prepared to depart for the Crusades in 1227. Louis offered the unborn
child to the Premonstratensian Canons of Rommersdorf if a boy, or the Premonstratensian
Canonesses of Altenberg near Wetzlar if a girl. Gertrude was born on September
29, 1227, a few weeks after Louis died in the Crusades. Her mother Elizabeth,
who wished to devote the rest of her life to prayer and the service of the poor,
kept her husband’s vow by entrusting Gertrude to Altenberg. Even though
Elizabeth died within a few years of Gertrude’s birth, she was remembered
by the community of Altenberg for her visits during which she spun wool with
the sisters. The eight-year-old Gertrude was brought from Altenberg to Marburg
to attend her mother’s canonization in May of 1235. Altenberg became prominent
among the religious houses most active in promoting the cult of St. Elizabeth.
Gertrude received her entire education at Altenberg and became the third prioress
of the monastery at age 24. Using her inheritance, Gertrude built the monastery
church after the Gothic style of the church at Marburg. She also built a hospital
and guesthouse for the poor, following the example of her mother who had demonstrated
her love of Christ by caring for the poor and sick. While washing the sick Gertrude
was reported to say: “How beautiful it is that we are allowed to bathe
the Savior!”
When Pope Urban IV renewed the call for a crusade, Gertrude became a zealous
advocate of this endeavor. Together with the sisters of the monastery and many
noble ladies, she collected money for the outfitting of the crusaders. When
the feast of Corpus Christi was introduced to the universal Church by a Bull
of Pope Urban IV in 1264, the new feast met with widespread resistance, remaining
a dead letter for fifty years in many places, including Rome itself. Gertrude
introduced the feast at Altenberg already in 1270 where it was celebrated with
the greatest solemnity, thus becoming one of the first to introduce the new
Eucharistic feast. In everyday life, Gertrude took care of the needs of the
poorest, both in the hospital and the monastery. She had the gift of reconciling
people upon whom she implored the Divine Mercy through penance and mortification.
She was 69 years old when she died after a serious illness on August 13, 1297,
having led her community for fifty years. She was buried in the monastery church
of Altenberg.
Pope Clement V granted indulgences on her day of death and allowed her veneration
in 1311 (the authenticity of this Bull has been questioned by some). Her cult
as a “Blessed” was definitively confirmed by Pope Benedict XIII
on January 22/March 8, 1728. The Lutheran deaconesses who now inhabit the cloister
of Altenberg retain a profound veneration for Blessed Gertrude to this day.