Next October, Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) will join a most
select company of saints if she is proclaimed a Doctor of the
Church, as reports indicate date, there are only 33 of these
saints, whose exceptional holiness and wisdom have made
significant contributions to our Faith. Hildegard would be only
the fourth woman so honored, joining Teresa of Avila, Catherine
of Siena, and Therese of Lisieux. Among those luminaries,
Hildegard blazes in colors all her own. Medievalist Peter Dronke
describes her as “an overpowering, electrifying presenceand in
many ways an enigmatic one.” The breadth and variety of
Hildegard’s accomplishments are unique. Her voluminous writings
encompass theology, prophecy, poetry, hagiography, medicine, and
natural science as well as extensive correspondence with major
figures of the twelfth century including Bernard of Clairvaux,
Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the Emperor Frederick
Barbarossa. Hildegard is also the first known female composer in
the Western world and wrote Europe’s f