St. Zdislava of Lemberk, Matron

St. Zdislava was a noblewoman, born in Brno (now in the Czech Republic). She was a sweet and pious child, who learned from her mother the arts of healing with both herbs and prayers. After an early attempt at eremitical life, she returned to society and later married Duke Havel of Lemberk.

Their marriage is said to have been a challenge for them both. St. Zdislava was required to dress and act as befit a duchess; the Duke had to put up with her outstanding generosity to the poor. She raised four children in the castle of Lemberk, but her care extended to all the needy of the land. She became known as a great healer and a source of comfort for those fleeing the Tartar invasions from the East. (The well from which she drew healing water still exists.)

When the Polish missionaries St. Hyacinth and Bl. Ceslaus arrived at Lemberk, they brought news of the Order of Preachers, founded some years before by St. Dominic. St. Zdislava was excited by the opportunity to perform her works of mercy within the Dominican framework, and she became an early lay Dominican. (The Third Order of St. Dominic was not formally organized until 1285.)

Spurred by her new apostolic calling, St. Zdislava urged her husband to build a hospice for poor pilgrims. She herself funded the construction of a church, the Priory of St. Laurence -- even visiting the site at night, to move beams and stones into place without others knowing. She was a frequent communicant, a visionary, a catechist, a healer, and an advocate for prisoners.

St. Zdislava died in 1252 and is buried in the church she built, now called the Church of Sts. Laurence and Zdislava (shown in the picture on the right), in the Czech village of Jablonné v Podjestedi. She was canonized in 1995.

I first became aware of St. Zdislava when I joined my Lay Dominican chapter as it was being founded. I went looking for a suitable Dominican saint to propose as the chapter's patron; the first in the Dominican calendar (January 4) is St. Zdislava, and I was sure that no one else would propose her if I didn't. Although it was a casual suggestion to the chapter (which didn't go too far), I became known as a St. Zdislava devotee, and indeed the more I learned about her, the more I liked her. She has first-hand experience with marriage, children, and the Dominican vocation, the three most important dimensions of my life (bundling the whole of my Catholic faith into my Dominican vocation).

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