St. Lidwina: Mystic, Stigmatic, Visionary, Victim Soul
The saint of the day for April 14 is St. Lidwina, also known as Lydwina of Shiedam, a Dutch mystic. Saint Lidwina was born in 1380 in Schiedam, Holland to a poor family, the only daughter of nine children. Lidwina was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed often before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. At the age of 12, she consecrated her virginity to Christ. In 1396, while ice skating, she fell and broke a rib. Although she was treated by physicians, her rib never healed and gangrene set in, followed by many complications. This injury caused her to be an invalid for the rest of her life. For seventeen years, she could not move any part of her body, with the exception of her head and left arm. She ate almost nothing and became blind during the last seven years of her life. Some of the illnesses which affected Lidwina were: headaches, vomiting, fever, thirst, bedsores, toothaches, and muscle spasms. Lidwina heroically accepted her condition and s...