Saint Hilda

I kept hearing Catholics and Orthodox Christians talk about “patron saints”… and I had NO idea what that meant.

So I started asking questions on Catholic and Orthodox influencer pages and also doing my own research.

What I learned was surprisingly simple:!

A patron saint is just a Christian from history whose life reflected Christ in a meaningful way and who became a sort of spiritual role model for believers. Not someone you worship or someone who replaces God. Just a real person whose story points back to Jesus.

Traditionally, people “receive” a patron saint in a few ways:

• By name — if your name matches a saint’s name

• At baptism — babies often receive a saint’s name; adults who convert choose one whose life resonates with them

• By personal devotion — when a believer relates deeply to a saint’s story

So naturally, I started to wonder??? “Is there a saint named Hilda?”

Not to worship her, but to learn about her life, what she did, and how it glorified God. I was honestly just curious.

I’ve always known the definition of my name, which is “battle” or “warrior,” often interpreted as "battle woman" or "strong in battle," symbolizing strength, courage, and valor, associated with warrior culture. So I wondered if it would somehow align with the real person; if she even existed. That curiosity sparked yet another deep dive, and I began to research.

Before we start, I want to include this information because you will hear the name "Bede" a lot. So it’s important to know who he is as well.

Who was Bede?

The Venerable Bede

• Lived c. 673–735

• An Anglo-Saxon monk, priest, scholar, and historian

• Lived in Northumbria, England

• Died about 50 years after Saint Hilda

He is often called “the father of English church history.”

Why is he so important?

Bede wrote a massive historical work called:

Ecclesiastical History of the English People (completed in 731)

This book is:

• the primary source for early English Christianity

• where we get reliable accounts of saints like Hilda of Whitby, Aidan, Cuthbert, and others

• written carefully, with attention to dates, witnesses, and sources

Because of this, historians trust Bede far more than later legends.

Bede and Saint Hilda

Bede:

• was born after Hilda had already died, but

• lived in the same region and generation right after her

• gathered testimony from people who knew her personally or were trained in her abbey

From Bede we learn:

• about her leadership at Whitby

• her reputation for wisdom and counsel

• her role in educating future bishops

• her long illness at the end of her life

• the visions reported at her death

• the story of Caedmon, the poet she encouraged

So when her story is told accurately, Bede shows up a lot because he is the historian preserving her memory, not because he’s part of her life story directly.

He is called “Venerable”...

“Venerable” is a title given later by the Church to honor his holiness and scholarship.

It’s not his first name, and it doesn’t mean he was worshiped. It just signals respect.

Why Protestants often respect Bede...

Even outside Catholic tradition, Bede is respected because:

• he’s careful, not sensational

• he distinguishes fact from rumor

• he records disagreement honestly

• he preserves Scripture-centered faith

Many Protestant historians rely on him heavily.

So in short, you will keep hearing Bede’s name because:

• he is our window into Hilda’s world

• without him, much of her life would be lost

• he’s closer to the events than almost any other source we have

With that being said, this is what I found…

SAINT HILDA (614–680)

A very real and important saint honored by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and even many Protestants interested in early church history.

Her Family, Childhood & Early Life…

Parents:

• Father: Hereric — a Northumbrian noble, nephew of King Edwin

• Mother: Name unknown (not preserved in historical sources)

Sibling:

• Sister: Hereswith — who married a king of East Anglia and later became a nun in France

  • Her sister’s monastic choice deeply influenced Hilda.

  
  

Birth & Background:

• Born in 614 in the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Deira (southern Northumbria — roughly modern Yorkshire).

• Raised in King Edwin’s royal household after her father was poisoned while in political exile.

Baptism & Early Faith:

• Baptized in 627 along with King Edwin through the Roman missionary Paulinus.

• As she grew, she was spiritually shaped by Aidan of Lindisfarne, an Irish monk known for his humility and gentleness.

Before Monastic Life:

Hilda lived as a noblewoman for 33 years.

At 33, she planned to join her sister in a monastery in France, but Bishop Aidan asked her to stay and enter monastic life in Northumbria. She obeyed, and everything changed.

Her Leadership as Abbess

Hilda first became abbess of Hartlepool, then founded Whitby Abbey (then called Streanaeshalch) around 657 AD.

Whitby was a double monastery, both monks and nuns lived together under her authority, which was common in early English Christianity.

Bede praised her community for being marked by:

• justice

• piety

• chastity

• peace

• charity

He wrote that in her monastery:

“No one there was rich and none poor, for they had all things common.”

Power, Influence, and Spiritual Impact:

Under Hilda’s guidance:

• Five monks became bishops: Bosa, Aetla, Oftfor, John of Beverley, and Wilfrid

• Caedmon, the first named English Christian poet, discovered his gift under her mentorship

• Kings, nobles, and church leaders sought her counsel

Her monastery became one of the greatest centers of learning and discipleship in early medieval England.

A Dream of Brilliance:

Before describing Hilda’s early spiritual signs, Bede, an 8th-century English monk and historian who recorded the earliest history of Christianity in England, tells a story from Hilda’s infancy.

He wrote that Hilda’s mother dreamt of a “most precious necklace” glowing under her garment, shining so brightly that “it filled all Britain with the glory of its brilliance.”

Bede understood the necklace as a symbol of Hilda herself; a life that would radiate the works of God.

The Synod of Whitby (664 AD)

This major event took place at Hilda’s abbey, showing how respected she was across Christian communities.

The debate:

• Celtic Christianity vs. Roman Christianity

(Not doctrine — but differences in:

• how Easter was calculated

• monastic tonsure / hair style)

Hilda’s position:

She personally followed the Celtic practice.

The outcome:

King Oswiu decided the English church would follow Roman custom.

Hilda’s response:

She accepted the decision with humility and preserved unity in her community, a rare and beautiful example of obedience, grace, and maturity in disagreement.

Visions Surrounding Her Death:

Hilda was seriously ill for the last six years of her life and died in 680 at age 66.

She was first buried at Whitby, the monastery she had founded, and her remains were later moved to Glastonbury.

Bede records that at Hackness, one of her daughter-houses, a nun saw a vision of the roof opening and Hilda’s soul ascending with angels. When monks arrived to announce her death, the nuns were already singing psalms for her.

Her early veneration led to:

• her becoming patron saint of fourteen medieval churches

• inspiring the founding of St. Hilda’s College, Oxford

The Snakestones Legend:

A medieval tradition claims the region around Whitby was infested with snakes until Hilda prayed for God to remove them.

The legend says:

• the snakes’ heads fell off

• their bodies turned to stone

Today, headless “snakes” still wash ashore — but they are actually Jurassic ammonite fossils, sometimes carved with snake heads by Victorians.

Is Hilda Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant?

All and neither.

Hilda lived in the 600s, almost 900 years before the Reformation.

So today:

• Catholics venerate her

• Orthodox honor her

• Anglicans honor her

• Protestants admire her as an early Christian leader

Hilda belongs to the undivided Christian Church, before denominational splits.

Does She Still Matter Today?

Hilda remains a powerful example of:

✨ Women in spiritual leadership

✨ Wisdom and discernment

✨ Unity across traditions

✨ Humility in disagreement

✨ Educational vision and discipleship

✨ Peacemaking

✨ Strength without harshness

✨ Faithfulness under suffering

She is beloved by Christians of many backgrounds.

I've gotta say, I really didn't understand the whole "saint thing" until I started diving into Church history more and researching exactly what the place and purpose is of saints in older traditions of Christianty. Over the past few months, what has hit home to me about saints is that they are looked up to in a similar way that Protestants might view a pastor or church leader that they really look up to. The more I learn about the Saints... from Peter and Matthew, to Paul, Joan of Arc and now even Hilda, the more I totally get why they are looked up to. They were AMAZING and loved God with their whole beings! THESE are the types of role models we need in todays world!

Are you like me and new to historical saints, or is this old news to you? I’d love to hear what you know about this topic or about a historical Christian figure with your name.