Grand-niece of a king, brought up at court, instructed by Paulinus, a companion to Augustine of Canterbury, at age 33 Hilda entered a convent in Gaul. But St. Aidan was so impressed with her he brought her back to Britain and made her Abbess of Hartlepool. Later she established her own abbey at Whitby, with both nuns and monks. Her Collect below is a testament to her apostolic authority and the respect she commanded, in a time when women were virtually powerless in Church and society. (source unknown)
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