Bertilla of Chelles, St.
BERTILLA OF CHELLES, ST.
Benedictine abbess; b. near Soissons, first half of the seventh century; d. Chelles, Nov. 5, 705–713. Following the advice of St. ouen of rouen, she became a nun at Jouarre-en-Brie, c. 659. Bertilla distinguished herself by her virtues, especially obedience. At the request of Queen bathildis, she left Jouarre to become the first abbess of Chelles, where Bathildis later lived in her enforced retreat. There, too, Bertilla was a model of religious life. Her relics are preserved at Chelles-Saint-André, except for her head, which is at Jouarre. The anniversary of the elevation and translation of her relics in 1185 is May 26.
Feast: Nov. 5.
Bibliography: Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum 6:95–109. Acta Sanctorum Nov. 3: 83–94. j.-p. laporte, Sépultures et reliques de la reine Bathilde et de l’abbesse Bertille (Chelles 1991). a. m. zimmermann, Kalendarium Benedictinum (Metten 1933–38) 3:262–263. l. van der essen, Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie ecclésiastiques, ed. a. baudrillart et al. (Paris 1912) 8:1004–05. j. l. baudot and l. chaussin, Vies des saints et des bienhereux selon l'ordre du calendrier avec l'historique des fêtes (Paris 1935–56) 11:175–177. a. butler, The Lives of the Saints, ed. h. thurston and d. attwater (New York 1956) 4:268–269. r. aigrain, Catholicisme 1:1503.
[É. brouette]