Odilia (fl. 620)

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Odilia (fl. 620)

Frankish abbess. Flourished around 620 in Alsace; daughter of Adalric, a noble of Alsace; never married; no children.

Odilia was the daughter of Adalric, a Frankish noble who encouraged her religious calling. She was either born blind or became blind as a child but, despite her disability, founded a nunnery on her father's lands in the Vosges Mountains above Hohenburg in Alsace and became its abbess. It was at the nunnery, where she lived with numerous other women in seclusion, that Odilia regained her sight, a miracle she felt was a reward from God for her deep devotion. The Alsatian convent soon became a destination for many pilgrims who were blind or afflicted with eye diseases, for it was believed that Odilia's sanctity could cure them. Little else is known about her.

Laura York , Riverside, California