St. Gertrude the Great: Patron Saint of the Souls in Purgatory - Life, Feast Day and Prayer
Prayers for the Holy Souls ($4.99): printable booklet. See the booklet
Saint Gertrude the Great, anonymous Mexican retablo, oil on tin, mid-19th century. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
St. Gertrude the Great was a German nun and mystic of the thirteenth century whose writings on the love of Christ's Heart are still read today. Catholics especially remember her in November, the month of the holy souls, because of the prayer for the souls in purgatory that tradition links with her name.
Quick Facts
Feast day: November 16
Born: January 6, 1256, in Thuringia, Germany
Died: About November 17, 1301 or 1302, Helfta, Germany
Canonized: Never formally canonized; her feast was extended to the whole Church in the 1700s
Patron of: The souls in purgatory (by popular devotion), the West Indies, nuns
Symbols: Benedictine habit, a heart, a book, an abbess's crosier (often shown mistakenly)
Her Life
Almost nothing is known of Gertrude's family. At the age of five she was entrusted to the monastery of Helfta, near Eisleben in Saxony, a community of nuns known for its learning and its prayer. The abbess at the time was Gertrude of Hackeborn, and the young girl was taught by the abbess's sister, St. Mechtilde of Hackeborn, herself a gifted mystic. Gertrude proved a brilliant student. She learned Latin well and loved books, music and the study of the liberal arts.
By her own account, however, her heart was divided. She later wrote that during her early years she was more attached to her studies than to God. On the evening of January 27, 1281, when she was twenty-five, she had a vision of Christ as a young man who said to her, "I will save you and deliver you; fear not." From that day her life changed. She turned from secular learning to Scripture and the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and she began a life of deep prayer that lasted until her death.
Over the next twenty years Gertrude received many interior graces, which she recorded or described to her sisters. The most famous result is the book known as the Herald of Divine Love, part of which she wrote herself and part of which was compiled by another nun from her words. She also wrote the Spiritual Exercises, a series of prayers and meditations. Her writings center on the tender love of Christ, especially as shown in his Sacred Heart, centuries before that devotion became widespread.
Gertrude's prayer reached beyond the monastery walls. She prayed constantly for sinners and for the souls of the dead, and her writings describe the joy of souls released from purgatory through the prayers and Masses offered for them. The short prayer that bears her name, offering the Precious Blood of Jesus for the holy souls, has made her a special friend to all who pray for the dead.
She was often ill, yet she served her community as a teacher, writer and counselor. She was never an abbess, though later artists often painted her with a crosier because she was confused with Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn. She died at Helfta around 1302, at about forty-five years of age. Devotion to her grew steadily. Her name was added to the Roman Martyrology, and in the eighteenth century her feast was extended to the whole Church. She is the only German woman to be called "the Great."
Legacy
St. Gertrude reminds us that our prayers for the dead are an act of love that reaches beyond the grave. Her life also shows that real conversion can happen to someone who already lives a religious life but whose heart is elsewhere. Her writings remain a treasury on the love of the Heart of Jesus.
Prayer of St. Gertrude for the Holy Souls
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Traditional prayer associated with St. Gertrude. The text is in the public domain.
How to Celebrate Her Feast Day
Pray the Prayer of St. Gertrude for your own beloved dead and for souls who have no one to pray for them.
Offer a Mass or visit a cemetery during November to pray for the holy souls.
Read a short passage from the Herald of Divine Love.
Spend a few minutes in prayer before an image of the Sacred Heart.
Write down the names of family members who have died and keep the list in your prayer corner this month.
Prayers for the Holy Souls
A printable November prayer booklet for the souls in purgatory, with prayers for each day of the month.
$4.99 · Get the booklet
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the feast day of St. Gertrude the Great?
November 16. In some older calendars it was kept on November 15 or 17.
What is St. Gertrude the patron saint of?
By popular devotion she is the patron of the souls in purgatory. She is also patron of the West Indies and of nuns.
Was St. Gertrude formally canonized?
No formal canonization took place, but the Church approved her cult and extended her feast to the whole Church.
What is the Prayer of St. Gertrude?
A short prayer offering the Precious Blood of Jesus, together with the Masses of the day, for the souls in purgatory and for sinners.
Was St. Gertrude an abbess?
No. She was a nun of Helfta. She is sometimes confused with Abbess Gertrude of Hackeborn.
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