In the Benedictine Breviary her feast is assigned to 25 (in leap year 26) Feb. She is represented in the Benedictine habit with a little phial or bottle; as an abbess with a crozier, a crown at her feet, denoting her royal birth; sometimes she is represented in a group with St. Philip and St. James the Less, and St. Sigismund, King of Burgundy, because she is said to have been canonized by Pope Adrian II on 1 May, the festival of these saints.
Patroness of Eichstadt, Oudenarde, Furnes, Antwerp, Groningen, Weilburg, and Zutphen, sailors also invoke St Walburga's intercession against storms.
In the Roman Martyrology, Walburga's feast is listed as 1 May, and in Germany the previous evening is known as Walpurgis Night.
[i] A double monastery is a single institution that joins a separate community of monks and one of nuns.
[ii] Quoted in The Catholic Encyclopaedia, New Advent: 1917 (on-line version)
(Editor's Note: The author's home, Preston, Lancashire, in northwest England, boasts a beautiful Catholic Church dating from the 19th century, dedicated to the Saint as patroness.)
About the author: Michael Durnan has been a Catholic Primary School Teacher, in his native England, for the past 27 years but he now works as a Supply (Substitute) Teacher. He recently enrolled as a Film and TV Support Artiste and has worked in a BBC TV costume drama. He is a Science Graduate with a degree in Zoology from the University of Bristol and maintains an interest in Natural History and enjoys birdwatching. Other hobbies and interests include: photography, hiking England's Moors, Dales and Fells, cycling, history, especially the Catholic history of England, travel, visiting museums and art galleries, listening to a variety of music and watching sport, especially his beloved Wigan Warriors Rugby League team. He has traveled with the REGINA team to many countries to photograph and write many articles. Michael has been with REGINA since our early days.
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