St. Germilina, April 27 (Gemelliana (2), Gemellina, or Gemilliana), M. at Nicomedia, in Bithynia. AA.SS.
B. Geronima (1), or Hieronyma, Dec. 12, O.S.F. + 1447. Baptista de Montefeltri, wife of Galeazzo Malatesta, prince of Pesaro, founded, in 1439, the convent of Corpus Christi, at Pesaro, where B. Felicia de Meda was abbess. After her husband's death, in 1444, Baptista became a Franciscan nun at the convent of St. Lucy, at Foligno, and took the name of Geronima. Franciscan Martyrology. Gynecæum.
St. Geronima (2) of the Assumption (Girolama, Hieronyma). + Oct. 22, 1631. Founder and first abbess of the Convent of the Conception, of the barefooted Order of St. Clara, in the town of Manilla, in the Philippine Islands. She was born at Toledo, and was the daughter of Pedro Garcia, an esteemed advocate, and Catalina de la Fuente.
Geronima was pious from childhood. Her marriage was arranged, but during a dangerous illness she had a vision of St. Francis, who bade her take his crown. She took the veil in the convent of St. Isabel la Reale, of the Order of St. Clara, and was noted for her extreme holiness and humility. When she was nearly thirty, she was invited to found a new convent of Corpus Christi in Toledo. The older nuns were offended, and treated her very badly. She bore her trials with great humility. She pretended to be mad, but this her confessor forbade. She mortified her natural love of cleanliness by performing the "service of humility," doing all the dirty work of the house, and going about with her clothes and hands filthy. She would never eat her dinner until she had grubbed in the ash-pit.
Geronima went to Manilla in 1621, with a company of nuns, to found a convent. She rendered obedience to the abbess of every convent where she stayed; but when she heard of any grand preparations for her reception, she would not go on, but took, if possible, another road. She was also accompanied on her journey by the Franciscan monk Giuseppe de Sta. Maria, and obeyed all his commands. He ordered her companion, Mother Magdalen of Christ, to reprove her on every possible occasion. Geronima inflicted great voluntary suffering on herself from heat and thirst, drinking a little only on Sundays and Thursdays; her tongue dried up, and she was covered with sores and vermin. She was considered so holy that people flocked to see her and to pick up any scrap of her clothes, and they brought her bottles of water to bless for sick people. At Seville a great crowd collected, but, in her humility, she refused to show herself, until commanded to do so by the Father Provincial. She arrived at Manilla in August, 1621, and there she died, Oct. 22, 1631.
It was not the custom to show the dead bodies of nuns, but crowds came to see the remains of St. Geronima. All the clergy of the cathedral and other great personages assisted at the ceremonies in her honour. The governor of the island sent an artist to paint a picture of the dead saint, who opened her eyes, as he wanted to see them. Her coffin was lined with silver brocade, presented by a devout follower.
The Life of St. Geronima, printed by the Congregation of Sacred Rites in 1734.
St. Gertrude (1), Oct. 18 (Guntrudis, Gontrude). Perhaps 4th century. Sister of SS. Libaria, Manna, Oda, and Susanna, and their brothers, SS. Elphius and Encharius. The names, number, and date of this group vary in different accounts, and they are sometimes confounded with another family of saints. (See Hoylda.) Perhaps this Gertrude is confounded with Gebetrude, abbess of Habend.
St. Gertrude (2) (Gegoberga). Second abbess of Habend.
St. Gertrude (3) (Gebetrude). Third abbess of Habend.
St. Gertrude (4), Dec. 6. + c. 655. Founder and first abbess of Hamaye, on the Scarp, near Douai. She had a daughter, Gerberta, who, when a widow, lived there with her mother. Gerberta was the mother of St. Adalbald, who married St. Rictrude. Gertrude adopted her great-granddaughter, St. Eusebia, and left her the lands and monastery
