Saint Ludmila of Bohemia is the patron saint of the Bohemian people and was responsible for the education of her grandson, Saint Wenceslas. She was murdered on the orders of her daughter-in-law.
Newsroom (21/09/2023 11:28, Gaudium Press) Ludmila was born around the year 860, in the midst of paganism in the city of Melník, the center of Bohemia. Her family belonged to the highest local lineage.
When she was fourteen years old, she was given in marriage to Borzivógio, the first prince of the Premislid state, formed with the unification of the lands that today make up the Czech Republic. It was a time when the great apostle of the Slavs, Saint Methodius, was pouring all his efforts into evangelizing the region. Borzivógio, enchanted by the Catholic Faith, had the honor and merit of being the first Czech ruler to receive the waters of Baptism. His young wife also wanted to be baptized, taking on Christian commitments in such a sincere and profound way that she made it her life’s ideal, together with her husband, to spread the true religion in their domains.
It was not an easy task, but, driven by the fire of faith, no obstacle stopped them. They promoted missions of monks to preach to the population and encourage them to live a life of piety, undertaking the construction of the first church in Bohemia, dedicated to St. Clement.
Little by little, the fruits of their apostolate multiplied, and with them also came persecution, a characteristic sign of walking in the ways of Our Lord. The noble couple were even exiled due to the actions of influential people in the court who were still attached to idolatry.
Shortly afterwards, St. Ludmila and her husband managed to regain the throne and, with it, their impetus for the expansion of Catholicism.
Sagacity in raising her grandson
When a fortress seems impregnable, the most effective method of conquering it is to discreetly penetrate inside and, from within, begin the destruction… This was the tactic used by the devil to try to demolish St. Ludmila’s home.
The danger arose when her son Vratislaus married Drahomira of Lucsko, a young woman who would go down in history as a woman of “haughty and brutal genius, adding to impiety, cruelty and perfidy”. She pretended to sympathize with Christianity, but secretly favored idolatrous practices. Not even her husband’s exhortations, zeal or good examples could dissuade her from her machinations.
The saintly duchess knew that this not only meant a possible split in the throne or the family, but also an imminent danger to true religion in the duchy. For this reason, she was quick to act: when Drahomira’s second son was born, she asked for the guardianship of her firstborn, Wenceslaus, because she discerned in him the qualities of an excellent ruler.
So the little one went to live in his grandmother’s palace in Prague. “The virtuous princess took it upon herself to train that tender heart, sharing the care of his education with a wise preceptor whom she appointed. This was her chaplain, a holy priest by the name of Paul, who fully complied with the princess’s wishes in the lessons he gave Wenceslaus to cultivate both his understanding with the study of letters and his heart with the love and exercise of virtue.” The boy responded so perfectly to this training that he was considered one of the most capable princes of his time.
Resolute spirit in the face of setbacks
While her grandson was growing in wisdom and virtue, his prudent grandmother kept a watchful eye, for she knew that this period consisted of preparing him for the great battle of his life, which would set a decisive course for the nation that God had entrusted to him.
Before the duchess was forty years old, her husband died in battle. What would she do without the protection and support of the faithful Borzivógio? Always resolute, she didn’t hesitate for a moment: she would continue fighting, because if Providence had given her the mission of spreading and defending Catholicism in fledgling Bohemia, with God’s grace she would see it through to the end.
His first move was to place his eldest son, Spitigneus, at the head of the duchy after some disputes. He continued the work started by his parents, laying the foundations of Catholic civilization. He ruled for more than twenty years, until his death in 915, when he was succeeded by his brother Vratislaus.
St. Ludmila’s influence was strong during this period, being firm with the rebels, but at the same time kind and merciful to the weak and afflicted who turned to her. As a result, the Duchess Mother became the delight of the Czechs, from the highest courtiers to the humblest members of the public. Everyone knew that this iron-souled lady, ruthless when it came to defending good and punishing evil, had a motherly heart, always ready to welcome, forgive and encourage people on the path of virtue.
However, someone was annoyed by this situation…
Fighting the “New Jezebel”
Some have compared Drahomira to the wicked Jezebel, who “slaughtered the prophets of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:4). In fact, this woman hated Christianity and was willing to do anything to restore the pagan religion of her ancestors… Like a serpent waiting for the right moment to strike, she was waiting for an opportunity to unleash her fury.
The occasion came with the untimely death of her good husband Vratislaus in 921, during a battle against the Hungarians. This was the beginning of the most arduous ordeal that Saint Ludmila had ever been through, a real confrontation between Christianity and paganism.
As Wenceslas was not yet old enough to ascend to the throne, Drahomira seized the reins of government and, without her husband’s restraint, gave free rein to her implacable hatred. She decreed the closure of churches and the suspension of liturgical services, forbade all Christian priests and teachers to instruct the people, deposed Catholic magistrates from public office and, finally, announced that pagans had the right to kill Christians, but Christians could not take the lives of their aggressors, not even in self-defense.
Saint Ludmila, secluded in her palace in Tetín, never let herself be overwhelmed by the harsh reality. With admirable cunning, she remained resolute and serene, continuing the education of her grandson.
But Drahomira was well aware of the tree from which the best fruits of Catholicism in the duchy came and she wanted to pull it out by the roots. So she carefully planned a sinister insidiousness.
Martyred at the foot of the altar
We can imagine the saintly duchess gathered in her chambers, deep in thought on a bright morning. Like scenes, all the battles, all the graces, all the victories that the Most High had granted her in her glorious mission to win souls for Him were flashing through her mind. However, he felt that God was asking him for something more, one last step, a supreme holocaust with which to crown his militancy in this world.
She was thinking about this when she suddenly heard hurried but discreet footsteps approaching. It was a trusted emissary bringing her alarming news: they were plotting her death. With this, she understood everything. She had dedicated her whole life to fighting here on earth, now she was going to offer God her death in order to continue fighting from heaven.
So she used the time she had left to completely dispose of her worldly possessions, paying her servants generously for their services and distributing the rest of her wealth to the poor.
One afternoon in 921 – according to some authors, a Saturday, September 15; according to others, Sunday, September 16 – Saint Ludmila went to confession and entered the castle chapel, where she remained prostrate for some time before the altar. She received the Holy Eucharist and remained in deep prayer. While she was renewing her offering to the Lord, two assassins, paid by Drahomira, burst into the room and unleashed their fury on the saint, hanging her with her own veil. Thus did this intrepid lady, at the age of sixty-one, receive the palm of martyrdom.
The new Jezebel rejoiced greatly, but it didn’t last long. The duchess-martyr was buried near the castle in Tetin, and the fame of her holiness soon spread. Many miracles began to occur near her tomb. A strong glow could be seen over it and, at night, a perfume spread around it. It was like the voice of Heaven reminding us of God’s immortality, filling the good with faith and terrifying the bad.
Reflection of the Queen of Heaven and Earth
Having reached the required age, St. Wenceslas took over the government of Bohemia. One of his first acts as sovereign was to exile his mother and younger brother – Boleslaus, who was of the same character as his mother – to a remote province, and to promote a grandiose transfer of his grandmother’s remains to the Church of St. George in Prague.
It is said that it was God himself who took it upon himself to avenge the blood of his favorite fighter: one day, Drahomira was passing near a place where he had ordered the execution of countless Christians, when the ground opened up and she was swallowed alive.
The young duke worked hard to restore order, which had been disrupted by Drahomira’s years of bloodthirsty despotism. He was so successful in this task, thanks to his wisdom and prudence, that he soon became a model Christian monarch. His name has gone down through the centuries in a blaze of glory, proclaiming how the Lord did not disappoint the hopes of the one who had formed him for the struggle as a true mother!
Thus, the example of the patron saint of the Bohemian people reflects in history the brilliance of the one who, having humbled herself as “the handmaid of the Lord” (Lk 1:38), trusted in the highest designs of God to the point of being crowned as Queen of Heaven and earth, of angels and men, becoming for the hells “fearsome as an army in battle array” (Ct 6:4)!
Text taken, with adaptations, from the Heralds of the Gospel Magazine no. 237, September 2021. By Sr. Antonella Ochipinti González, EP.
Compiled by Teresa Joseph