The Feast of Saint Walburga

On the Feast of Saint Walburga — which is celebrated on February 25 — our community gathers in gratitude and hope, asking her intercession as we seek God’s healing and strength. Drawing on a tradition that stretches back more than a millennium, we bless one another with oil associated with her shrine and pray that God will strengthen us in mind, body, and spirit — just as He strengthened Walburga in her vocation as abbess and missionary.

Saint Walburga as an English Benedictine nun and missionary who traveled to present-day Germany during the great wave of Anglo-Saxon evangelization of the continent. She assisted her uncle, Saint Boniface, and later became abbess of the double monastery at Heidenheim. Known for her wisdom, learning, and pastoral care, Walburga helped strengthen the Christian communities taking root in newly evangelized regions.

After her death, she was buried in Eichstätt, where devotion to her grew steadily. A particular sign associated with her shrine is the “Walburga oil,” a clear liquid said to exude from the stone near her relics. For centuries, pilgrims have received this oil as a sacramental sign of healing and God’s grace.

In this spirit, we mark her feast by blessing our community with oil and entrusting one another to her prayers. Each member receives the sign of the cross on their forehead as our prioress says, “May God bless you with healing and strength.” Through this simple but profound gesture, we remember that the same God who sustained Saint Walburga in faith and mission continues to sustain us today.