CRISTINA of STOMMELN, saint. — Born in 1242 at Stommeln near Cologne, died there on 6 Nov. 1312. Her life up to 1286 was written by the Swedish Dominican Peter of Dacia, her confessor, with whom she also maintained a correspondence that has been preserved and is now published. As a young woman she lived for some time with the Beguines of Cologne, but due to illness she returned to her father’s house.
She suffered many spiritual and physical torments, which she and her contemporaries attributed to diabolical operations, though at least some of these were due to pathological causes. Throughout all her tribulations she preserved her ardent faith and spotless purity, which the Lord rewarded with ecstasies and with the stigmata that at certain times appeared on her hands and feet. From 1288 until her death she was freed from these torments. Her contemporaries regarded her as a saint and she also performed miracles. Since 1568 her relics have rested in the church of Jülich. Pius X confirmed her cult in 1908. Her feast is on 6 Nov.