LUDMILLA (LIDMILA), saint, martyr. – Patroness of Bohemia, b. at Pšovka near Mělník in 860, d. at Tetín on 15 Sept. 921. Wife of the first Christian duke of Bohemia, Bořivoj; she was baptized by St Methodius at Velehrad in 871.
After the abdication of the Bohemian throne in favor of her son Spithněv, St L. retired to Tetín where she exercised a great influence over her grandson Wenceslaus, son of Vratislav and Drahomira. She was especially concerned with his spiritual life, teaching him Christian doctrine and instilling in him a great love for the Most Holy Sacrament. In 916, when Wenceslaus ascended the Bohemian throne, she was his advisor. At that time Drahomira, driven by the pagan movement, decided to suppress L. in the hope of extinguishing not only Wenceslaus’s advisor but also Christianity in Bohemia. She therefore had her strangled at Tetín on 15 Sept. 921. The body of L. was transferred to the church of St George in Prague in 1110. Feast on 16 Sept.
Miroslav Šumpf