Saint Erentrude

Erentrude (also known as Ehrentraud, Erendrudis, Erentruy, Erndrude, Arentruda, Ariotruda and Arndruda) was a saint and abbess, born during the end of the 7th century, probably in present-day Germany or Austria. She was born into a Franconian-Merovingian royal house, and was the niece of Rupert of Salzburg. She left her home country to assist Rupert in establishing religious communities in Salzburg; in about 700, he built a convent, Nonnberg Abbey, and installed her as its first abbess. She and the nuns at Nonnberg served the poor, needy, and ill, striking a balance between living as cloistered nuns and engaging in charitable works. Erentrude died on 30 June 718. Her fame for healing miracles and intercession grew after her death, and many legends have arisen throughout the centuries since her death. In 2006, Erentrude's image appeared on the Austrian Nonnberg Abbey commemorative coin. Her feast day is celebrated on 30 June.

==Life and ministry== Erentrude was born at the end of the 7th century, probably in present-day Germany or Austria. The exact date and place of her birth are unknown, and little evidence about her life exists. She was from a Franconian-Merovingian royal house; one early legend states that she was born and raised in Franconia. Hagiographer Agnes Dunbar states that Erentrude lived in Worms and "was consecrated to God from her childhood". The duchess Regintrudis, wife of Thedo and a Franconian princess, was a nun at Nonnberg Abbey, the convent where Erentrude was abbess, and might have been related to her. Erentrude was the fraternal niece of Rupert of Salzburg, although hagiographer Alban Butler reports that she might have been his sister. Much of what is known about Erentrude comes from Rupert. The first biographical sketch about her was written by Caesarius, a chaplain at Nonnberg Abbey at the beginning of the 14th century, at the direction of the bishop at the time; his sources were the oldest nuns at the convent and the people in the area. According to writer Linda Kulzer, Caesarius "sketches a thoroughly loving and attractive image of Erentrude... which is the foundation of what is now the common office of the saint".