The Holy Martyr Ludmilla

St. Ludmilla, considered both a Queen and a Duchess of Bohemia, is the pious grandmother of St. Wenceslaus, the Good King of Bohemia. She was the daughter of Slavibor, a powerful prince of Bohemia. Bohemia, at this point in time, was almost entirely pagan. She and her husband Borivoi, Duke of Bohemia, were both practicing heathens, worshiping many idols and filling their temples with icons of demons. Her husband Borivoi, in about the year 870, would make a venture to Swatopluck in Bulgaria where he encountered St. Methodius of Bulgaria. Methodius lamented the fact that the Bohemians were still heathens and did not know of Christ. Borivoi was deeply moved by the preaching of St. Methodius and in 871, he and his wife were both baptized by St. Methodius.

Here, the people of Bohemia began to hate their proper rulers. For Paganism does not die slowly but it is allowed relaxation. Christianity always undergoes sufferings so that God may reveal the strength in the Truth. Ludmilla and Borivoi were driven out by their own people and were forced to vacate their seat of power. Paganism leads many a peoples to behave in deeply unruly matters and engages these people into rebellion. For the worship of demons inspires men away from God and into the spirit of rebellion, a spirit truly much worse than even that of witchcraft. But holding fast, the people who rebelled against the moral restraints of Christianity and worshiped the old gods, would call back their King and Queen to their thrones.

Ludmilla had two sons, Spitihnew and Wratislaus. Borivoi and Ludmilla would retire to Tetin leading their son Spitihnew in charge of the kingdom of Bohemia. But Spitihnew would repose and once again, the King and Queen would be recalled to Bohemia once again. Under the rulership of the new Christians, many Pagan temples would be destroyed and many Christian Churches would be built including one that would be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This church was rebuilt in the 12th century and contains the oratory of St. Ludmilla. Borivoi and Ludmilla would continue to seek the counsel of the pious St. Methodius. Borivoi is estimated to have reposed sometime around 894 or before 894. His death would leave Wratislaus in charge of the throne of Bohemia.

Wratislaus would marry Drahomira. Drahomira may have been a Christian but certainly not a practicing Christian. She was fiercely sympathetic to Paganism and the old gods. This led to her hatred of her mother-in-law, the Good Queen Ludmilla. Wratislaus and Drahomira had twin sons, Wenceslaus and Boleslaus. Wenceslaus the Good King and Boleslaus the Cruel. Ludmilla was allowed to adopt Wenceslaus and would have a profound impact on the young King's faith as he looked to his grandmother's guidance and was raised mostly under her tutelage. Her son Wratislaus reposed in the year 916 which left the young Wenceslaus as King of Bohemia at the young age of 8. Wratislaus is buried in the church of St. George which would become a nunnery under his granddaughter Mlada.

Drahomira's hatred and jealousy of her mother-in-law grew as Wratislaus had left Ludmilla as Queen Regent. Being the regent, this meant that Ludmilla acted on behalf of the King. And being an enthusiastic Christian while her daughter-in-law was "Catholic-in-name-only", this created a heavy religious strife between the two. The Queen Mother developed a rage toward her mother-in-law who was closest in influencing the Good King Wenceslaus and Drahomira plotted how to enact her vengeance on the Queen Regent. She hired assassins to overthrow the Holy Ludmilla. Ludmilla, having heard that her life was in danger, sought the Blessed Sacrament one last time. The assassins would come in the night and Ludmilla would be strangled by the very veil she was wearing. Ludmilla was crowned with the glory of martyrdom in the year 927 in the city of Tetin. Her Feast Day is kept on September 16.

St. Ludmilla, Queen and Martyr, Patroness of Bohemia, pray for us!

See also:

Dictionary of Saintly Women, Agnes B.C. Dunbar