See further below.
Hildegarde was never formally canonized; a process was undertaken but was
rather hastily dropped early in the 13th century on the pretext that there had
been defects in recording the miracles needed to establish her case. It may
well have been that her preaching activities were viewed askance by the Curia
at about that time, since the Lateran Council of 1215 had re-iterated the
prohibition against women preachers. The diocese in which she lived is, if
memory serves, permitted a yearly observance of her anniversary, but this
observance has not been extended to the Church in Germany nor elsewhere. With
Julian of Norwich, Hildegard languishes in an unsanctified and, apparently,
unsanctifiable limbo.
John P.
On 29 Dec 1998, Christopher Crockett wrote:
> Though it is not impossible that Hildegard's visions were caused by
> ergot, in view of the number of them she had, she must have been
> tripping constantly for decades.
If rye flour/bread were a steady component of the nuns' diet, as it very
probably was, that could easily explain Hildegard's protracted visions. It's
also possible that she would not necessarily have connected the rye with her
visionary experiences, unless the grain or flour were visibly contaminated.
(And please, PLEASE, no ripostes about distilled rye...!)
JCP
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