Used book – Sainte Odile, Annonciade Coleno

8th century. Alsace was a province contested by the Germanic Empire and the Merovingian Kingdom. Barbarians ravaged the region, and the Church sought to establish its authority by re-investing pagan sites, such as the wall surrounding Hohenburg, which would later become Mont Sainte-Odile. In this torn and conflict-ridden Alsace, Odile's destiny was marked by violence: born blind, she was condemned to death by her father, the third Duke of Alsace. Her mother saved her by hiding her in a distant convent. At the age of twelve, she was baptized and regained her sight. This miracle prompted her to found a monastery upon her return to the family castle. She died there in 720, leaving behind the memory of a thaumaturgical abbess with undisputed power. Her monastery has endured through the centuries and remains the main pilgrimage site in Alsace, of which she is the patron saint.