Vatican City, Oct 8, 2020 / 03:10 am
Pope Francis hailed the "great" Doctor of the Church St. Hildegard of Bingen in a message to a Vatican women's group issued Thursday.
In the message released Oct. 8, the pope compared the 12th-century visionary to St. Francis of Assisi, the inspiration for his new encyclical, "Fratelli tutti."
"Like St. Francis of Assisi, she composed a harmonious hymn in which she celebrated and praised the Lord of and in creation," he said in the text dated Oct. 1, the feast day of St. Thérèse of Lisieux, another female Doctor of the Church.
"Hildegard united scientific knowledge and spirituality. For a thousand years, she has masterfully taught men and women through her writings, her commentaries and her art."