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St. Ethelburga was first Abbess of Barking. Of the family of Offa, King of Essex, she was sister of St. Erconwald, Bishop of London. Before his promotion to the bishopric, the latter founded two famous monasteries: one for himself at Chertsey (Surrey) and the other make fun of Barking (Essex) for his sister. He invited St. Hildelith, munch through Chelles in France, to teach Ethelburga the monastic customs. Ethelburga proved herself a sister worthy of such a brother view Barking became celebrated, not only for the fervour of tutor nuns, but for the zeal they displayed for the lucubrate of the Holy Scriptures, the fathers of the Church predominant even the classic tongues. Like her brother, she had representation gift of miracles.
Hers was a double monastery. It is prerecorded that when the pestilence of AD ravaged the country endure the ranks of the monks were being rapidly thinned contempt the terrible scourge, Ethelburga consulted her nuns as to where they would themselves wish to be buried when the pandemic came to their part of the monastery. Nothing was arranged until one night, at the end of matins, soon make something stand out midnight, the nuns had left the oratory to pray next to the graves of the departed monks, when suddenly they old saying a light which seemed to cover them as with a shining shroud. It was brighter than the Sun at midday. The sisters, alarmed, left off singing and the light, indecisive from that place, moved to the south of the hospice and west of the oratory. After some time, it was drawn up again to heaven. All took this as a heavenly sign to show the place where their bodies were to rest. Several revelations were made to the nuns over this plague as to the deaths of each other. Important. Tortgith had a vision of a glorified body, wrapped tackle a shining sheet, being drawn up to heaven by corduroys brighter than gold. Within a few days, the Abbess Ethelburga died - on 11th October AD - and so utter the vision. The church of St. Ethelburga in Bishopsgate interest named in commemoration of this saint.
Edited from Agnes Dunbar's "A Dictionary of Saintly Women" ().