Saint Werburgh of Mercia Reviving a Wild Goose. By Dr. Chapman Chen

Summary: Saint Werburgh of Mercia, a 7th century English abbess of royal origins, is especially remembered for her remarkable compassion towards animals—an unusual and deeply touching trait in her era. Per The Life of Saint Werburgh by Henry Bradshaw (1513), the most famous legend about Werburgh involves her resurrection of a wild goose: A flock of wild geese was damaging crops at one of her monasteries. Werburgh then instructed the birds to be penned overnight. However, a steward, disobedient and greedy, killed one goose for his own supper. Discovering the death, Werburgh forgave the steward, then gently gathered the bones and prayed over them. Miraculously, the goose was restored to life, flapped its wings, and rejoined the flock. This tale, rich with symbolic meaning, shows Werburgh’s reverence for all God’s creatures, her abhorrence of unnecessary killing, and her faith in the redemptive power of mercy. Werburg was also renowned for her pastoral care, gentle monastic leadership, and strict personal asceticism, which in all probability included abstinence from animal flesh. She later became the patron saint of Chester, and her cult spread throughout Anglo-Saxon England. Her feast day is celebrated on 3 February.

1. Early Life and Royal Origins

Saint Werburgh (also spelled Werburga or Werburh) was born in the 7th century into the royal family of Mercia, one of the powerful Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in what is now central England. She was the daughter of King Wulfhere of Mercia and Queen Ermenilda, herself a princess of the Kingdom of Kent. Werburgh's lineage placed her in a dynastic tradition of holiness, as her grandmother Saint Ethelburga of Ely and great-grandmother Saint Sexburga were also venerated as saints.

Despite being raised amid royal luxury, Werburgh was drawn from an early age to a life of religious devotion, chastity, and simplicity.

2. Ascetic Life and Leadership

Rejecting marriage proposals from noble suitors, Werburgh entered religious life, likely influenced by her mother and grandmother. She was educated at Ely Abbey under the guidance of her great-aunt Saint Etheldreda, and later joined the Benedictine order. Her deep learning, spiritual discipline, and humility led her to be appointed as Abbess of several monasteries across Mercia, including Weedon, Trentham, Hanbury, and Repton.

As an abbess, she reformed and unified monastic practices and was known for her pastoral care, moderate leadership, and stringent self-denial, which in all likelihood included a plant-based, non-violent diet, in keeping with early monastic norms of abstaining from animal flesh and indulgences.

3. Holiness, Death, and Veneration

Saint Werburgh died around c. 700 AD, likely at Trentham, and her remains were later translated to Chester, where they became the focus of widespread veneration. The city cathedral was named in her honour: St Werburgh’s Abbey, now Chester Cathedral.

4. A Heart for Creation

Apart from the resurrection of the wild geese, other legends suggest that Werburgh extended kindness to all living beings. In keeping with early Christian and Celtic monastic sensibilities, she likely saw animals not as inferior beings for human use, but as fellow members of God’s creation, to be treated with compassion and humility.

5. Legacy

Saint Werburgh’s life offers a radiant example of: royal renunciation and humility;

vegan-aligned compassion for animals; monastic reform and feminine spiritual leadership; miraculous mercy and healing. In an age of conquest and bloodshed, Werburgh chose peace, prayer, and protection for the most vulnerable—both human and animal. Her legacy invites today’s Christians to embrace a kinder, simpler, more Christ-like way of living in harmony with all creation. #VeganChrist  #VeganGod  #VeganTheology  #VeganChurch

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