St. Hildegard was born the tenth child of noble parents, Hildebert and Mechtild. At the age of eight years old, she was tithed to the male Benedictine monastery at Disibodenberg and placed under the tutelage of her spiritual mother and relative, Jutta von Sponheim. Hildegard likely entered the Disibodenberg as a teenage girl when she took her vows to live as a Benedictine anchorite (a cloistered or enclosed nun).

Hildegard lived at Disibodenberg for almost half of her life (she lived to be 81 years old). She became the magistra or leader of the small female community at Disibodenberg when she was thirty-eight years old. She received permission to move her sisters out of Disibodenberg into their own space on Mount St. Rupert when she was around fifty years old.

The Disibodenberg Monastery was founded in the late 900’s by an Irish Bishop named Disibod who became a Benedictine after arriving in Germany looking for a way to establish a context to preach and teach.  His vita or life story was recorded by Hildegard. The following is an excerpt from this hagiography:

“Because of the greenness of Disibod’s good desire, at this point God accepted his prayers. He sent into Disibod’s mind the sweet consolation of repose, just as dew falls upon the grass. In a night vision God also showed him by a certain manifestation that sometime he would find a place which matched what he prayed for… Blessed Disibod rejoiced because of his good hope for his wish, for he knew it would be fulfilled sometimes through God’s help. He heard of the good reputation of the people dwelling in the parts of Gaul near the Rhine, namely, that this people was rough, but they held to the church’s religion by living devoutly… (103) With almost no delay, he set out quickly to the Rhine River. Turning there and passing through some deserted areas, he reached the river Glan. Having crossed it, he saw a high, wooded peak. After ten years of pilgrimage, he went up it. Exhausted, he sat down and rested there. Touched by the Holy Spirit, he said to his companions (there were three who had come with him from Ireland…) ‘Here will be my rest.’ When he had traveled around the peak and diligently examined its slopes, its beauty satisfied his soul more and more as a place where he should dwell…” (105)

The monastery was still under construction at the time Hildegard would have joined and so she likely spent most of her young adult years immersed in this building project. This may have been where she learned the skills needed to later organize her own building projects at Rupertsberg and then Eibingen. Disibodenberg was also the place where she would have been formed in Benedictine spirituality, practice, and learning.

The ruins of Disibodenberg are in excellent condition for their age. They stand majestically on the top of Mount St. Disibod between the Nahe and Glan Rivers where Disibod founded his monastery a millenia ago.

When Hildegard requested to move her sisters out of Disibodenberg to build their own monastery, her request was not immediately honored and it created a break in the relationship between Hildegard and the Abbot of Disibodenberg. After the dust settled, the monks at Disibodenberg reached out to Hildegard requesting her to share with them what the Living Light had revealed to her around their founder. From this correspondence came the beautiful poem of St. Disibod written by Hildegard entitled, “O viriditas digiti Dei” (O, the greenness of God’s finger.) 

The canvas painting on the south wall of our “anchorage” (aka choir loft) was created by artist, Patsy Gunn. It depicts the ruins of what may have been the infirmary at the Disibodenberg. It is likely Hildegard spent many hours in the infirmary learning the art of healing.

The large framed photo on the north wall of our anchorage is of a wall that may have been part of the “women’s quarters” at the Disibodenberg. The photo was taken on a cell phone and enlarged many times its original size without any distortion or pixelation suggesting that Hildegard’s verdant energy continues to saturate the space.

On the first floor, near the north staircase leading up to the anchorage, there is a mystical photo of the Disibodenberg purchased in their gift shop.  Next to it is a small rock from the Disibodenberg. We have included this holy rock in our shrine as a “relic” of the sacred space where St. Hildegard grew into her role as a Saint and Doctor of the Church.