Christina the Astonishing
Christina the Astonishing (1150-1224) was born in Brustem in the Flemish region of Belgium. She was born to peasant parents who raised her as a committed Christian before dying when Christina was 15. Thenceforth, Christina was cared for by her two older sisters, and had to go to work as a shepherdess (poverty and pastoral work are often a good start for a saint). Little is known of her life until she was stricken with a seizure (possibly epilepsy, a misunderstood condition in the middle ages) at the age of 21 so severe that she was believed to be dead.
During her funeral service in a church at nearby Sint-Triuden, Christina suddenly levitated from her coffin to the church rafters, later proclaiming that she could not stand the stench of sin from the congregation. Ordered down by the priest officiating the burial mass, she explained that she had seen heaven, hell, and purgatory, and had been given the choice of performing penance for the souls stuck in purgatory on earth or staying in heaven. She opted for the latter, renounced all luxuries, and spent the rest of her long life engaged in a range of strange and painful activities.
Christina never got over her aversion to the smell of sin. She would climb to great heights to pray, such as up a tree where she would balance on the tiniest branches with birds, or on top of tall buildings. She was also fond of fire: often she would jump in flames or climb into ovens, and though she screamed in agony would emerge entirely unscathed. Medieval doctrine held that part of purgatory was full of fire, and so her actions on earth were thought to reduce the burning of sinners in the next life, theologically similar to Christ’s Crucifixion.
Christina would race madly through the streets, leading some to believe her possessed by demons. One man once caught her, breaking her leg in the process, and tied her to a pillar while he sought help. Christina miraculously escaped, surviving for several days on her own virginal breast milk, of course up a tree. She was also reported to throw herself under the wheels of water mills, emerging from the water unscathed. Living as a mendicant, Christina lived in rags and survived only on what she could beg from townsfolk. She retired to a convent in her old age.
Her life was recorded eight years after her death by the eminent churchman and writer Thomas of Cantimpré, which gave the story credence. Christina seems to have divided opinion in her life: some found her erratic behavior and self-mortification utterly terrifying, leading to her being incarcerated twice, whilst others believed her story about helping the miserable souls in purgatory. From a modern perspective, it is hard not to suspect that Christina was suffering from mental illness, but one thing that is truly miraculous is her survival to the age of 74 despite her lifestyle when life expectancy was only 43.