A Household of Saints
Waltrude was the daughter of Walbert (also called Walbert IV or Walbert of Hainault) and Bertille of Thuringia, both venerated as saints. Her sister was Aldegund (Aldegundis), foundress of Maubeuge Abbey, and she was cousin to Saint Aye.
She married Vincent Madelgarus, count of Hainault, a principal lord at the court of King Dagobert. The couple had four children, all later venerated as saints: Landericus (Landry of Soignies, described in Western tradition as bishop of Metz), Dentelin of Mons, Aldetrude (abbess of Maubeuge Abbey), and Madalberta of Maubeuge, who succeeded her sister Aldetrude as abbess.
Around 642 Madelgarus founded Hautmont Abbey. At Waltrude's urging he later withdrew into monastic life there, taking the name Vincent, under which he is venerated (as Saint Vincent of Soignies, commemorated 20 September).
Monastic Foundation at Mons
Following the withdrawal of her husband into monastic life — placed by one account around 656, after the death of their son Dentelin — Waltrude devoted herself to spiritual life. She spent a period as a disciple of Abbot Saint Ghislain (Guislain), whom she had earlier persuaded to establish an oratory at a place called Ursidongus, now Saint-Ghislain.
About 656 she received the religious veil from Saint Aubert, bishop of Cambrai. Hydulphe of Lobbes built her a cell and chapel at a place called Castriloc, on the site of the future Mons, near Ghislain's oratory.
The small community that gathered around her grew into a religious house and eventually became a royal chapter of canonesses. Her biography records that within it she lived as an ordinary member rather than as a leader, and that she endured much slander from the secular world during her lifetime.
Charity and Ransom of Captives
Waltrude's vita celebrates her efforts to free captives, whom she redeemed through ransom payments drawn from her personal resources. This work of liberation is among the acts most closely associated with her memory.
Relics & Shrines
Waltrude's relics are preserved in the Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church (Collégiale Sainte-Waudru) in Mons, Belgium, which stands as the center of her veneration.
Her reliquary shrine is carried in procession each year during the Ducasse de Mons festival, when it is placed on the 'car d'or', a gilded cart, and drawn through the streets of the city.
Note on the Sources
The details of Waltrude's life come from Western hagiographical and Catholic references; OrthodoxWiki carries no article on her and the OCA calendar for 9 April does not list her. Sources differ on some dates: her birth is given variously as c. 610 or c. 612, and her death as 686 or c. 688. This profile follows the anchor feast of 9 April and the commonly cited death year of 686.
