Hedwig, of royal birth, and still more illustrious by the innocence of her life, was the daughter of Berthold, Prince of Carinthia, and aunt, on the mother's side, of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Having married Henry, Duke of Poland, she fulfilled her duties as wife in so holy a fashion that the Church compares her to the strong woman, whose portrait is drawn for us by the Holy Ghost in today's Epistle. She had three sons and three daughters. She macerated her body, both by fasting and watching and by the roughness of her clothes; she was very charitable to the poor, whom she herself served at table. She washed and kissed the ulcers of lepers.
To devote herself more to the service of God, she induced her husband to bind himself, by vow, with her, to observe continence. The Duke having died, Hedwig, like the merchant mentioned in the Gospel, gave away all her riches to acquire the precious pearl of eternal life. After praying earnestly, and under divine inspiration, she generously exchanged worldly pomp for the life of the Cross (Collect), entering the Cistercian monastery of Trebnitz, where her daughter was abbess. She died on 15 October 1243, and Poland honours her with special veneration as her patroness.
The Collect for her feast is one more gem from the treasure chest of the traditional Roman rite: