Saint Pharaildis or Pharailde ( nl, Veerle) is an 8th-century Belgian saint in

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholic Church, Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocacy, advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, ...

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest i ...

. Her dates are imprecise, but she lived to a great age and died on January 5 at ninety.Engelbert, Omer. ''The Lives of the Saints.'' Christopher and Anne Fremantle, trans. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1998. ''Nihil obstat'' 1954.

Life

Pharaildis was born in Ghent, the daughter of Witger, Duke of Lorraine and his wife

Amalberga of Maubeuge Saint Amalberga of Maubeuge (also Amalia, or Amelia of Lobbes or Binche) was a Merovingian nun and saint who lived in the 7th century. Narrative Amalberga's father was Saint Geremarus. She was born in Brabant. She is said to have been the n ...

. Her siblings were: Emebert, Reineldis, Ermelindis and

Gudula Saint Gudula was born in the pagus of Brabant (in present-day Belgium). According to her 11th-century biography ( Vita Gudilae), written by a monk of the abbey of Hautmont between 1048 and 1051, she was the daughter of a duke of Lotharingia calle ...

. Pharaildis was brought up by

Gertrude of Nivelles Gertrude of Nivelles, OSB (also spelled ''Geretrude'', ''Geretrudis'', ''Gertrud''; c. 628 – 17 March 659) was a seventh-century abbess who, with her mother Itta, founded the Abbey of Nivelles, now in Belgium. Life Family and childhood The e ...

. Pharaildis was married against her will at a young age with a

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris