Anstrudis of Laon

Holy Venerable Anstrudis of Laon, born around 645, was abbess of the convent of Saint John at Laon in Gaul. She is a saint of the undivided Church.

She was the daughter of Saint Sadalberga, who founded the convent, and of Blandinus. Her Life, written in the 9th century by an unknown author, says that around 657, aged twelve, she entered her mother's convent to avoid a marriage. When Sadalberga fell asleep in 670, Anstrudis succeeded her as abbess, with the consent of the bishop of Laon, the nobility and the king.

Those years were hard: the struggle between Neustria and Austrasia reached the convent, and Ebroin, the powerful master of Neustria, sought to drive her out and had her brother Baldwin, also a saint, killed. Anstrudis nevertheless kept her post. She is said to have kept strict fasts and many vigils, to have visited the sick and the poor, and to have guided her sisters gently. She reposed in 688, and many healings and miracles were attributed to her prayers after her death.

She is commemorated on 17 October, the liturgical date in the Orthodox calendar (the same day number on the old and new calendars).