Feast June 6
Invoked during childbirth for safe delivery
Norbert was born in the year 1080 in Xanten, Germany, to a noble and wealthy family.
Norbert lived a life of pleasure until one day he lost consciousness after being thrown from his horse during a thunderstorm. He awoke an hour later, and said, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” “Turn from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it,” came the heavenly reply.
After his conversion, Norbert pursued the priesthood and was ordained in 1115. He received special permission from the Pope to preach the Gospel wherever he chose.
Finding himself at Prémontré in France, Norbert founded a community under the rule of St. Augustine, with the sanction of the Holy See. At first, Norbert had only thirteen followers but the numbers increased to forty by 1121 and by 1125, eight abbeys and two convents had been established. Thus he founded the Norbertine Order.
In 1126, Norbert was chosen Archbishop of Magdeburg. He struggled to reform the clergy, many of whom were leading careless lives, and ultimately succeeded in his reformation endeavours.
Four years later, he defended Pope Innocent II, whose claim to the papacy was threatened by Antipope Anacletus II. Norbert won over the hierarchy of the Church in Germany to Innocent’s cause and influenced the German King Lothar to defend Innocent.
Norbert died in Magdeburg in 1134 at the age of fifty-three. He was formally recognized as a saint by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
Why is St. Norbert the Patron of Expectant Mothers and Infertile Couples?
A pious woman once sought the counsel of St. Norbert concerning her childless marriage. She and her husband were considering separating and entering religious life because they had been unable to have children.
St. Norbert reassured her and foretold that God would bless them with children. He further prophesied that their firstborn son would be dedicated to God’s service.
His prediction came true. The couple was blessed with children, and their first son, Nicholas, later entered the Norbertine Order at Prémontré.
Because of this remarkable event, St. Norbert came to be invoked by expectant mothers and married couples struggling with infertility. He is also traditionally prayed to for a safe and healthy childbirth.
Even today, the Norbertine Canonesses of Doksany in the Czech Republic actively promote devotion to St. Norbert among couples hoping for children and mothers facing difficult pregnancies. Through his powerful intercession, many families have reported receiving the blessing of children and experiencing God’s providential care.1
St. Norbert, patron of expectant mothers and infertile couples, pray for us.
A Prayer to St. Norbert for a Good Childbirth
St. Norbert, great and faithful servant of God!
You venerated the holy and miraculous birth of Our Saviour,
Who His Mother, the purest Virgin Mary,
conceived without the loss of her virginity
and gave birth remaining a virgin.
You connected the origin of the Premonstratensian Order
with the day of the birth of Jesus Christ.
I humbly pray to you, St. Norbert,
as a great protector, so that God will give me the grace,
through your intercession,
to give birth to this conceived child.
And so that He will give me also the grace
that this child will join the Church of Christ
through the sacrament of Baptism
and that he/she will serve Him, Our Lord,
the whole of his/her life
so that in the end we both will reach eternal salvation.
Through Jesus Christ, Our Lord, Amen.
(Translated from The Little Hours, 1749, by one of our Norbertine Sisters at Doksany)2