Ivetta of Huy (1158–1228)

Belgian anchoress. Name variations: Ivette of Huy; Jutta of Huy; Yvette of Huy. Born in 1158 in Huy, Belgium; died in 1228 in Belgium; daughter of nobles; married; children: three.

A holy woman of the Low Countries, Ivetta of Huy was born into a noble Belgian family in 1158. Her early life is obscure; her parents forced her to wed at age 13, and she was widowed at 18 with three sons to support. Ivetta wanted to pursue a religious life but had to fight against her parents' wish that she remarry; finally she convinced a local bishop to help her. It is not clear with whom she left her children, but Ivetta did penance for her sins by serving in a leper hospital in Huy. After a few years, she decided that to reach her true calling she needed to enclose herself as a recluse, or anchoress. She received the necessary permissions and had a cell built next to the leper hospital.

Ivetta of Huy spent more than four decades in her cell, which consisted of two small rooms with a window so that she could consult with visitors and those seeking guidance. Her piety made her famous in that area, and eventually a community of other religious men and women grew up around her, its members attracted by the idea of living in an informal setting without taking vows but devoting themselves to serving others. Ivetta became the indirect leader of this community, giving spiritual guidance and counseling the brothers and sisters, but not taking responsibility for their material well-being, as a regular abbess or prioress did. Among her other accomplishments, she worked to set up inns for the protection of travelers on pilgrimage and distributed all of her substantial property and money to the poor of Huy. Her feast day is January 13.

Laura York , Riverside, California