Helena of Skövde

Saint Helena of Skövde
Carving of Helena at the Gyllen i Kyrkparken in Skövde
Born	c. 1101 Västergötland, Sweden
Died	1160 Götene, Sweden
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church and certain Protestant churches. Having been canonized prior to the Great Schism, she qualifies as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well
Canonized	1165 by Pope Alexander III
Feast	5 March
Patronage	Västergötland, Sweden.

Saint Helena (sometimes St. Helen of Sköfde; Swedish: Elin av Skövde) was a woman of high birth, who lived in the 12th century, and was considered to be the patron saint of Skövde, Sweden. Saint Helena decorates the Skövde city arm and is the patron saint of the church in Ränneslöv.

Saint Helena with Våmbs Church and St. Helena Church.
Skövde Church. Erik Olson. 1954

She was born around 1101. She was of noble family and is generally believed to have been the daughter of the Jarl Guthorm. In adult life, she married and bore children. After the death of her husband, she lived on his farm at Våmb in Skara. She also gave her belongings to the poor and undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. She returned and settled on the farm where she dedicated herself to spiritual and kind actions. According to legend, it is Helena who built Våmbs Church (Våmbs kyrka) in the Skara diocese at the farm in Våmb. The church in Skövde, now called St. Helena Church (Sankta Helena kyrka), was also largely built as a result of generous donations from Helena.

Helena had a daughter who had married, and was beaten and abused by her husband. After a time, the servants at Helena's farm united and killed the husband. His relatives blamed Helena for the murder, even though she was on a pilgrimage to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem at the time. To avenge his death they killed Helena at Götene while she was on her way to church in 1160.

Helena was canonized in 1165 by the Pope Alexander III with the sponsorship of Stefan, the first Archbishop of Uppsala. Her legend was first written down by Brynolf Algotsson, Bishop of Skara (1278–1317).

External links

• Sankta Helena kyrka, Skövde

Other sources

• Pernler, Sven-Erik, S:ta Elin av Skövde: kulten, källorna, kvinnan (Skara: Diocese of Skara historical society. 2007) ISBN 978-91-976688-3-5

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