Walpurgis
b. circa 710, England; d. 779, Heidenheim, Germany
Walpurgis (Walpurga) became a missionary and worked with her brothers, Wynnebald and Willibald, in Germany until she settled in a convent at Heidenheim, where she served as abbess. She is still celebrated on the day of her death, February 25, by the Catholic church. Walpurgis Night, a spring celebration held in parts of Germany, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, and the Czech Republic, is named after her but in actuality originated from pagan rituals, not veneration of Walpurgis.
