Leroy Huizenga on Hildegard of Bingen, a New Doctor of the Church

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI made headlines when he added a new name to the official list of figures given the title “Doctor of the Church”: St. Hildegard of Bingen. Who was she? Why did the Holy Father choose to declare her a doctor of the Church at this time?

In this episode of The Sacred Page Podcast I am joined with Leroy Huizenga who has done a good deal of work on St. Hildegard.  At the Society of Biblical Literature last year, he presented a paper entitled, “St. Hildegard of Bingen’s Premodern and Postmodern Paul.” In fact, for a fantastic overview of St. Hildegard, see this excellent piece written by Leroy over at First Things.

As you’ll learn here, she fought heretics, but opposed burning them at the stake; she wrote the only surviving medical treatise of her time; she related visions of Christ. . . in short, St. Hildegard was a truly fascinating figure!

Dr. Huizenga is a Senior Fellow of the St. Paul Center and a Professor of Scripture at the University of St. Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he also serves as the Director of the Christian Leadership Center. To learn more about him and his work check out his website. Also, I’d encourage you to follow him on Twitter: @LHuizenga