Written by  Fr. Dennis O'Neill

Ludmila was born at Mielnik about 860.  She was the wife of Borziwoj, the first Christian Duke of Bohemia. She was hated by the mother of her grandson, St. Wenceslaus, for her great influence over him. As a result, Drahomira ordered Ludmila to be strangled with her own veil by two knights on her estate, Tetin, near Berau, September 15, 921. Her tomb in St. Michael's church in Tetin was built by Drahomira, but her remains were transferred to St. George Basilica, near St. Vitus Cathedral, in Prague, perhaps by Wenceslaus himself. Our relic comes from a portion of her bones which were kept in the Vatican. It was certified and sealed by Cardinal Antonio Vico, Vicar of Rome's Congregation of Relics and Rites, on August 4, 1920 and sent to the Russian Orthodox monastery of St. Panteleimon on Mount Athos in a relic exchange. We obtained it from Mount Athos in July, 2022.

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