Patron saint for the protection of trees and against cattle diseases – Saint Berlinda of Meerbeke

Saint Berlinda was a Benedictine nun of noble descent. According to legend she was a niece of Saint Amandus and was disinherited by her father, Count Odelard after he became sick with leprosy. He believed she would not take care of him.

Berlinda fled to a convent in Belgium and became a nun. After her father died, she became a hermit where her father had been buried. She died in 702. Her tradition states that she spent her life helping the poor and suffering.