St. Bertilla of Chelles

Bertilla, called Bertille in Butler’s account, came from the region of Soissons. When she wished to enter religious life, she first sought the advice of St. Ouen. Butler describes a period of prayer and careful consideration before her parents were approached. With their consent she entered the community of Jouarre.

Her work there was practical as well as contemplative. She was entrusted with hospitality, the care of the sick, and the children educated in the monastery. She later became prioress, assisting the abbess in the government of the house. When Queen Bathild renewed the foundation at Chelles, Bertilla was sent at the head of a group of experienced nuns to establish its religious life.

As abbess she received women of royal and noble families, including Bathild herself after the queen withdrew from public life. Butler emphasizes that authority in the community rested on humility, discipline, and readiness to serve. The precise chronology of the foundation and Bertilla’s death was disputed among the writers he consulted, but the long service of the abbess and the influence of Chelles are central to the account.