Catherine ran around the old farmhouse to find Grandma on the porch. She was sitting in her rocking chair, surrounding her sat Rosa, Joan, Elizabeth, Kristine, Hilda, Saskia and Marie. Grandma called "Catherine, come join us on the porch." Catherine sat next to Hilda who was telling Grandma, "I do not like my name. All the boys at school make fun of it. I would rather be called Sandy or Janet." Grandma was knitting in her rocking chair. Grandma then told Hilda, "It is a shame that you do not like your name. Hilda is such a strong name." Hilda exclaimed, "No actress or model has Hilda for a name." Grandma looked at all the girls, then turned to Hilda and said, "That may be true, however, in the past many girls were named Hilda. You might have been named after one of those girls, like Hildegarde von Bingen."

My name is Hidegarde von Bingen, and I am an Abbess. That means that I am the director of a Abbey, a place where women can come to live, study and pray. I have lived at the Abbey since I was a little girl, when my father gave me to the service of the Church. I studied hard and wrote scientific books about women's medicine, books about God and the Church, and books about what God has said to me. Being an Abbess is difficult work. I travel far away, usually on a horse, to talk to leaders in the Church about problems I see. I aslo talk to Princes and Kings about how to run their countries. Even the Pope listens to me, and he's the most important person in the Church.