Quia Ergo Femina (For Since a Woman)

Quia Ergo Femina is a psalm antiphon for the Blessed Virgin Mary by the German mystic Saint Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179). It begins: "Quia ergo femina mortem instruxit, clara virgo illam interemit (For since a woman drew up death, a virgin gleaming dashed it down)". Complete Latin text, English translation, musical score, and commentary can be found here (opens in new window). Approved by her contemporaries: St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Pope Eugene III, in 2012 Benedict XVI formalized her canonization and declared Hildegard the 35th Doctor of the Universal Church, citing this 12th century Benedictine abbess as "an authentic teacher of theology and a profound scholar of natural science and music."