Saint Alice was a 13th-century Cistercian lay sister who lived in the Duchy of Brabant. Born in Schaerbeek around 1220, she was educated at La Cambre Abbey, where she remained until her death in 1250. After contracting leprosy at approximately twenty years of age, she lived in isolation, eventually suffering from both paralysis and blindness. She is remembered for her intense devotion and for offering her physical suffering for the salvation of others. She is venerated as a patron saint of the blind and the paralyzed.
Life and suffering
Alice spent her entire religious life at La Cambre Abbey. Following her diagnosis with leprosy, she was moved to a small hut to prevent contamination. Despite her profound physical ailments, she maintained a deep spiritual life. She found great comfort in the Eucharist, even though her condition prevented her from drinking from the chalice. She died at the age of roughly thirty.
Veneration and legacy
Her life was documented in a Latin biography written in the mid-13th century. While she remained relatively obscure for many centuries, her writings have been studied as a model of Cistercian asceticism. Her devotion was officially approved by Pope Pius X in 1907. Today, she is recognized as part of a group of holy women from the Liège region.