natural wellness conference in milan s. Hildegard of Bingen, Doctor of the Church. divine inspirations between medicine, science and iconography

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An event not to be missed in Milan for holistic medicine enthusiasts. On Wednesday 13 November at 9pm in the Church of Santa Maria della Consolazione, in L.go Cairoli 1 (MM Cairoli), a conference dedicated to “Saint Hildegard of Bingen, doctor of the Church” will be held. Divine inspirations, medicine, science and iconography”, with the intervention of some of the most experts on the subject in Italy: Don Luigi Bonarrigo, Catholic priest Doctor of Dogmatic Theology and parish vicar in the Parish of San Leonardo da Porto Maurizio in Milan; Chiara Melgara, doctor in Milan, Giulia Viganò, graduated in pharmacy and scholar of the remedies of the Saint and Giorgio Massoni, iconographer of the S. Giuseppe iconographic laboratory. The event, open to the public, is an opportunity for a serious and comprehensive study of the legacy of the nun of Bingen not only for physical health, but even more so for internal healing. Hildegard lived between 1098 and 1179 and was also a prophetess, healer, naturalist, cosmologist, gemologist, philosopher, artist, poet, playwright, musician, linguist and political advisor. He founded two monasteries. For centuries its ‘medicine’ was considered a cultural heritage of the German popular tradition and then suffered a decline, until its rediscovery in the modern era. Its holistic approach, which intertwines physical, psychological and spiritual health, continues to fascinate and influence natural well-being practices and in recent times, around 2000, with an acceleration in the last decade, its fame has spread even in Italy , following above all the studies of Dr. G. Herztka. The authoritativeness of the eclectic nun’s lesson was then confirmed by her canonization in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, with the conferral of the title of Doctor of the Church, the highest honor attributed to saints. This is how the wider public was able to become aware of the character and her precious illuminated manuscripts, inspired by divine visions ‘of the soul’ – as she defined them, concerning numerous topics relating to both the spiritual and physical spheres and therefore also medical. The remedies recommended by Saint Hildegard are around 2000, distributed between the three kingdoms: animal, vegetable and mineral. However, Hildegardian medicine has the characteristic of not being a so-called ‘alternative medicine’, because the Hildegardian doctor can (and must) use the entire heritage of diagnostics and modern medical practice. Rather, it is a holistic medical approach as the patient’s medical and spiritual history are inseparable and this allows for the paradoxical interpenetration between the medical contents resulting from medieval divine revelations with the most cutting-edge contemporary medicine. Some examples: the root of “Alpinia Galanga” has many different therapeutic indications and is used so successfully that it is used daily in Japan, China and India in hospital wards, as it is registered in the official Pharmacopoeia of these countries; Red Jasper is a natural pacemaker; badger fur is able to resolve joint pain or bedsores in diabetics. The Byzantine iconography is one of the surprising applications of Hildegard’s medicine: the expert iconographer is able to “write” the icon using minerals in the form of pigments or gems as colors suggested by Saint Hildegard by virtue of their therapeutic efficacy based on to the needs of the client of the work. Science is the rational link between Hildegardian medicine and the iconographer because there are now various published clinical studies that confirm the effectiveness of the saint’s remedies. To find out more you need to attend the conference.