Little is known of the early life of Gertrude, who was born on the Feast of the Epiphany, January 6, 1256, in Eisleben, Thuringia (within the Holy Roman Empire).

At age five,[1] she entered the monastery school at St. Mary at Helfta (variously described both as Benedictine and as Cistercian),[2] under the direction of its abbess, Gertrude of Hackeborn.

However, given that Gertrude implies in the Herald that her parents were long dead at the time of writing,[3] it is possible that she entered the monastery school as an orphan.

She, and the nun who authored Books 1 and 3-5 of the Herald, are thoroughly familiar with scripture, the Church Fathers such as Augustine of Hippo and Gregory the Great, and also contemporary spiritual writers such as Richard and Hugh of St. Victor, William of St. Thierry, and Bernard of Clairvaux.

Gertrude devoted herself strongly to personal prayer and meditation and began writing spiritual treatises for the benefit of her fellow nuns.

[citation needed] In Spain, Bishop Diego of Tarragona, the confessor to Philip II, read the revelations of Gertrude aloud to the king as he lay dying in the Escorial.

The feastday of Saint Gertrude was extended to the Latin Church by Pope Clement XII and is nowadays celebrated on November 16, her presumed dies natalis, or date of death.

Some religious communities, including some Benedictines, celebrate her liturgically on November 17, which had originally been chosen, but was already occupied by Gregory Thaumaturgus.

Pope Benedict XIV gave her the title "the Great" to distinguish her from Gertrude of Hackeborn and to recognize the depth of her spiritual and theological insight.

[19] In 2022, The Episcopal Church of the United States added Gertrude, along with Mechtilde, to its calendar of saints with a feast day on November 21.

[21] Images of Gertrude often show her gazing up to heaven, clothed as a nun with the ample sleeves typical of the choir habit.

[22] Numerous authors mention that in compliance with a petition from King Philip IV of Spain she was declared Patroness of the West Indies in 1609.