Happy St. Spiven’s Day! Saint Friedrich Spiven is commonly referred to as the patron Saint of Lint and his day is celebrated annually on May 12th.
Born in Dusseldorf, Germany on May 12th, 1507, Friedrich was orphaned as a baby, was adopted by a local religious order and dedicated his life to the church at a young age. In his teen years, he was assigned to working in the laundry for his order and this is where his obsession with clean clothes (and their by-product, lint) began.
Working tirelessly, for long hours each day, Brother Spiven toiled to ensure that his brethren had clean daily clothing. By his early twenties he was assigned to lead the laundry efforts of his order along with spreading education of the benefits of clean clothing amongst the masses.
He is most often depicted in imagery instructing others on how to properly clean, fold, and care for garments. His particular obsession was with the by-product of clothing-care, lint. At that time, most garments were woven from wool, and when cared for, part of the cleaning process resulted in the accumulation of lint.
Known for his creative use of lint, Brother Spiven would spend hours each night (when not in prayer or other duties), crafting amazing works of lint, including felted hats, sweaters, and mittens which he would then donate to the poor and needy.
Unfortunately, Brother Spiven passed away in 1572 in an unfortunate bleaching accident at the Persiline monastery in Dusseldorf. While working on bleaching a load of undergarments in a large vat, Brother Spiven fell in and was not found for several hours.
Saint Spiven was sainted in 1851 and has been celebrated ever since. The Spiven brand washing machines were created and named in his honor in 1950.
Today, we celebrate St. Spiven’s legacy on May 12th of each year, by ensuring all of the dirty laundry in our homes are thoroughly washed, folded, and put away. Often, small effigies are lovingly crafted from lint in his honor and set upon shelves in many households, to be replaced with new ones on the following May 12th.
So, if you have clean clothes today, you have the legacy of St. Spiven and his obsessive goal of ensuring the unwashed masses of Germany had clean clothes to thank!
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