The part of the stone stained with her blood was propped up so no one would step on it; according to Dunbar, many miracles occurred there, which became a place of veneration for Helena, even after the Reformation. In the late 16th century, according to Catholic historian Francis Mershman, Abraham Angermannus, the fourth Lutheran Archbishop of Uppsala, had Helena's fountain, along with other springs with religious significance, filled up with stones and rubbish, but pilgrims traveled to Helena's grave every summer, where they were healed after staying there all night; they took little bags of earth from under her tombstone, leaving their crutches behind, and made "votive offerings in token of gratitude". Another legend states that devotion to the coffin containing Helena's body floated to Tiisvilde, a small town in the nearby Danish island Zealand, where a spring "broke forth where the coffin touched land". Mershman stated that it might have been a reason for Helena's veneration at Tiisvilde, although it is possible that she visited there or that some of her relics had been brought there. Helena was canonized by Pope Alexander III, on the recommendation of Stefan, the first Archbishop of Uppsala. She was the first Swedish nun to be canonized. Her feast day is July 31. References Further reading External links Year of birth unknown 1164 deaths Medieval Swedish saints 12th-century Christian saints People from Västra Götaland County 12th-century Swedish people Female saints of medieval Sweden 12th-century Swedish women