July 23 St. Bridget of Sweden

 

Saint Bridget of Sweden

c. 1303 – July 23, 1373

From age 7 on, Bridget had visions of Christ crucified. Her visions formed the basis for her activity—always with the emphasis on charity rather than spiritual favors.

A member of the Third Order, she lived her married life in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II Eriksson. In 1341, she and her husband Ulf went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Mother of eight children—the second eldest was Saint Catherine of Sweden—Bridget lived the strict life of a penitent after her husband’s death.

Bridget of Sweden constantly strove to exert her good influence over the Swedish King; while never fully reforming, he did give her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This group eventually expanded into an Order of the Most Holy Saviour also known as the Bridgettines. In 1350, a year of jubilee, Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome. Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, being hounded by debts and by opposition to her work against Church abuses.

A final pilgrimage to the Holy Land, marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles, eventually led to her death in 1373. Bridget was canonized in the year 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, which was confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415. Because of new discussions about her works, the Council of Basel confirmed the orthodoxy of her revelations in 1436. In 1999, Bridget of Sweden, Saint Catherine of Siena, and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe, alongside the male patrons Saints Benedict of Nursia, Cyril, and Methodius.

 

Reflection

Bridget’s visions, rather than isolating her from the affairs of the world, involved her in many contemporary issues, whether they be royal policy or the years that the legitimate Bishop of Rome lived in Avignon, France. She saw no contradiction between mystical experience and secular activity, and her life is a testimony to the possibility of a holy life in the marketplace.