Saint Bridget of Sweden

[CyrilSebastian]

                  Bridget was born in June 1303 at the castle of Finstad, not far from Uppsala, Sweden.   
                   Her father was Birger Persson, a senator of the Kingdom of Sweden.   
                     He was also a seneschal of the province of Uppland.       
                  Bridget's mother was Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, from a royal Swedish family.

[CyrilSebastian]

             In 1318 Bridget married Ulf Gudmarsson. He was a seneschal.   
              They recited the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary together.
               One of Bridget's children was Saint Catherine of Sweden.

[Shin]

Something special to find when reading about saints, is to find families and relationships of saints to each other.

[CyrilSebastian]

            Bridget received spiritual direction from a monk who introduced her to the reading of scripture.   
            She convinced her husband Ulf to devote himself more to study, in order to better perform his duties in the country.

[CyrilSebastian]

                In 1346 Bridget founded the monastery of Vadstena in honor of Christ and His Mother.     
                It would become the birthplace of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour.

[Shin]

St. Bridget of Sweden - Prophecies and Revelations

[CyrilSebastian]

                        Bridget had a hospital built on her husband Ulf's property for the poor and the sick,   
                         whom she cared for herself with her children.

[Shin]

'So great a love on the part of Mary deserves our gratitude, and that gratitude should be shown by at least meditating upon and pitying her in her sorrow. But she complained to Saint Bridget that very few did so, and that the greater part of the world lived in forgetfulness of them: "I look around at all who are on earth, to see if by chance there are any who pity me, and meditate upon my sorrows; and I find that there are very few. Therefore, my daughter, though I am forgotten by many, at least do thou not forget me; consider my anguish, and imitate, as far as thou canst, my grief."'

St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori

[CyrilSebastian]

                         In 1349 Bridget went on pilgrimage to Rome. She wanted to take part in the Jubilee of 1350.       
                          She wanted to obtain the Pope's approval of the Rule for the Order of the Most Holy Savior.

[CyrilSebastian]

                  Saint Bridget was tasked with telling the King of Sweden that he must restore the faith in his kingdom by surrounding   
                   himself with holy people.   
                  Addressing herself to Swedish bishops, Bridget specified, "The priesthood is not at all a position to be sought for the   
                    honors that it gives."

[CyrilSebastian]

                When Bridget was widowed, she was determined to deepen her union with the Lord through prayer.   
                    penance, and charitable works. She renounced the idea of a second marriage.   
         

[Shin]

"With her husband dead, at once Lady Bridget distributed all her goods among her children and the poor. She changed her way of living and dressing; and she would have done even greater things but for the obstacle of the fact that she had been instructed in a revelation to make a pilgrimage to Rome. And when she was scorned by the nobles for the sudden change and the cheapness of her clothing, she answered: ”It is neither for you that I start, nor for you that I stop. For I have determined in my heart to tolerate injurious words. Pray, therefore, for me that I may be able to persevere.”"

- The Life of Saint Bridget by Prior Peter and Master Peter

[CyrilSebastian]

                In 1335, Bridget was given the responsibility of introducing to Swedish customs Blanche of Dampierre,   
                 the daughter of the Count of Namur, who King Magnus Eriksson had just married.   
                   This role gave Bridget a certain influence in the court.

[CyrilSebastian]

                       Saint Bridget was ordered to write to Pope Clement VI to point out to him some negligences in the   
                          service of God and urge him to correct them with a greater zeal for the reform of the Church.

[CyrilSebastian]

                       The Pope was exiled in Avignon. Bridget asked the Supreme Pontiff to return to Rome.   
                         When Urban V returned to Rome in 1367, Bridget thought that she had succeeded.   
                          However, the Pope was forced to return to Avignon three years later.

[CyrilSebastian]

                     In 1353 Bridget moved into the home of a wealthy Roman woman. She made this home into 
                      a guest house for pilgrims. She aided the poor, visiting them and caring for them herself in the hospitals.