St. Bridget of Sweden

Bridget, also known as Birgitta, was born into a wealthy Swedish family in the early fourteenth century. Her father Birger held public responsibilities in Uppland, and she received a careful religious upbringing. Her mother died while she was young, and an aunt helped raise her. Meditation on Christ's Passion, encouraged in her family and deepened through preaching, remained important throughout her life.

As a young woman she married Ulf Gudmarsson. Together they formed a Christian household and had eight children, including the future St. Catherine of Sweden. Their faith took practical form in the use of their property. Butler describes a hospital they provided for poor people and the personal service they gave to its sick patients. Marriage and parenthood occupied a substantial part of Bridget's life before her later religious foundation.

Bridget and Ulf made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. On the return journey he became seriously ill at Arras, and she cared and prayed for him. He recovered sufficiently to return to Sweden, but died in 1344 at the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra. Butler notes uncertainty over whether Ulf had already entered the Order or was preparing to do so. His death left Bridget a widow with family responsibilities still to settle.

She divided her husband's estate among their children and devoted herself more fully to prayer and religious work. At Vadstena she worked to establish the Order of the Most Holy Saviour, also called the Brigittines. Its design provided separate communities of women and men, with priests supplying spiritual care. The religious shared a devotion to Christ's Passion and to the Blessed Virgin, while living under a rule approved by the Church.

Bridget later travelled to Rome, where she spent much of her remaining life. She visited the churches, prayed at the apostles' tombs, and served sick people in hospitals. Her concerns also extended to the condition of the Church. She appealed to Pope Urban V to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome. Religious reform, pilgrimage, and practical charity formed parts of the same undertaking.

Her revelations became widely known and were recorded with the help of confessors. Butler discusses their reception at unusual length. He distinguishes private revelations from the public revelation entrusted to the Church, explaining that permission to publish them does not make belief in each one an obligation of Catholic faith. Bridget herself, in his account, submitted these experiences to the judgment of the Church's pastors. Her writings should be read with that distinction in mind.

She also undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting places associated with Christ's life and suffering. After returning to Rome she endured a painful final illness. Her son Birger and daughter Catherine were with her near the end. The presence of her children in these last days connects the widely travelled founder and religious writer with the family whose life had shaped her earlier years.

Bridget received the last sacraments and died on July 23, 1373. Her remains were later taken to Vadstena in Sweden. Boniface IX canonized her on October 7, 1391; her traditional feast in this library remains October 8. Her lasting contribution includes the Brigittine foundation, writings centred on Christ's Passion, and an example of religious service developed through marriage, parenthood, widowhood, and care for poor and sick people.