St. Bridget of Sweden – Mystic and Founder of the Brigittines

Rebroadcast of the long-running radio program, "The Ave Maria Hour," a presentation of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. www.AtonementFriars.org

St. Bridget of Sweden was born circa 1303 to a prestigious family. From an early age, she had remarkable religious visions that prompted her to lead a simple and pious life. In 1316 she married Ulf Gudmarsson, later governor of the province of Nericia, and bore eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden.

Following the death of her husband in 1344, Bridget retired to a life of penance and prayer near the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra. To the prior, Peter Olafsson, she dictated the revelations that came to her, and he translated them into Latin. One was a command to found a new religious order. In 1370, she founded the Birgittines, also known as the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Bridget ministered among the rich and poor, sheltering the homeless and sinners, and worked tirelessly for the return of the papacy from Avignon to Rome.

St. Bridget of Sweden died in 1373 and was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX. Her feast day is celebrated on July 23.