“The world would have peace if only the men of politics would follow the Gospels.”
“Let everyone who has the grace of intelligence fear that, because of it, he will be judged more heavily if he is negligent.”
Bridget was born in 1303 to Birger and Ingeborg Persson, the eldest of 3 children. They belonged to the same clan as the reigning family and her father was the governor and provincial judge of Uppland, Sweden. Her family was pious and her father went to confession every Friday. He made long and arduous pilgrimages as far away as the Holy Land.
From the time she was a child, she was greatly devoted to the Passion of Jesus. At the age of 10 her mother died and her and her siblings were sent to their maternal aunt for further care and education. During this time she had a vivid vision of Jesus on the Cross. She heard him say, “Look at me, my daughter.” She replied with tears, “Who has treated you like this?” Jesus said, “Those who despise me and refuse my love for them.” From that moment, she tried to stop people from offending Jesus.
When she was 14 she was wed to an 18 year old named Ulf. He had his heart set on serving God as well. They had 8 surviving children which was very rare at the time, one of whom was Saint Catherine of Sweden.
The King requested his kinswoman, Bridget, to come and serve as Lady-in-Waiting to his Queen. After years of service at Court, her and her husband made the long pilgrimage to Santiago di Compostela. On the return journey, Ulf became dangerously ill in Arras and death was feared. After Bridget prayed all night, a Bishop appeared and promised that Ulf would recover and ‘God had great things for her to do.’ Ulf survived and continued his work as Lagman until 1344 when he died of another severe illness.
At the age of 41, Bridget put away her rich clothes and lived as a poor nun. God gave her the task of founding a new religious order as He stated the others had fallen into decay. He provided how it was to be built along with instructions concerning clothing and prayers. The order totaled 60 nuns, 13 priests, 4 deacons and 8 lay brothers.
King Eriksson donated a smaller palace and much land to the new monastery. She left for Rome in 1349 never to return. For the rest of her life she saw visions concerning the reform of the Church, messages to Kings and Popes, and directed them to perform service for the Church. Far from home, she died in 1373, never having seen or realized all of her great works and efforts come to fruition.
She was canonized shortly in the year 1391 by Pope Boniface IX. The Order spread swiftly throughout Europe and into Mexico in 1970.
“We must show love for those who do evil to us and pray for them. Nothing is dearer or more pleasing to God than this.”
She is the patron saint of Sweden.
Her feast day is July 23.
For God’s Glory.
Our Lady lamented to Bridget Her 7 sorrows.
The following book (pdf for download), translated from Latin and as first published in 1862, contains excerpts from her revelations. Actual words of Our Lord and Blessed Mother to St. Bridget of Sweden, giving intimate details of their lives on earth, including the hidden life of Our Lord and Our Lady in Nazareth, plus the early life of Our Lady and the birth of Our Lord.
