Bridget of Sweden
Bridget of Sweden
1303 — 1373
Suède
A mystic and Swedish saint of the 14th century, Bridget of Sweden was a wife, mother of eight children, then a pilgrim and founder of the Order of the Most Holy Savior. Her divine revelations, dictated and spread throughout Europe, gave her exceptional spiritual authority.
Famous Quotes
« "The love of God is a fire that consumes all that is not God." »
Key Facts
- 1303: Born in Finsta, Sweden, into a noble family
- 1316: Married Ulf Gudmarsson; together they had eight children, including Saint Catherine of Sweden
- 1346: Founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior (Bridgettines) in Vadstena
- 1349: Departed on pilgrimage to Rome, where she lived until her death
- 1373: Died in Rome; canonized in 1391 by Boniface IX
Works & Achievements
Eight books of mystical revelations dictated by Bridget to her confessors and translated into Latin. Widely circulated throughout Europe, they represent the major work of female medieval mysticism.
Twenty-one chapters which Bridget claimed were dictated by an angel, intended for the Matins office of the sisters of the Order of the Most Holy Savior, centered on the praise of the Virgin Mary.
The founding rule of the Order of the Most Holy Savior (Bridgettines), a double order of nuns and monks. It was officially approved by Pope Urban V in 1370.
One of Bridget's most tangible achievements, this Swedish double monastery became the spiritual center of her order and a major European pilgrimage site following her canonization.
Bridget sent numerous messages, received through divine inspiration, to popes (Clement VI, Innocent VI, Urban V) and kings, urging them to reform the Church and return to Rome.
Anecdotes
At the age of seven, Birgitta reportedly had a vision of the Virgin Mary offering her a crown. This early experience left a profound mark on her and shaped her entire spiritual life. She interpreted this sign as a divine mission she would carry until her death.
Birgitta served as lady-in-waiting to Queen Blanche of Namur at the Swedish court, where she attempted to guide King Magnus IV and his wife toward greater piety and justice. Frustrated by their indifference to her warnings, she left the court and devoted herself entirely to religious life following her husband's death in 1344.
In 1349, in the midst of the Black Death, Birgitta left Sweden for Rome to seek papal approval for her religious order. She never returned to Sweden, spending the last twenty-five years of her life between Rome and numerous pilgrimages, including a journey to the Holy Land in 1372, a year before her death.
Her revelations, dictated to her confessors — notably the Spanish monk Alfonso of Jaén — were translated into Latin and circulated throughout Europe. These texts gave her extraordinary moral authority: she publicly urged the popes to leave Avignon and return to Rome, which she considered a sacred duty.
After her death in Rome in 1373, her body was brought back to Sweden by her daughter Catherine, who would herself become a saint. The long journey from Rome to Vadstena was marked by many expressions of popular veneration, a testament to her reputation for holiness that had already been well established during her lifetime.
Primary Sources
Our Lord spoke thus to the bride: 'I am the Creator of all things and your Lord. I speak to you not for your sake alone, but for the salvation of all.'
Birgitta received a divine command to found a religious order at Vadstena, a place chosen by Christ himself: 'This place you see is holy, and I will be honored there.'
Texts dictated to Birgitta by an angel for the Matins office of the sisters of the Order of the Most Holy Savior, praising the Virgin Mary across twenty-one chapters.
The order shall be double: nuns and brothers will live separately but under the same roof, united in prayer, under the governance of an abbess.
Birgitta urges the pope to return to Rome, the rightful seat of the Church: 'Rome awaits its shepherd. Christendom bleeds from your absence.'
Key Places
Birgitta's birthplace around 1303, on her family's noble estate. This cradle shaped her devout and aristocratic upbringing.
After her husband's death in 1344, Birgitta withdrew to this Cistercian monastery, where she began receiving her revelations and dictating them to her confessors.
The town where Birgitta founded the mother monastery of the Order of the Most Holy Savior, on land granted by King Magnus IV. Her relics rest here to this day.
Birgitta settled here permanently in 1349 and lived until her death in 1373. She moved in papal court circles and led a life of influential penance.
Birgitta undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1372, at nearly seventy years of age. The experience deepened her final revelations on the Passion of Christ.
Gallery
Vestiture of St Bridget
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Lorenzo Lotto
French: La Vierge et l'Enfant entre saint Jean Évangéliste, sainte Brigitte de Suède et deux anges label QS:Lfr,"La Vierge et l'Enfant avec saint Jean l’Évangéliste, sainte Brigitte de Suède et deux
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Ansano di Michele Ciampanti
Sainte Brigitte de Suède Maître de Pratovecchio
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 — Thomon
Santa Brígida salvada de un naufragio por la Virgen
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Luca Giordano
Udsnit af maleri af Birgitta af Vadstena (1400 tallet)
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Unknown authorUnknown author
Forsthauspark
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 — Geiserich77
Heliga Birgitta på ett altarskåp i Salems kyrka
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Hermann Rode (late 15th century)
Byst av Heliga Birgitta, Sankta Birgitta kapell
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Jssfrk
Kerstin, målning av Carl Larsson
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Eskil Malmberg
Iruñeko Biblia - f. 238v – 239r (800216101 MS0108 0247)
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Fernando Pérez de Funes