Saint Bridget of Sweden

Bridget was born in 1303 into a noble family at Finsta, Sweden. From childhood she had visions of Christ crucified. At thirteen she married Ulf Gudmarsson, and they had eight children, among them Saint Catherine of Sweden. She served as lady-in-waiting at the court of King Magnus Eriksson, and she and Ulf made the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela together.

After Ulf's death in 1344 she devoted herself entirely to God. She received revelations, later collected in her famous book, and founded the Order of the Most Holy Savior, the Bridgettines, with its motherhouse at Vadstena. In 1349 she went to Rome for the Holy Year of 1350 and stayed there for the rest of her life, serving the poor and pilgrims and urging the popes to return from Avignon to Rome. After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, she died in Rome on July 23, 1373. She was canonized in 1391, and Saint John Paul II named her a co-patroness of Europe in 1999.

In Sweden and among the Bridgettine sisters, present in Mexico, Cuba, Colombia and many other countries, her feast is celebrated with Masses and prayers in honor of the Passion of Christ. Her house in Rome, at Piazza Farnese, is still a Bridgettine convent that welcomes pilgrims.