Difference between revisions of "Bridget of Sweden" - New World Encyclopedia
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*[[List of Christian mystics]] | *[[List of Christian mystics]] | ||
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Revision as of 22:19, 7 January 2009
- This article is about Saint Bridget of Sweden. For Saint Brigid of Ireland, see Brigid of Kildare.
| Saint Bridget (Bridgid) of Sweden | |
|---|---|
Saint Birgitta | |
| Widow | |
| Born | 1303 in Uppland, Sweden |
| Died | July 23, 1373 in Rome, Papal States |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church Lutheran Church |
| Canonized | October 7, 1391
by Pope Boniface IX |
| Major shrine | Vadstena |
| Feast | {{{feast_day}}} |
| Attributes | book, staff |
| Patronage | Europe, Sweden, Widows |
Bridget of Sweden, also known as Saint Birgitta, Santa Brigida or St. Bridgid of Sweden and Birgitta of Vadstena, born Birgitta Birgersdottir (1303 – July 23, 1373), was a Mystic and saint. She founded the Bridgettine Order after over twenty years of married life, bearing eight children, and before her husband died. Uniquely among saints of the second millennium, she was also the mother of a saint - Saint Catherine of Vadstena of Sweden.
Life
The most celebrated saint of Sweden was the daughter of Birger Persson of the family of Finsta, governor and lawspeaker of Uppland, and one of the richest landowners of the country, and his wife, a member of the so-called Lawspeaker branch of the Folkunga family. Through her mother, young Birgitta was a relation of the Swedish kings of her lifetime.
In 1316, she was married to Ulf Gudmarson of the family of Ulvåsa, lord of Närke, to whom she bore eight children, one of whom was afterward honored as St. Catherine of Sweden. Birgitta’s saintly and charitable life soon made her known far and wide; she gained, too, great religious influence over her husband, with whom (1341–1343) she went on pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died in the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra in Östergötland, and Birgitta, at 41, now devoted herself wholly to religion.
It was about this time that she founded the Order of St. Saviour, or the Bridgettines, of which the principal house at Vadstena, was richly endowed by King Magnus Eriksson of Sweden and his queen.
About 1350, she went to Rome, partly to obtain from the pope the authorization of the new order, and partly in pursuance of her self-imposed mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. It was not until 1370 that Pope Urban V confirmed the rule of her order, but meanwhile Birgitta had made herself universally beloved in Rome by her kindness and good works. Save for occasional pilgrimages, including one to Jerusalem in 1373, she remained in Rome until her death on July 23, 1373. She was originally buried at San Lorenzo in Panisperna before being moved to home, Sweden. She was canonized in the year 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, and confirmed by the Council of Constance in 1415.
Visions
As a child, she had already believed herself to have visions; as she grew older they became more frequent, and her records of these "Revelationes coelestes" ("Celestial revelations") which were translated into Latin by Matthias, canon of Linköping, and by her confessor, Peter, prior of Alvastra, obtained a great popularity during the Middle Ages. Her visions of the Nativity of Jesus had a great influence on depictions of the Nativity of Jesus in art. Shortly before her death, she described a vision which included the infant Jesus as lying on the ground, and emitting light himself, and describes the Virgin as blond-haired; many depictions followed this and reduced other light sources in scenes to emphasize this effect, and the Nativity was commonly treated with chiaroscuro through to the Baroque period. Other details often seen such as a single candle "attached to the wall," and the presence of God the Father above, also come from Bridget's vision:
...the virgin knelt down with great veneration in an attitude of prayer, and her back was turned to the manger.... And while she was standing thus in prayer, I saw the child in her womb move and suddenly in a moment she gave birth to her son, from whom radiated such an ineffable light and splendor, that the sun was not comparable to it, nor did the candle that St. Joseph had put there, give any light at all, the divine light totally annihilating the material light of the candle.... I saw the glorious infant lying on the ground naked and shining. His body was pure from any kind of soil and impurity. Then I heard also the singing of the angels, which was of miraculous sweetness and great beauty...
After which the Virgin kneels to pray to her child, to be joined by Joseph, and this (technically known as the Adoration of the Child) becomes one of the most common depictions in the fifteenth century, largely replacing the reclining Virgin in the West. Versions of this depiction were seen as early as 1300, well before Bridget's vision, and have a Franciscan origin, she may have been influenced by them.[1]
Her visions of purgatory were also well known.[2]
Saint Bridget prayed for a long time to know how many blows Jesus Christ suffered during His terrible Passion. Rewarding her patience, one day Jesus appeared to her and said: "I received 5475 blows upon my body. If you wish to honor them in some way, recite fifteen Our Fathers and fifteen Hail Marys with the following Prayers, which I Myself shall teach you, for an entire year. When the year is finished, you will have honored each of My Wounds." Christ granted these promises to all who devoutly recite the 15 Saint Bridget Prayers every day for a year:
1. I will deliver 15 souls of his lineage from Purgatory.
2. 15 souls of his lineage will be confirmed and preserved in grace.
3. 15 sinners of his lineage will be converted.
4. Whoever recites these Prayers will attain the first degree of perfection.
5. 15 days before his death I will give him My Precious Body in order that he may escape eternal starvation; I will give him My Precious Blood to drink lest he thirst eternally.
6. 15 days before his death he will feel a deep contrition for all his sins and will have a perfect knowledge of them.
7. I will place before him the sign of My Victorious Cross for his help and defense against the attacks of his enemies.
8. Before his death I shall come with My Dearest Beloved Mother.
9. I shall graciously receive his soul, and will lead it into eternal joys.
10. And having led it there I shall give him a special draught from the fountain of My Deity, something I will not for those who have not recited My Prayers.
11. Let it be known that whoever may have been living in a state of mortal sin for 30 years, but who will recite devoutly, or have the intention to recite these Prayers, the Lord will forgive him all his sins.
12. I shall protect him from strong temptations.
13. I shall preserve and guard his 5 senses.
14. I shall preserve him from a sudden death.
15. His soul will be delivered from eternal death.
16. He will obtain all he asks for from God and the Blessed Virgin.
17. If he has lived all his life doing his own will and he is to die the next day, his life will be prolonged.
18. Every time one recites these Prayers he gains 100 days indulgence.
19. He is assured of being joined to the supreme Choir of Angels.
20. Whoever teaches these Prayers to another, will have continuous joy and merit which will endure eternally.
21. There where these Prayers are being said or will be said in the future God is present with His grace.[3]
In memory
In 1651, the Brigitta Chapel was erected in Vienna, and in 1900 the new district Brigittenau was founded.
In 1999, Pope John Paul II named Bridget as a patron saint of Europe. Her feast is celebrated on July 23, the day of her death. Bridget's feast was not in the Tridentine Calendar, but was later inserted in the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1623 for celebration on October 7, the day she was canonized by Pope Boniface IX in the year 1391. Five years later, her feast was moved to October 8, where it remained until the revision of the Roman Catholic Calendar of Saints in 1969. Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "Saint Bridget, Widow" on October 8.[4]
See also
- Patron saint
- List of Christian mystics
- Julian of Norwich
- Catherine of Siena
- Margery Kempe
Notes
- ↑ Schiller, 1971, pp. 76-78.
- ↑ Eamon, 1992, p. 338.
- ↑ saintbirgitta.com Read the Complete Revelations for free and free download Retrieved January 7, 2009.
- ↑ See the General Roman Calendar as in 1954, the General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII, and the General Roman Calendar of 1962.
ReferencesISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Bridget, of Sweden saint. The Secret of Happiness: The Fifteen Prayers Revealed By Our Lord to Saint Bridget in the Church of Saint Paul in Rome(New York : St. Francis of Assisi Church, [19—]. OCLC 25228073
- Duffy, Eamon. The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England 1400-1580, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994. ISBN 9780300060768
- Gregersson, Birger, Thomas Gascoigne, and Julia Bolton Holloway. The Life of Saint Birgitta, Toronto: Peregrina Pub. Co., 1991. ISBN 9780920669174
- Mulder-Bakker, Anneke B. Sanctity and motherhood: essays on holy mothers in the Middle Ages, New York: Garland Pub., 1995. ISBN 9780815314257
- Schiller, Gertrud. Iconography of Christian Art, Vol. I, (English trans from German), Greenwich, Conn., New York Graphic Society [1971-72]. OCLC 213792773
External links
All links retrieved January 7, 2009.
- saintbirgitta.com Read the Complete Revelations for free and free download.
- article Saint Birgitta of Sweden from Catholic encyclopedia.
- Website on Saint Birgitta of Sweden, giving her Latin Revelationes
- The Revelations of St. Birgitta of Sweden
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