on
& Ingeborg Bengtsdotter)saint Bridget of Sweden - biography
(Image: Birger Perrson
& Ingeborg Bengtsdotter)
Birgitta (Bridget) Birgersdotter was born in about 1303 in the province of Uppland, Sweden. Her father was Birger Persson, the governor and judge of the Uppland province, as well as one of the wealthiest landowners in the area. Her mother was Ingeborg Bengtsdotter (died c. 1315), a relative of the kings of Sweden.
As a child, Bridget had many visions and dreams which were religious in nature. At the age of seven, Bridget had a vision of the Holy Virgin placing a crown upon her head.
In 1316, at about the age of thirteen, Bridget obediently married Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvåsa. She would eventually bear him eight children, one of which would become Saint Catherine of Sweden. During the years 1341-1343, Bridget and her husband went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, the alleged burial place of the Apostle Saint James.
Shortly after their return, Ulf died, leaving Bridget free to devote her life to religion. Her visions became more frequent, and she began to write them down into what is now called Saint Bridget's Revelations. She founded her own religious order, known as the Bridgettines, in about 1350. Soon after, Bridget went to Rome to get authorization for the rule of her order from the Pope, to confer with religious officials about what she considered to be the declining moral values of the time, and to campaign for the return of the Holy See from Avignon to Rome. She was bent on church reform, which made her a very controversial (yet well-loved) personality of the time. She remained in Rome until her death on July 23, 1373. She was initially buried in San Lorenzo in Panisperna Church in Rome, but was later moved to her final resting spot in Sweden.
Bridget of Sweden was canonized on October 8, 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, and was named the patron saint of Sweden in 1396.
(Image: Reliquary of Saint Bridget in Vadstena Monastery, Sweden)
