Biography of Brigida Birgersdotter
Brígida Birgersdotter was born on the Finsta estate, west of the city of Norrtälje (Sweden), in the year 1303. Her parents were fervent believers who belonged to noble families. close to the Swedish Royal House. In 1318, she married Ulf Gudmarson, governor of a fairly important territory in Sweden, and together they had eight children, among whom we find Saint Catherine of Sweden.
Bridget had as her spiritual father a religious scholar, who directed her towards the study of the Scriptures. This allowed him to make the decision to base her family on holiness; to achieve this end, she and her husband adopted the Rule of the Secular Franciscan Order. During her life, Brigida was characterized by carrying out charitable works with the poorest, she even founded a hospital to personally take care of the sick.
It should be noted that, thanks to Brígida, her husband Ulf managed to progress spiritually. For example, in 1341 they made a long pilgrimage together. Shortly after his return, Ulf (retired in a monastery) and later passed away, so his wife was able to devote herself completely to religious life, that is, to prayer, penance and charitable works. .
For this, he settled in the circus monastery of Alvastra, where he began to have constant divine revelations, which only ceased on the day of his death. In 1346, Bridget founded the convent of Vadstena (Sweden) and instituted a new order: the Order of the Most Holy Saviorwhose nuns were called “brigidinas” and practiced the Rule of Saint Augustine.
In 1349 Bridget made a pilgrimage to Rome, on the occasion of the great jubilee of 1350, to request the approval of her order from the most holy pope, since it had been recently established. Shortly after, he settled definitively in Rome, and there he consecrated himself to a life of apostolate and prayer for twenty years. In fact, her daughter Catalina joined her to accompany her in the realization of her works.
During her life, Bridget made numerous pilgrimages in Italy. For example, he went to Assisi, following in the footsteps of Saint Francis, to whom he had a special devotion. Furthermore, in 1731, Brígida fulfilled her great dream: to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, an opportunity he took to tour Jerusalem and visit all the holy places in the city. While there, Brigida received some revelations about the birth, life and painful passion of Jesus. She also had revelations about the Holy Family, the Holy Virgin and the Church.
It should be noted that, from the headquarters of San Pedro (Rome), Brígida worked tirelessly for the return of the pope, who at that time was in Avignon; it was not until after his death that Pope Gregory was able to return definitively to the eternal city.
Bridget died on July 23, 1373 in Rome, where she was temporarily buried. Then, in 1374, her children Birger and Catherine took her back to Sweden, to the Vadstena monastery, seat of the religious order that Saint Bridget founded. Following these events, the order immediately experienced a remarkable expansion and saw many miracles performed. Finally, in 1391, Pope Boniface IX canonized Bridgetand John Paul II proclaimed it co-patron of Europe next to Santa Catalina de Siena and Edith Stein (Santa Teresa Benedicta de la Cruz). The feast of Saint Bridget of Sweden is celebrated on July 23..
Heavenly Revelations to Saint Bridget of Sweden
Saint Bridget of Sweden is known for her prophecies and mystical revelations. When he was seven years old, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him and gave him a beautiful crown. From then on, he decided to do everything for the love of Jesus, with the purpose of deserving such a beautiful gift. When he was 11 years old, Christ appeared to him covered in blood and full of wounds. She, crying with compassion, said to him: “Oh Jesus, who has hurt you so much?”, Jesus he replied: “They are the ones who reject me and despise my love”. From then on, Brígida did everything she could to comfort him.
The heavenly revelations of Saint Brigid have been grouped into eight books, entitled Heavenly Revelations. To these books is added a complementary work entitled Heavenly Revelations, Volume 2: these writings are varied in terms of content and style. In fact, on some occasions, these revelations take the form of a dialogue between Bridget and one of the Three Divine Persons: the Virgin Mary, the saints or the demons. Other times, the saint recounts a particular vision, and, at certain moments, the revelations tell what the Virgin Mary revealed to her about the life and mysteries of her Son. It should be noted that Saint John Paul II referred to the value of the Revelations of Saint Bridget, saying: “By recognizing Brigid’s holiness, the Church, without ruling on each of the revelations she had, accepted the global authenticity of her interior experience.”
In the Revelations, two main themes are frequently addressed:
- Passion of Christ, towards which Brígida always had a special devotion. In fact, the revelations give many details about the Passion, which allows us to contemplate the infinite love of God for men. For example, the Lord spoke these moving words to him: “Oh, my friends, I love my sheep so tenderly that, if it were possible, I would like to die many more times for each one of them with the same death that I suffered for the redemption of all.”.
- The painful maternity of Mary: the Blessed Virgin is Mediatrix and Mother of Mercy, thanks to these virtues.
Prayers to Saint Bridget of Sweden
The fifteen prayers of Saint Bridget of Sweden
Jesus spoke to Saint Bridget in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, through a crucifix which is still in place. There, Jesus came to entrust the “fifteen prayers” which confirm the immensity of his martyrdom and sacrifice. Jesus said to Saint Bridget: “I received 5480 blows to my body. If you want to honor them with some veneration, you will say 15 Our Father, 15 Hail Mary and the 15 prayers that I will teach you…”
Both these “Fifteen Prayers” and the accompanying promises of Christ (handwritten by monks) were printed in 1740 by Father Adrien Parvilliers, of the Society of Jesus, with ecclesiastical approval, permission, and support. In 1862, Pope Pius IX approved them and recommended their dissemination “for the good of souls and for the pure truth“. It is noteworthy that Jesus also revealed to Saint Bridget seven meditations that must be recited daily, which are commonly called “The seven Pater Nosters“.
In sickleyou can find the Fifteen Prayers of Saint Bridget of Sweden, the Seven Pater Noster and the promises of Jesus that accompany these devotions.
Prayer of Saint Bridget
“Blessed are you, Lord God, that you came to the Virgin, giving joy to her soul and all her members and that, with the joy of all the members of her sinless body, you were born from her.
Blessed are you, Lord God, who, after your ascension, rejoiced the Virgin Mary with frequent consolations and with your consolation you visited her.
Blessed are you, Lord God, who ascended the body and soul of the Virgin Mary, your Mother, to Heaven and honored her by placing her next to your divinity, above all the angels.
Have mercy on me, Lord, through her prayers and intercession.”