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St. Bridget
The founderess of the Bridgettine Order is Saint
Bridget. Bridgettine Order was approved by Pope Urban V in 1370. Since 1999
Saint Bridget is one of Europe's patron saints. During last century new branch
of the order that spread widely in Europe and elsewhere was established by
another Swedish woman, Mother Elizabeth Hesselblad.
St. Bridget, also known as St. Birgitta and
Birgitta of Vadstena
(1303 – July 23, 1373) is the most celebrated saint of Sweden and the northern
kingdoms. She was the daughter of one of the richest landowners of the country
- Birger Persson, governor and lawspeaker of Uppland. Mother of St. Bridget
was a member of the so-called Lawspeaker branch of the Folkunga family.
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At the age 13, in 1316 she was married to Ulf
Gudmarson of the family of Ulvasa, lord of Närke. The couple had eight
children, one of whom was afterwards honoured as St. Catherine of Sweden. Birgitta’s saintly and charitable life soon made her well known. In 1341–1343,
the couple went to pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, one of the
most popular pilgrimage destinations also nowadays.
In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died and Birgitta decided to devote herself to religion. As a child she had already
believed herself to have visions that became more frequent after the death of
her husband. The Bridgettine order was created upon her revelations, as it was
believed it was Lord who had told her to found a new order.
Bridgettine
convents led by women to honour Virgin Mary.
The Bridgettine order
was open to both men and women. It was a ”double order”, each convent having
attached to it a small community of canons to act as chaplains, but under the
government of the abbess. The order spread widely in Sweden and Norway, and
played a remarkable part in promoting culture and literature in Scandinavia.
By 1515, with significant royal patronage, there were twenty-seven houses,
thirteen of them in Scandinavia. Bridgettine convents were soon opened also in
other countries, reaching by some estimations total of 70.
The
nuns were strictly enclosed, emphasising scholarship and study, but the
monks were also preachers and itinerant missionaries. The individual
monasteries were each subject to the local bishop, and, in honour of the
Virgin Mary, they were ruled by abbess.
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