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Our Great Saints

St. Bridget
Blessed Mother Elizabeth
St. Richard Reynolds	ST. CATHERINE OF SWEDEN
		St. Bridget - Europe's Patron Saint since 1999 About 1350 she went to Rome to obtain from the pope the authorization of the new order. It was not till 1370 that Pope Urban V approved the rule of her order, but meanwhile Birgitta had made herself beloved in Rome by her kindness and dedicated work. She made some more pilgrimages, including to Jerusalem in 1373. She resided in Rome until her death on July 23, 1373. She was canonized in 1391 by Pope Boniface IX, and confirmed by the Council of Constance, 1415. In 1999, Pope John Paul II chose Birgitta as Europe's co-patron saint. St. Birgitta shares this honour - to be Europe's co-patron saint - with two other women, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross. Saint Catherine of Siena (born around 1347, died 29/4 1380, canonised 29/6 1461) was an Italian who was a member of the Dominican third order, contemporary with Saint Birgitta and like her, an ardent champion for the return of the pope to Rome from his exile in Avignon.
Saint Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, better known as Edith Stein, (12/10 1891- 9/8 1942, canonised 11/10 1998) a German-Jewess who converted, became a Carmelite nun and died in a concentration camp during the Second World War. St. Birgitta feast is celebrated on July 23.
Under the direction of the Abbess General, Mother Tekla Famiglietti, at the head of the Order since 1979, the sense of religious life has been strongly consolidated and developed through a profound search for perfection in the practice of the Evangelical Counsels, as called for in the religious state. A spirit of trust and cooperation between the various members of the Order and a deep spirit of faith have helped to intensify fraternal charity, contemplation and credence in the growth of the Order.