Bridget, Saint

Bridget, Saint, 453?–523?, Irish holy woman. She is often called St. Brigid, St. Bride, or St. Bridget of Kildare. Little is known of her, but she did found a great monastery at Kildare. She is buried at Downpatrick with St. Patrick and St. Columba, and with them she is patron of Ireland; hence her nickname Mary of the Gael. St. Bridget is associated notably with charity and justice. Devotion to her was widespread in Great Britain before the Reformation, as witness many names, e.g., Bridewell, Kilbride, Kirkbride, and McBride. Feast: Feb. 1.

Bibliography

See study by A. Curtayne (1954).

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Bridget, Saint

(born c. 1303, Swed.—died July 23, 1373, Rome; canonized Oct. 8, 1391; feast day July 23) Mystic and patron saint of Sweden. She had religious visions from an early age but married and had eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden. On the death of her husband (1344), she retired to a life of prayer. She lived in Rome after 1350, striving to bring the pope back from Avignon. In response to a revelation, she founded a new religious order in 1370, the Brigittines. In 1372, inspired by another vision, she journeyed to the Holy Land and died soon after her return to Rome.