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St Bridget of Sweden

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Saint Of The Day

Visionary. Bridget was born in Sweden in 1303. From the time she was a child, she was greatly devoted to the passion of Jesus. When she was only ten, she seemed to see Jesus on the cross and hear him say: "Look at me, my daughter." "Who has treated you like this?" cried little Bridget. "They who despise me and refuse my love for them," answered Jesus.

When she was fourteen, she married eighteen-year-old Ulf. Like Bridget, Ulf had set his heart on serving God. They had eight children, of whom one was St Catherine of Sweden. Bridget and Ulf served the Swedish court. Bridget was the queen's personal maid. She also tried to advise King Magnus and Queen Blanche from time to time.

All her life, Bridget experienced visions and heard messages from God.

In obedience to them, she visited many rulers and important people in the Church. She explained humbly what God expected of them. After her husband died, Bridget left the court to become a nun. Later, she started the order of the Most Holy Saviour, also known as Bridgettines.

A very active person, she worked with the poor and sick all her life and seemed to carry on a dialogue with God.

Shortly before she died, the saint went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. At the shrines there, she had visions of what Jesus had said and done in that place. All St Bridget's revelations on the sufferings of Jesus were published after her death. She died in Rome on this day in 1373. She was proclaimed a saint by Pope Boniface IX in 1391.

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