Editing Bridget of Sweden (section)

== Biography ==
[[File:Birger Peterssons grafsten i Uppsala, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Drawing of the tomb of Bridget's parents in [[Uppsala Cathedral]]]]
[[File:St Brigitta 1476.jpeg|thumb|left|Saint Bridget in the [[religious habit]] of a Bridgettine nun, in a 1476 [[breviary]] of the form of the [[Liturgy of the Hours]] unique to Order of the Most Holy Savior]]

The most celebrated saint of Sweden, Bridget was the daughter of the knight [[Birger Persson]]<ref name=kirsch/> of the [[finstaatten|family]] of [[Finsta]], governor and [[lawspeaker]] of [[Uppland]], and one of the richest [[Land tenure|landowners]] of the country, and his wife Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, a member of the so-called Lawspeaker branch of the [[Folkunga]] family. Through her mother, Bridget was related to the Swedish kings of her era.

She was born in 1303. The exact date of her birth is not recorded. In 1316, at the age of 13<ref name=kirsch/> she married Ulf Gudmarsson of the family of [[Ulvåsa]], a noble and lawspeaker of [[Östergötland]], to whom she bore eight children, four daughters and four sons. Six of her children survived infancy, which was rare at that time. Her eldest daughter was [[Märta Ulfsdotter]]. Her second daughter is now honored as [[Catherine of Vadstena|St. Catherine of Sweden]]. Her youngest daughter was [[Cecilia Ulvsdotter]]. Bridget became known for her works of [[charity (practice)|charity]], particularly toward Östergötland's unwed mothers and their children. When she was in her early thirties, she was summoned to be principal lady-in-waiting to the new Queen of Sweden, [[Blanche of Namur]]. In 1341, she and her husband went on [[pilgrimage]] to [[Santiago de Compostela]].

In 1344, shortly after their return, Ulf died at the [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] [[Alvastra Abbey]] in [[Östergötland]]. After this loss, Bridget became a member of the [[Third Order of Saint Francis]] and devoted herself to a life of prayer and caring for the poor and the sick.<ref name=SHMI>{{cite book|author=Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI|title=My First Book of Saints|year=1997|publisher=Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate – Quality Catholic Publications|isbn=971-91595-4-5|pages=158–159|chapter=St. Bridget}}</ref>

It was at this time that she developed the idea of establishing the religious community which was to become the [[religious order]] of the Most Holy Saviour, or the [[Bridgettines]], whose principal house at [[Vadstena Abbey|Vadstena]] was later richly endowed by King [[Magnus IV of Sweden]] and his queen. One distinctive feature of the houses of the Order was that they were [[double monastery|double monasteries]], with men and women both forming a joint community, but they lived in separate cloisters. They were required to live in poor convents and they were also required to give all of their surplus income to the poor. However, they were allowed to have as many books as they pleased.<ref name=SHMI />

In 1350, a [[Jubilee in the Catholic Church|Jubilee Year]], Bridget braved a plague-stricken Europe to make a pilgrimage to Rome accompanied by her daughter, Catherine, and a small party of [[Catholic priest|priests]] and disciples. This was partly done to obtain authorization to found the new order from the Pope and it was also partly done in pursuance of her self-imposed mission to elevate the moral tone of the age. This was during the period of the [[Avignon Papacy]] within the [[Roman Catholic Church]], however, so she had to wait for the return of the papacy from the French city of Avignon to Rome, a move for which she agitated for many years.

It was not until 1370 that [[Pope Urban V]], during his brief attempt to re-establish the papacy in Rome, confirmed the [[monastic rule|Rule]] of the order, but meanwhile Bridget had made herself universally beloved in Rome by her kindness and good works. Save for occasional pilgrimages, including one to [[Jerusalem]] in 1373, she remained in Rome until her death on 23 July 1373, urging ecclesiastical reform.<ref name=SHMI />

In her pilgrimages to Rome, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, she sent "back precise instructions for the construction of the monastery" now known as the Blue Church, insisting that an "abbess, signifying the Virgin Mary, should preside over both nuns and monks."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.firstthings.com/article/2014/06/not-so-secular-sweden|title=Not So Secular Sweden by Matthew Milliner|date=June 2014|work=[[First Things]]|publisher=Institute on Religion and Public Life|access-date=18 May 2014|quote=Bridget—or Birgitta as she is known in Sweden—left her homeland and travelled to Rome, Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, sending back precise instructions for the construction of the monastery I am now entering, known as the "Blue Church" after the unique color of the granite which it was constructed with. Bridget insisted that the abbess, signifying the Virgin Mary, should preside over both nuns and monks.}}</ref>

Bridget went to confession every day, and she had a constant smiling, glowing face.<ref name=SHMI /> Although she never returned to Sweden, her years in Rome were far from happy, she was hounded by debts and opposition to her work against Church abuses. She was originally buried at [[San Lorenzo in Panisperna]] before her remains were returned to Sweden. 
===Sainthood===
After Queen [[Margaret I of Denmark|Margaret of Scandinavia]] had worked on both [[Pope Urban VI]] and his successor for it,<ref>[http://libris.kb.se/bib/l2cvjpqlj5l9j5k9 2023 book] by [[:sv:Erik Petersson (författare)|Erik Petersson]] pp. 221-222</ref> Bridget was [[canonized]] in the year 1391 by [[Pope Boniface IX]], which was confirmed by the [[Council of Constance]] in 1415. Because of new discussions about her works, the [[Council of Basel]] confirmed the orthodoxy of her [[revelation]]s in 1436.