St. Brigid of Sweden

Summary

Podcast Summary: Catholic Saints – St. Brigid of Sweden

Episode: St. Brigid of Sweden
Host: Augustine Institute
Release Date: July 23, 2025

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Introduction to St. Brigid of Sweden

In this enlightening episode of the Catholic Saints podcast, produced by the Augustine Institute, Dr. Elizabeth Klein and Dr. Jessica Murdoch delve into the life of Saint Brigid of Sweden, a revered yet lesser-known medieval saint. This episode is part of a broader series focusing on "holy women you've never heard of," aiming to introduce listeners to remarkable female figures in Catholic tradition who have significantly contributed to the faith.

Early Life and Piety

Dr. Elizabeth Klein sets the stage by highlighting St. Brigid’s noble lineage and profound upbringing:

"She was born to a royal family and as you might suspect, they were landowners. Her father was governor and provincial judge of Upland. So she comes from a very pious family that already included a saint, Saint Ingrid, as a relative."
[00:20]

From a young age, Brigid exhibited deep religious fervor. At merely ten years old, she experienced a pivotal vision that would shape her spiritual journey.

Dr. Jessica Murdoch recounts this formative moment:

"At the age of 10, she is said to have had a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he comes to her in a crucified form and says, look at me, my daughter. And she looks at him and she says, who's treated you like this? And our Lord goes on to tell her that it's those who refuse his love."
[01:05]

This encounter underscored her commitment to understanding and embodying Christ’s love.

Marriage and Family Life

Despite her early spiritual inclinations, Brigid entered into marriage at the tender age of thirteen to Prince Ulfo of Sweden, who was five years her senior. Their union was marked by mutual piety and happiness, resulting in the birth of eight children, including Saint Catherine of Sweden.

Dr. Klein reflects on the significance of Brigid's family life:

"This has been a common theme in our holy women. It seems like holy women have the habit of creating holy families. So it's a good lesson."
[02:00]

Their marriage exemplifies the integration of faith within family life, a recurring motif among many saints.

Path to Monastic Life

After nurturing a devout household, Brigid and her husband mutually consented to separate, allowing Ulfo to pursue a monastic vocation by entering the Cistercian order. This transition highlights Brigid’s unwavering dedication to her faith beyond domestic responsibilities.

Dr. Murdoch explains Brigid’s subsequent endeavors:

"Bridget, for her part, founded a new order, the Order of Saint Savior, which is known today as the Brigantines."
[02:57]

This move marked the beginning of her profound influence within the Church.

Visionary Experiences and Church Influence

Following her husband's death in 1344 during a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, Brigid’s role as a visionary intensified. Her visions often urged her to advocate for Christ and the Church amidst the complexities of the Abingdon papacy.

Dr. Murdoch shares insights into Brigid’s visionary life:

"She was known for saintly life and charity to the poor. Her reputation was widely known. And because she was part of a noble family, she was able to exercise great influence over the theologians of the day and later even of the king."
[01:05]

Brigid's monastery became a hub for Church renewal, and she personally urged the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon, demonstrating her active engagement in ecclesiastical politics.

Themes of Vocation and Sacrifice

The discussion delves into the multifaceted nature of Brigid’s vocation, balancing family life, monastic leadership, and active participation in Church affairs. Dr. Klein emphasizes the complexity of discerning and living out multiple vocations:

"It's really interesting to think about somebody having like two vocations... She has eight children... and then depart from your husband, be widowed, found a monastic order and then be called to like, you know, intervene or worry about incredibly complicated church politics."
[05:46]

This highlights the saint’s total surrender to God’s will, embodying a dynamic and responsive faith journey.

Dr. Murdoch adds:

"St Brigid was wholly at the disposal of Christ. She really sort of surrendered herself to wherever God wanted her to be and what God wanted her to be doing at a given time."
[05:53]

Modern Reflections on Vocation

The episode bridges medieval experiences with contemporary understandings of vocation. Dr. Klein draws parallels between Brigid’s life and modern believers:

"You have to always be open to the continue calling of God and you don't know where that call will lead... St Brigid shows us that being Christian is to be a part of the times in which we live and to respond sort of with the heart of Christ to the very times in which we are living and moving."
[09:37]

This reflection encourages listeners to remain receptive to God’s evolving call in their own lives, much like St. Brigid did.

Mystical Life and Spiritual Depth

Beyond her active roles, Brigid maintained a profound mystical life, characterized by deep communion with God. Dr. Klein remarks on the integration of Brigid’s contemplative and active lives:

"Prayer and communion with God is where the fruit of our efforts comes from. It can be easy to forget that that's true even of a saint who was so busy, who did all these things but also clearly had a very deep spiritual life and a deep communion."
[10:04]

This balance underscores that true holiness encompasses both action and contemplation.

Conclusion and Reflections

The episode concludes by celebrating St. Brigid of Sweden as a multifaceted saint whose life offers diverse lessons on vocation, sacrifice, and spiritual depth. Dr. Klein encourages listeners to seek her intercession:

"We found a new holy friend in her, someone to help you contemplate your vocation... She pretty much covers all the bases and has something for everyone to think about. And so we'll close this by asking for her intercession. St Bridget. Pray for us."
[11:29]

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Key Takeaways:

• St. Brigid’s Noble and Pious Upbringing: From a young age, Brigid was immersed in Christian piety, setting the foundation for her later spiritual endeavors.

• Marriage and Holy Family: Her marriage to Prince Ulfo and their devout family life exemplify the sanctity that can thrive within familial structures.

• Transition to Monastic Life: Post-marriage, Brigid’s establishment of the Order of Saint Savior highlights her leadership and commitment to Church renewal.

• Visionary Role: Her visions played a pivotal role in influencing Church politics and advocating for spiritual reforms during turbulent times.

• Dynamic Vocation: Brigid's life illustrates the possibility and beauty of living out multiple vocations sequentially, responding flexibly to God’s call.

• Mystical and Active Balance: She maintained a deep spiritual life alongside her active roles, embodying the harmony between contemplation and action.

• Modern Relevance: Brigid’s example serves as an inspiration for contemporary believers to remain open and responsive to God’s ongoing call in their lives.

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For those inspired by St. Brigid of Sweden’s life, further exploration through biographies and her recorded visions is highly recommended to deepen understanding and appreciation of her enduring legacy.

Transcript

[Host]

You're listening to a podcast on Catholic saints. This podcast is produced by the Augustine Institute, an apostolate helping Catholics understand, live and share their faith.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Welcome to forum now. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Klein and I'm here with Dr. Jessica Murdoch. We're both professors here and teach at the Augustine Institute. We're here doing our series on holy women you've never heard of. So we've gathered some of our favorite female saints from throughout tradition who you might not know about. And so we're hoping you can meet some new holy friends in the course of this series. This episode is on Saint Bridget of Sweden, who, unsurprisingly, is from Sweden. She lived from 1303 to 1373, so in the late Middle Ages. So unsurprisingly, given our specialties, Dr. Murdoch studies more medieval theology. I do more church theology. So this medieval saint was picked by Dr. Murdoch. So I'll let her kick it off with. Tell us a little bit about Bridget.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Well, Bridget was born to a royal family and as you might suspect, they were landowners. Her father was governor and provincial judge of Upland. So she comes from a very pious family that already included a saint, Saint Ingrid, as a relative. So she was raised like, firmly in Christian piety. She was shown to be a religious prodigy in her childhood. At the age of 10, she is said to have had a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ, where he comes to her in a crucified form and says, look at me, my daughter. And she looks at him and she says, who's treated you like this? And our Lord goes on to tell her that it's those who refuse his love. So this is really like a formative episode in her childhood. She was married at the young age of 13 to her 18 year old husband, Prince Ulfo of Sweden, who was also a pious Christian. And their happy marriage produced eight children, including another saint, Saint Catherine of Sweden.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

This has been a common theme in our holy women. It seems like holy women have the habit of creating holy families. So it's a good lesson. So what happened after that?

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

So she was known for saintly life and charity to the poor. Her reputation was widely known. And because she was part of a noble family, she was able to exercise great influence over the theologians of the day and later even of the king. After some time, Bridget and Ulfo separated by mutual consent, obviously after the eight children, so that Ulfo could enter the Cistercian order.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

So is this like after their children have kind of grown up and they're living their own lives and they, I Think that's unclear.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

But probably when they're older. I mean, sometime, you know, medieval women might have other people help them raise the children so that they could, you know, live that life of piety, even when they're young, actually.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Right.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

But Bridget, for her part, founded a new order, the Order of Saint Savior, which is known today as the Brigantines.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Okay, so named after her. Okay, so after she enters the monastic life then, do we have any other stories about her kind of life after that? Yes.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Well, she started to have more and more visions. Her husband died in 1344 on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. And after that, it seems that she really picked up as a visionary. Many of her visions urged her to intervene for the cause of Christ and for the church the day. It was the time of the Abingham papacy. And so she was called to intervene with the important personages of the day. She also received a vision to go to the Holy Land on pilgrimage. So that's another theme of this series. It's pilgrimages where Christ gave her a particular intimate understanding of his own passion in the Holy Land. So it's said that her monastery actually was the center of church renewal at the time and that she even urged the Pope personally to return from Avignon to Rome.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Okay, so she's like the lesser known Catherine of Siena.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

She's so much like Catherine of Siena.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

But she went in person.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

She did go in person. There were times that saint goes after.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

She had eight person too. Yeah, that's really. It's really interesting that you bring up the theme of pilgrimage and how that plays into the lives of the saints. Because often I think when we think of going on pilgrimage, we think of it as like, basically a lot of fun. It's like you go with the priest, they're raising money, you're going to the Holy Land, you stay in a nice hotel. But of course, in the past, pilgrimage was often undertaken even under orders as a penance because it was very dangerous. And you often had to make great personal sacrifice. You maybe didn't have enough money or food to get the whole way. You didn't know how you were going to get there. And as an example of her husband dying on pilgrimage, this was really a very. This was a very serious undertaking to travel these distances in order to sort of like pay homage. And I mean, it'd be hard for us to kind of like recreate that, I suppose. I mean, I think there are some orders who do like popular poverty pilgrimages and things, but maybe it is just something to keep in mind, out of gratitude, that we're able to visit these holy places and venerate them without those. Easily, easily without those kinds of risks. And that those journeys can be an opportunity for penance, as in the story with Mary of Egypt, who undertook her kind of anti. Pilgrimage. But it ended up still being this kind of like, penitential process, which is very interesting. And also maybe you could say a little more about. I think this is unfamiliar for people today to think about somebody having like two vocations.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Like they have. I mean, when you're married at 13. Right. You have eight children. You may be done having children by the time you're 30.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Yes.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

And now we don't start having children until 30.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Right, right.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

But then. And then having this, like, almost totally like, second life. So can you say a little more about that?

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

You're very right. I think it really shows that St Brigid was wholly at the disposal of Christ. She really sort of surrendered herself to wherever God wanted her to be and what God wanted her to be doing at a given time. When she was focused on her own household and her motherhood, she gave herself entirely to that. She raised eight children in a pious household, one again, who was herself a saint. And then when her husband asked to be sort of released from living at home so that he could go into the Cistercian order, again, she offers herself up wholly to God and does likewise. So again, we still have that sense of holy example in the family that we've been talking about in this series. And then we have the total surrender. Yes, I'll do this. I'm going to start this religious order. But then she doesn't even stop there. So then even over, against that, she enters into the life of the church in these very, very difficult times. She's really amazing.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Which can be. I mean, that can be sacrificial in and of itself. When you undertake a monastic life and then you're kind of pulled back into the world, often that feels very sacrificial. I really love how you emphasize that. Her kind of responding to what God was asking her at any given time. Because I think nowadays in the church, we sometimes have a very simplistic understanding of what a vocation is like. We're discerning our vocation as if God only ever makes one call of us and never makes any further calls. Right. Vocation being call. When in reality there are many saints who live out multiple vocations at different stages. And it's often very complicated. I mean, for us to look At a married couple, like parting to live a monastic life, I wouldn't say it's quite scandalous to us, but it's very unusual. Whereas I don't think it's was necessarily that unusual.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

No, it's actually much more common in the Middle Ages than you'd think.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

And also something that was common in the Middle Ages, very similar, is widows would often enter monastic life. We mentioned that a little bit with Saint Macrina, that like in Bridget's time, women were often married to men and men that were older, that were much older. So if you're 13 and you're married to a man who's five, six, you're.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Going to be widowed.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Seven, you're gonna be widowed, you're gonna be without your husband much, much earlier in life. And this often becomes a time when you're called by God to do something else. And although thankfully by the grace of God, most of us don't experience that now. We're not, don't have that gap. And you know, we have modern medicine and lots of wonderful things. We don't die going on pilgrimages. We still, we still have different phases of our lives. You know, we have, there's always going to be a time in your life before you're married or religious, but that doesn't mean you have no vocation. Right? You have your, you have your baptismal vocation, you have calls by God to make these daily sacrifices to respond to him.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

And at the same time they don't all happen at once.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Right.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

You know, we sort of see a kind of progressive vocation over time. In St. Brigid, she wasn't simultaneously burying.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Her children and praying the hours.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Yeah, praying the hours, running a monastery and advising the Pope all at one.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Time either, you know, and so, yeah, and so sometimes we can feel, I don't know, at loss at certain transition periods in our lives where, you know, maybe our children grow up and leave home and then it's like, well, where'd my vocation go? They just walked out the door and now they're in college. How do I live out my vocation or whatever that God, you have to always be open to the continue calling of God and you don't know where that call will lead. I mean, Certainly as a 13 year old girl, you have no idea that you're going to be called to have eight children and then after that depart from your husband, be widowed, found a monastic order and then be called to like, you know, intervene or worry about incredibly complicated church politics.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

And I think even, you know, her being involved in the complicated church politics is. I think she shows us that, you know, to be Christian is to be a part of the times in which we live and to respond sort of with the heart of Christ to the very times in which we are living and moving. There are specific issues of our day that we need to respond to that God's giving us insight and grace to respond to. And I think she's a wonderful model of that as well.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Yeah, it can be very difficult to, like, live in. The moment's kind of trite, but it can be difficult to continue to be open to those promptings of the Holy Spirit and to what God's asking us to do and to deal with problems in our family or in our day that are kind of. That kind of right there that we'd rather ignore or rather not have an active participation in. But you never know kind of what you're gonna be, what you're gonna be called to do. And so you were saying to me before that she's kind of like a combo of Saint Catherine of Siena and Zelie Martin, like all in one saint. And so she's a very cool saint. And she also. You mentioned her visions. And these are no like, kind of low grade writing. There are long writings, Bridget of Sweden, I mean, I read them at one point in graduate school. I don't remember them that well. There was angels and maybe ladders. But to think about that mystical side too, that we all know, of course, that prayer and communion with God is where the fruit of our efforts comes from. And it's where sort of the holiness of our life comes from. It can be easy to forget that that's true even of a saint who was so busy, who did all these things, but also clearly had a very deep spiritual life and a deep communion.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

With God together, the active and the contemplative life.

[Dr. Elizabeth Klein]

Yeah. Out of all. Where all these things, all of these things were flowing. So I hope you enjoyed learning about Bridget of Sweden. If you want to know more about her, there are definitely biographies out there. You can go read the book of Bridget's visions. But I hope you found a new holy friend in her, someone to help you contemplate your vocation or whether you're single, married, or have grown up children or are out in the world. She pretty much covers all the bases and has something for everyone to think about. And so we'll close this by asking for her intercession. St Bridget. Pray for us.

[Dr. Jessica Murdoch]

Pray for us.

[Host]

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