Brigida, widow, founder of the Order of Saint. Savior. (1303–1373)

Biography

His family was related to the kings of Sweden. A sermon on the Passion of Christ moved her deeply when she was barely nine years old. She spent the entire night crying and shivering from the cold, kneeling in front of an image of the crucified man and she thought she heard his voice telling her: "COME AND SEE HOW I HAVE BEEN WOUNDED." Filled with horror, she exclaimed: "MY LORD, WHO DID THIS TO YOU?" And then he received the answer: "THIS HAS BEEN DONE BY ALL THOSE WHO ABANDONE ME AND DESPISE MY LOVE." At the age of 18, in fulfillment of her father's wish, she married Count Ulf Gudmarsson. They had 4 children whom she conscientiously educated in the same solid religiosity that she had received. She shared with her husband her living faith and her severe customs. Being members of the Franciscan Third Order, they prayed, fasted and did penance together. Always in agreement, they built hospitals and fed twelve poor people at their table. Together they also read the Holy Scripture. As their fame and wealth grew, the more attention they paid to their responsibilities before men and before God. When their children did not need their direct care, the two husbands made pilgrimages to the most famous sanctuaries in Europe, such as Santiago de Compostela, Cologne, the Tombs of St. Martha and that of Mary Magdalene, in France. Upon returning from those pilgrimages and with Brigida's consent, her husband promised to retire to the Cistercian monastery of Alvastra. He kept his promise and upon his death, four years later, he was buried with his habit. Brigida, in the maturity of her life, decided to preserve her widowhood. She did not take long to distribute her assets, reserving the most essential things and went to live near her husband's tomb, in a building adjacent to the monastery. During the great plague that decimated the population of Italy, Brigida, the strong woman of the north, helped with fortitude; Without any fear, he entered the barracks marked by death. God blessed so much heroism with many miracles. He founded a religious Order and moved to Rome, where he was a distinguished example of virtue for everyone. He undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land as an act of penance and wrote many works in which he narrates his mystical experiences. In the year 1373 he said goodbye to this world to belong entirely to Christ, with whom he had committed himself mystically.