What is Bridget of Sweden?
{{no sources|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox saint |name=Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden |birth_date=December 15, 1303 |death_date=23 July 1373 |feast_day=23 July<br />8 October ([[General Roman Calendar of 1960]])<br />7 October ([[Sweden]]) |venerated_in=[[Roman Catholic Church]]<br />[[Lutheran Church]] |image=Heliga Birgitta på ett altarskåp i Salems kyrka retouched.png |imagesize=200px |caption=Altarpiece in Salem church, Södermanland, Sweden (restored digitally) |birth_place=[[Uppland]], [[Sweden]] |death_place=[[Rome]], [[Papal States]] |titles=Widow |beatified_date= |beatified_place= |beatified_by= |canonized_date=7 October 1391 |canonized_place= |canonized_by=[[Pope Boniface IX]] |attributes=[[Pilgrim's hat]], [[Pilgrim's staff|staff]] & bag; crown, writing-book. |patronage=[[Europe]], [[Sweden]], [[Widow]]s |major_shrine=[[Vadstena Abbey]] |suppressed_date= |issues= }} '''Bridget of Sweden''', or '''Birgitta Birgersdotter''' (1303–1373), was a [[Mysticism|mystic]] and [[saint]], and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks. A few months before she was born, her mother was in a shipwreck. Many people died, but her mother was saved by the king's brother. In a dream the night after her rescue, she was told that she was saved because the child in her womb was very special, and was a gift from God. After Bridget was born, she wanted to live her life as a holy woman, but it was hard, because she was one of only two surviving children in her family. When she was 14 years old, she was forced to marry 18-year-old Ulf Gudmarsson. This was hard for her because she believed that staying a virgin would be the closest state to God. After Ulf died, God sent a message to tell Bridget to come to Rome. That same year, Bridget packed up her bags and headed off to [[Rome]], never to return to her hometown again. In 1370, [[Pope Urban V]] made her religious group official. She eventually became famous for helping to restoring the [[papacy]] in Rome. ==Related pages== *[[Patron saint]] [[Category:Christian saints]] [[Ca