Homily: July 23 - St. Bridget of Sweden - Co-Patroness of Europe

St. Bridget of Sweden was born on July 23, 1303. She married a young prince and had 8 children, one of whom, Catherine, is also honored as a saint.  At ten years of age, Bridget heard a sermon on the Passion of our Lord; and the next night she saw Jesus on the cross, covered with fresh blood, and speaking to her about his Passion.  She received many revelations about our Lord’s Passion, and you can still read the revelations she recorded. 

Bridget felt the Lord’s call to renounce her wealth and live as an ascetic.  She became a member of the Franciscan Third Order—who make lifelong commitments to living those Gospel values exemplified by St. Francis. 

Out of this desire to follow Christ ever more closely, St. Bridget, who is also known by her Swedish name, St. Brigitta, founded a religious order devoted to the Prescious Blood of Jesus, which is also familiarly called the Bridgittines.

In 1999, Pope John Paul II declared St. Bridget a Co-Patroness of Europe, along with Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross.

In his declaration the Pope said, “In naming her a Co-Patroness of Europe”, she is not just a model for those in consecrated religious life, but especially for married people—that those who have “the high and demanding vocation of forming a Christian family will feel that she is close to them.”  The Pope emphasized how “she and her husband enjoyed a married life in which conjugal love was joined to intense prayer, the study of Sacred Scripture, mortification and charitable works. Together they founded a small hospital, where they often attended the sick. Bridget was in the habit of serving the poor personally. At the same time, she was appreciated for her gifts as a teacher”
Bridget lived in a time where much more reform was needed throughout Europe.  Bridget spoke unabashedly to princes and pontiffs. She was not afraid to deliver stern admonitions about the moral reform of the Christian people and the clergy themselves (cf. Revelations, IV, 49; cf. also IV, 5).

Blessed Pope John Paul II named these women co-patronesses of Europe at a decisive time in history.  Europe, as well as the United States, is undergoing a profound identity crisis where we are attempting to redefine ourselves without God, without the foundation of Christ. 

The Pope stressed that The hope of building a more just world, is good, but it must be coupled with the awareness that human efforts are of no avail if not accompanied by divine grace: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain” (Ps 127:1).

We see in the Saints what life is supposed to look like.  May St. Bridget remind us and help us to build our lives and families firmly in service to the Lord for the glory of God and salvation of souls.