A young noblewoman who lived in the 14th century is still influencing the lives of people today through the order she founded. Visitors to Rome who stay at the Casa di Santa Brigida on the northwest corner of the Piazza Farnese, beside the church dedicated to her, have the opportunity not only to experience the hospitality of the Bridgettine sisters, but can – by request – visit the rooms of St. Bridget where she lived and died and where some of her relics are visible.
Below the main church, there is also a Lutheran chapel dedicated to her daughter, St. Catherine of Sweden. This location also has a connection to a third saint, St. Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, who re-founded the order here, the “Order of the Most Holy Saviour of St. Bridget”.
The main charism of the Bridgettine sisters, while cloistered at the time of St. Bridget, is one of penance and prayer for the unity of the Church while living in community.
One of the first things someone would notice about the Bridgettine sisters is the distinctive headwear, like a crown connected to a white band – which represents purity – in the shape of a cross with red markers at the intersections over a black cloth. These red marks indicate the five wounds of our Lord Jesus. The crest of the order includes this indication of the five wounds of Christ. The black veil represents their death to the things of this world, and the gray habit represents penance.
St. Bridget was devoted to the Passion of Christ and the humanity of the Word incarnated, said Bridgettine Mother General Fabia Kattakayam. St. Bridget was born in Sweden in 1303 to an aristocratic family that was religious, but had political connections and she was married at the young age of 13 due to the will of her father. Even at a young age she showed signs of a close connection to God.
At the age of 7, she received a vision of the Blessed Mother giving her a crown. At the age of 10, she had a vision of the crucified Lord. She asked, who did this to Him, and He replied, “All those who refuse my love.”
After the death of her husband, Bridget stayed for two years at the Cistercian monastery in Alvastra in order to discern a religious vocation. She heard God’s call to found a new religious order.
She left for Rome in 1349 to get approval for the new order, which she received in 1370. Her intention in going to Rome was also to attempt to convince Pope Urban V to return to Rome from Avignon and to obtain an indulgence of the Holy year of 1350.
Of her eight children, one of her daughters, who later became St. Catherine of Sweden, followed her into the religious order and was the first abbess. According to a book about the life of St. Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, before passing away St. Bridget entrusted Catherine with a message, “patience and silence.”
The third saint connected to the house, St. Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad started her journey after reading in the Gospel of John Jesus’s prayer for the Church to be one. She was born in 1870 to Protestant family in Sweden. At the age of 16, she emigrated to the United States and attempted to understand her vocation and to find the Church to where she was being called. She took part in various charitable groups and denominations and eventually understood she was called to the Catholic Church.
The final confirmation of this call she acquired during a Procession of “Corpus Domini” in Bruxelles in 1900 when she heard the voice of Jesus state, “it is me for whom you search.”
In 1903 while in Rome with two Catholic friends, Maria Elizabeth entered the Church of Saint Bridget where she heard God’s voice telling her, “it is here I want you to serve me.” After previously spending time in formation with the Carmelite sisters who were at that time residing at Casa di Santa Brigida in Rome, she decided to make her first profession as Bridgettine sister. She started visiting the existing Bridgettine communities in 1909 to learn their spirituality and the traditions, and in 1911 with three English girls she started the Bridgettine Order in Rome, at Casa di Santa Brigida.
Beside the ancient spirituality, St. Elizabeth focused on spiritual ecumenism.
“Saint Elizabeth understood that only prayer can bring us unity. She tried to soothe the prejudice among the Catholic and Lutheran Churches for a better ecumenical journey then later on understood that has to focus on unity but not uniformity,” Mother Kattakayam said.
The process of discernment for women interested in joining the Bridgettines involves starting in aspirancy and postulancy which can last from one year up to three years. Then the candidates enter a period of novitiate for a year and a half before making their first profession. Six years later, they make their final profession, making vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
The sisters at the Casa di Santa Brigida number 30, although there are 600 Bridgettine sisters throughout the world in 57 convents. At the Casa di Santa Brigida the daily schedule includes the Liturgy of the Hours, Mass, adoration, time for meditation and studies and operating the Casa, which is their source of financial support. In all Bridgettine communities the sisters focus on celebrating the Liturgy solemnly and in common.
“There is nothing better than to understand the value and meaning of life,” Mother Kattakayam said. “Material life will not give us what we seek. Worldly pleasures may give some satisfaction, but not the pleasure that lasts forever.”
She does not view her life as one of renunciation, “because if we are filled with the grace of the Lord, we do not need ephemeral pleasures.”
The feast of St. Bridget is celebrated on July 23, the feast of St. Catherine is on March 24, and the feast of St. Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad is celebrated on June 4.
Following the founders of the Order, the Bridgettine sisters yesterday, today and forever continue to pray for the unity of the Church as Jesus prayed to heavenly Father, “that they may be one even as we are one.”
For more information about the Bridgettine order visit www.brigidine.org.
