Writing about Our Lady of Sorrows on Substack yesterday reminded me of den heliga Birgitta, usually known in English as St Bridget of Sweden. The seven blessings traditionally associated with devotion to Mary’s sorrows are attributed to a revelation she received.
As a Swede, this connection feels personal. Birgitta is an ancestral link to Catholicism for me. My middle name, Frideborg, provides another connection. I was named after one of Sweden’s earliest recorded Christian women, who belonged to the ninth-century Christian community at Birka. More about Frideborg.
Remembering Birgitta now makes me want to explore this part of my heritage through my relationship with Mother Mary. I have no wish to return to Catholicism, but I do wish to know more about her life and Marian devotion.
Her story also raises questions that interest me in my own practice. How does a relationship with Mary contribute to sanctification? How does receiving her compassion affect the way we treat others?
I’ve included a seven-card Tarot spread below to explore these questions, after looking at Birgitta’s life, her relationship with Our Lady and the seven blessings.
Jump to the Heart of Mercy Tarot Spread
Who Was St Bridget of Sweden?
Birgitta Birgersdotter was born around 1303 into a powerful Swedish family. She became a mother of eight, served at the royal court and founded the religious order now known as the Bridgettines. Her recorded revelations addressed personal devotion, religious life and the conduct of people in authority.
You may also encounter her as St Birgitta or Bridget of Vadstena. Biographical overview.
Childhood and Marriage
Birgitta’s father, Birger Persson, was a lawspeaker in Uppland. Her mother, Ingeborg Bengtsdotter, also came from an influential family. After her mother died, Birgitta lived with an aunt. Accounts of her childhood describe visions of Mary offering her a crown and of Christ on the cross.
In 1316, aged about 13, she was married to Ulf Gudmarsson. They lived at Ulvåsa and had eight children. She later served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Blanka, the wife of King Magnus Eriksson. Vadstena’s account of Birgitta’s early life.
Birgitta and Ulf established a small hospital and personally attended the sick. Their daughter Karin, known in English as Catherine of Sweden, also became a saint.
Pilgrimage and Widowhood
In 1341, Birgitta and Ulf travelled to Santiago de Compostela. Ulf became ill during their return journey and died in 1344. Birgitta then settled near the Cistercian abbey at Alvastra, where her plans for a religious community developed.
Her spiritual advisers helped record her revelations and translate them from Swedish into Latin. The resulting collection, the Revelations, includes visions, spiritual instruction and dialogues involving Christ and Mary. Benedict XVI on Birgitta’s writings.
Rome and the Campaign for Reform
Birgitta left Sweden for Rome in 1349. She sought approval for her religious order and urged the pope to return from Avignon, where the papacy was then based.
Her revelations contained stern criticism of rulers and clergy. She expected people who exercised Christian authority to take responsibility for their conduct. Her work included demands for moral reform within the Church.
Pope Urban V approved her rule in 1370. Her foundation included separate communities of nuns and monks under an abbess. Mary’s position among the apostles provided a model for this female leadership.
This aspect of her work particularly interests me. Her devotion to Mary informed how she understood women’s religious authority and how she organised the community she wanted to establish.
Her Final Years and Canonisation
Birgitta travelled to the Holy Land in 1371–1372. She died in Rome on 23 July 1373. Her remains were returned to Sweden the following year, and she was canonised on 7 October 1391.
In 1999, John Paul II named her a co-patroness of Europe. He also recognised her significance for relations between Christian traditions, particularly following Scandinavia’s separation from Rome during the Reformation.
St Bridget’s Relationship with Our Lady
Mary speaks frequently in Birgitta’s Revelations, teaching her about Christ’s life and suffering. Mary’s own sorrowful motherhood is closely associated with her role as Mother of Mercy.
Birgitta’s Marian visions also included the Nativity. She described Mary kneeling before the newborn Jesus, whose body radiated light. This account influenced later Western depictions of Christ’s birth.
What draws me to this relationship is its intimacy. Birgitta experienced Mary as a teacher who participated in her spiritual development. She could bring her questions to Our Lady and receive instruction that she would then act on.
Birgitta expressed her faith through caring for the sick and challenging abuses of authority. Mercy can involve tending to somebody’s immediate needs. It can also require us to challenge the conduct that is causing their suffering.
St Bridget and Our Lady of Sorrows
Devotion to Mary’s suffering was already part of medieval Christian life when Birgitta received her revelations. The Servites, established before her birth, became closely associated with this devotion. Birgitta’s writings explored Mary’s grief through her own visionary encounters with the Mother of Christ. Background on the devotion.
The Seven Sorrows are:
- Simeon’s prophecy about Jesus and the sword that would pierce Mary’s soul.
- The flight into Egypt.
- Losing the child Jesus in Jerusalem.
- Meeting Jesus on the way to Calvary.
- The crucifixion and death of Jesus.
- Receiving his body after it was taken down from the cross.
- His burial.
These meditations draw on Scripture and subsequent devotional tradition. They form the focus of the Seven Sorrows Chaplet, also called the Servite Rosary.
Praying with these sorrows brings us into contact with experiences such as bereavement, fear for a child’s safety and witnessing suffering we cannot prevent. These are also experiences we bring to the Mother when we seek her comfort.
For me, this makes Our Lady of Sorrows especially approachable. I can bring her what hurts and ask for help, including help with the things I struggle to admit to myself.
The Seven Blessings of Devotion to Mary’s Sorrows
According to the tradition associated with St Bridget, Mary promised seven graces to those who honour her sorrows daily with seven Hail Marys and meditation.
In paraphrase, these are:
- Peace in their families.
- Illumination concerning divine mysteries.
- Consolation in suffering and assistance in their work.
- The granting of requests consistent with Christ’s will and their sanctification.
- Protection throughout life and in spiritual struggles.
- Mary’s visible assistance at death.
- Forgiveness and passage directly into eternal happiness with Christ for those who spread this devotion.
The promises belong to the devotional tradition handed down under Birgitta’s name. The accompanying practice is seven daily Hail Marys while meditating on Mary’s sorrows. The traditional seven promises.
Working with St Bridget Without Becoming Catholic
Birgitta is a beautiful saint to connect with for Swedes who feel drawn to Marian devotion but do not wish to convert or return to Catholicism.
For me, Birgitta’s devotion to Mary gives us a shared focus. I can ask for her intercession, study her revelations and include her in my devotional practice. This allows me to reconnect with my Swedish Catholic heritage while continuing on my own spiritual path.
Her life also gives me several specific reasons to seek her prayers: developing my relationship with Mary, discerning how to act on spiritual guidance and finding the courage to speak honestly when something needs addressing.
Birgitta’s commemoration extends beyond Roman Catholic settings. Vadstena’s Church of Sweden parish honours her and holds an ecumenical observance for her canonisation anniversary. Birgitta at Vadstena.
For anybody exploring their Swedish spiritual roots, she offers a connection with the country’s history of Marian devotion and female religious leadership. Reading her life alongside her revelations gives us plenty to work with.
St Bridget’s Feast Day
23 July is St Bridget’s feast day, marking the anniversary of her death. I love that it falls the day after the Feast of Mary Magdalene, giving me two consecutive days to honour women whose devotion to Christ is so relevant to my own spiritual path. 7 October, the anniversary of Birgitta’s canonisation, is also commemorated in Vadstena.
Either date is a good time to dedicate a practice to her. You could read about her life, pray the Seven Sorrows Chaplet or ask for her help in developing your relationship with Mother Mary.
For a simple devotional practice that doesn’t require a chaplet:
- Place an image of Birgitta beside an image of Mary and light a candle.
- Ask Birgitta to pray with you for a specific intention.
- Pray seven Hail Marys, meditating on one of Mary’s sorrows with each prayer.
- Spend a few minutes considering how the intention relates to your own actions.
- Close with thanks.
If you use Tarot in your spiritual practice, the following spread offers another way to explore that intention.
St Bridget Tarot Spread: The Heart of Mercy
I created this seven-card spread in the spirit of Birgitta’s Marian devotion. It focuses on connecting with the Heart of Mother Mary, receiving mercy and acting from that place.
You can use it for your general spiritual development or with a particular situation in mind.
Opening Prayer
Holy Birgitta, pray with me as I seek the Heart of Mother Mary. Mother of Mercy, help me recognise where I need your healing and where I can offer compassion. Guide my understanding and my actions, so that this reading serves the Good. Amen.
Spread Positions
1. Connection — How can I deepen my relationship with Mother Mary?
A practice or change in attention that can help me develop this relationship.
2. Receiving Mercy — Where do I need Mary’s compassion in my own life?
An experience, wound or difficulty to bring to her in prayer.
3. Self-Knowledge — What in my own behaviour needs to change?
A habit or response that interferes with my ability to act mercifully.
4. Understanding — What do I need to understand about another person’s suffering (or suffering in general)?
An insight into suffering that can deepen my compassion.
5. Discernment — What does mercy require in this situation?
Guidance on the appropriate response, which may include help, honesty, restraint or a boundary.
6. Service — What practical act of mercy can I offer?
Something specific I can do with the time, resources and capacity available to me.
7. Sanctification — What quality am I being called to develop?
The virtue to cultivate as I continue this devotional work.
Working with Your Reading
Read cards 2 and 3 together. How might receiving compassion help you change the behaviour identified in card 3?
Then compare cards 4 and 5. How does this understanding of suffering inform your response?
Use card 6 to choose an action and card 7 as a focus for continued prayer. Afterwards, return to your notes and consider whether your response helped, what you learned and what still needs attention.
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