Marriage can be a real path of holiness
and "many times it is the woman who succeeds in taking her husband on a
journey of faith."
This was the case with St. Bridget of Sweden, "an
eminent figure in the history of Europe", a "holy woman who still has
much to teach men, the Church and the world," but still today quite
often it is the "women who, with her religious sensibility, delicacy and
gentleness, succeeds in taking her husband on a journey of faith. I
think with gratitude of the many women who, day after day, still light
up their families with their witness of Christian life. May the Spirit
of the Lord inspire the sanctity of Christian spouses even today, to
show the world the beauty of marriage lived according to Gospel values:
love, tenderness, mutual support, and fecundity in the generation and
education of children, openness and solidarity to the world,
participation in the life of the Church".
These the remarks made today by Benedict XVI, illustrating the figure
of the saint from Sweden, to whom he devoted his latest catechesis on
the female figures of the Church of the Middle Ages to about 25 thousand
people at the general audience.
The audience also gave the Pope an opportunity to launch an appeal on
behalf of the people of Indonesia and Benin, the first hit by a tsunami
and a volcanic eruption, the second by violent floods.
Benedict XVI expressed his "closeness and prayer" and asked the
international community to "make efforts to provide the necessary help
and ease the pain of those suffering from this devastation."
Returning to his audience address, the Pope said that St. Bridget on
the one hand is an example of the "true spirituality of marriage", and
on the other, she who John Paul II proclaimed patron saint of Europe in
1999.
She "shows how Christianity has really permeated the lives of all
the peoples of this continent”, she helps renew our hope that the Old
Continent "will always be able to nourish its Christian roots."
Moreover
she shows how the role of women in the Church, "without overlapping
that of ordained priesthood, is equally important for the spiritual
growth of the community”.
The fact, finally, that may be experienced when the Church had not
yet divided Benedict XVI has urged her to address the prayer to "obtain
from God the grace so attests the unity of all Christians."
The Pope said that Bridget was born in 1103 in Finsta, Sweden, "in a
nation which had accepted the Christian faith three centuries before."
Her life was divided into two periods.
"The first is characterized by
her condition as a happily married woman" wife of Ulf Gudmarsson. Their
marriage lasted 28 years until his death. They had eight children, the
second of which, Karin, is venerated as a saint. "This is an eloquent
sign of Bridget’s educational care towards their children."
Bridget " exerted a very positive influence on her family which due
to her presence became a true domestic Church." Together with her
husband, they adopted the rule of the Third Order Franciscan. They took
care of the poor and also founded a hospital. "This first period helps
us appreciate what we today might call an authentic spirituality of
marriage. Together Christian spouses can journey on a real path to
holiness.
The second period of life of the saint begins with the death of her
husband in 1344.
"She forsake other marriages in favour of a deeper
union with God through prayer, penance and works of charity. Even
Christian widows, therefore, can find a model to follow in this Saint”.
Bridget distributed her goods to the poor and began a series of
pilgrimages. In 1349 Bridget left Sweden forever and came to Rome.
"Not
only to take part in the Jubilee of 1350, but she also wanted to obtain
the Pope's approval to found a religious order, composed of monks and
nuns under the authority of Abbess.
"This is something that should not
surprise us: there were monastic foundations in the Middle Ages with
male and female branches, but which practiced the same monastic rule,
under the direction of an Abbess. In fact, in the great Christian
tradition, the dignity of women and their place in the Church is
recognized, and - following the example of Mary, Queen of the Apostles -
while not overlapping that of the ordained priesthood, they are equally
important for the spiritual growth of the Community. In addition, the
collaboration of men and women religious, while respecting their
specific vocation, is of great importance in today's world. "
She died in 1373 and was canonized in 1391 by Boniface IX.
SIC: AN/INT'L