born 0441; 1303, Swed.
died July 23, 1373, Rome; canonized Oct. 8, 1391; feast day July 23
Mystic and patron saint of Sweden.
She had religious visions from an early age but married and had eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden. On the death of her husband (1344), she retired to a life of prayer. She lived in Rome after 1350, striving to bring the pope back from Avignon. In response to a revelation, she founded a new religious order in 1370, the Brigittines. In 1372, inspired by another vision, she journeyed to the Holy Land and died soon after her return to Rome.