What would it be like to have saint for a mother? Well, for Saint Catherine of Sweden, that’s how it was. So writes Benjamin Stenlund, pictured, a DeWitt‑based woodcarver and married Catholic father of five, March 24. Benjamin's work often reflects his Swedish ancestry. He continues: Saint Catherine's mother, Saint Bridget, is one of the most popular saints in Sweden – in fact, she is the patron saint of Sweden, as well as one of the six patron saints of all of Europe. Saint Bridget also is the foundress of the religious order the Bridgettines that Saint Catherine later headed.
Yet for Saint Catherine, it must have seemed normal to follow in her mother’s footsteps. In fact, the two women did nearly everything together for over 40 years, especially after the husbands of each died. They left Sweden when Saint Catherine was only eighteen or nineteen years old to go to Rome, where they spent most of the rest of Saint Bridget’s life, except for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land right at the end.
While in Rome, the women did what they could to help the poor who were sadly neglected by the elites, most of whom were spending their time fighting each other. The pope was living in Avignon, France, leaving a spiritual vacuum in the Eternal City. Both women were mystics and devoted hours each day to prayer, especially meditating on the Passion of Jesus. They lived deeply ascetical lives, fasting much, and giving away as much of their money as they could, even wearing their clothes until they were threadbare to save money for charity. They were not afraid to challenge authority, as the two (along with their friend Saint Catherine of Siena) were vocal in urging the popes to return to their city.
After her mother’s death in 1374, Saint Catherine became the abbess of the monastery Saint Bridget had established at Vadstena in Sweden. She ran the establishment well and faithfully, making occasional trips to Rome to secure papal approval for the Bridgettine order and promote her mother’s canonization. The Great Western Schism was underway, however, with multiple claimants to the papal office, which made things rather difficult; tumultuous and confusing times in the Church are nothing new! And then she died.
Saint Catherine’s legacy is very much bound up with her mother’s, yet she is rightly venerated on her own merits of holiness. She is a powerful intercessor for women who have experience miscarriage. Though she was married young, she and her husband agreed to live together as virgins, so she herself never experienced the loss of a pregnancy; but her years of selfless service to those who were suffering, combined with her deep meditation on Christ’s suffering and death, make her a most compassionate advocate for women and men in grief over the loss of an unborn child.
Saint Catherine of Sweden, pray for us.
* About the author: Benjamin Stenlund is a DeWitt‑based woodcarver and married Catholic father of five whose writing and craftsmanship explore faith, culture, and creativity in everyday life. His website is https://www.benjaminstenlund.com/
