Also
known as Bride, Bride of the Isles, Bridget of Ireland, Bridget, Brigid of Kildare,
Brigit, Ffraid Mary of the Gael Memorial 1 February
10 June (translation of relics) Profile Daughter
of Dubtach, pagan Scottish king of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave
who had been baptized by Saint Patrick. Just before Brigid's birth, her mother
was sold to a Druid landowner. Brigid remained with her mother till she was old
enough to serve her legal owner Dubtach, her father. She grew up marked by her
high spirits and tender heart, and as a child, she heard Saint Patrick preach,
which she never forgot. She could not bear to see anyone hungry or cold, and to
help them, often gave away things that were Dubtach's. When Dubtach protested,
she replied that "Christ dwelt in every creature". Dubtach tried to sell her to
the King of Leinster, and while they bargained, she gave a treasured sword of
her father's to a leper. Dubtach was about to strike her when Brigid explained
she had given the sword to God through the leper, because of its great value.
The King, a Christian, forbade Dubtach to strike her, saying "Her merit before
God is greater than ours". Dubtach solved this domestic problem by giving Brigid
her freedom. Brigid's aged mother was in charge of her master's dairy. Brigid
took charge ,and often gave away the produce. But the dairy prospered under her
(hence her patronage of milk maids, dairy workers, cattle, etc.), and the Druid
freed Brigid's mother. Brigid returned to her father, who arranged a marriage
for her with a young bard. Bride refused, and to keep her virginity, went to Bishop
Mel, a pupil of Saint Patrick's, and took her first vows. Legend says that she
prayed that her beauty be taken from her so no one would seek her hand in marriage;
her prayer was granted, and she regained her beauty only after making her vows.
Another tale says that when Saint Patrick heard her final vows, he mistakenly
used the form for ordaining priests. When told of it he replied, "So be it, my
son, she is destined for great things." Her first convent started with seven nuns.
At the invitation of bishops, she started convents all over Ireland. She was a
great traveller, especially considering the conditions of the time, which led
to her patronage of travellers, sailors, etc. Brigid invented the double monastery,
the monastery of Kildare that she ran on the Liffey river being for both monks
and nuns. Saint Conleth became its first bishop; this connection and the installation
of a bell that lasted over 1000 years apparently led to her patronage of blacksmiths
and those in related fields. Born 453 at Faughart, County
Louth, Ireland Died 1 February 523 at Kildare, Ireland of
natural causes buried in Downpatrick, Ireland with Saint Patrick and Saint Columba
head removed to Jesuit church in Lisbon, Portugal Canonized
Pre-Congregation Name Meaning fiery arrow (= brigid) Patronage
babies, blacksmiths, boatmen, cattle, chicken farmers, children whose parents
are not married, dairymaids, dairy workers, Douglas, Lanarkshire, Scotland, fugitives,
infants, Ireland Ivrea, Turin, Italy, Leinster, Ireland, mariners, midwives, milk
maids, newborn babies, nuns, poets, poultry farmers, poultry raisers, printing
presses, sailors, scholars, travellers, watermen Representation
abbess, usually holding a lamp or candle, often with a cow nearby Back
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