St. Bridget of Sweden

Saint Bridget of Sweden was a mystic and prophet in the 14th century. She married a prince named Ulf, bore him eight children, then, fed up with the life at court, she and her husband went on a long pilgrimage all the way to Compostela in Spain. Her husband died and she had a vision instructing her to found a new monastery in Sweden. She did this and then went on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before going to Rome for the last twenty years of her life. I remember reading her life when I was in Chile and she skied all over Europe and spoke out against slavery and injustice and she even denounced the Pope but he approved the rule of her new order, the Brigittines. She died on July 23, 1373 and a triumphal procession accompanied her body back to Sweden.

I always remember her as a really valiant woman, but wish I knew more about her eight children.