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Who we are

The Order of the most Holy Saviour of Saint Bridget as we have it today was founded by Blessed Elisabeth Hesselblad of Sweden on the 8 September 1911 and given full formal approval by the Holy See on 7 July 1940. 

 

   Blessed Elisabeth, who was of Swedish origin and a convert from Lutheranism,

   was determined to bring alive the spirit of Saint Bridget of Sweden once again

   in the  same house in Rome where the Saint had lived and died, but now in the    

   possession  of others, and where by God's providence she was now living.

   She desired to take this spirit, which would be adapted to the modern age,

   back to Sweden and to implant it in many other countries. 

 

   It was not her original intention to found a new branch of the order, but God used Elisabeth as His instrument to take the values of the ancient Order and to adapt the spirit of Saint Bridget in a revised Rule adapted to the needs of the apostolate of the contemporary world. 

 

Saint Bridget, in the fourteenth century, lived in a world of disunity and lived her life in pursuit of Christian unity. Blessed Elisabeth was baptised as a Christian in the Lutheran church. In her own life and conversion she felt the need for Christ's prayer that 'they all be one', and she stamped this imperative on her reformed Order - that they be instrumental in fostering unity within the Christian Church, but with intense respect for the beliefs of others. As a consequence, the reformed Order keeps close to its heart all activities of an ecumenical nature, as well as dialogue with those of other faiths.  

 

Blessed Elisabeth also had first-hand experience in working for the sick as a nurse, and the poor and disadvantaged at various times of her life, and she left this legacy to her Order for the sisters to emulate in the form of different apostolates. Her tireless work on behalf of the defenceless and persecuted Jews during the Second World War is an example of how her sisters are to act in love towards all in need in total selfless giving. In 2005 she was named as one of the "righteous among the nations" at Yad Vashem which honour conveys the gratitude of the State of Israel and the Jewish people to non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.  
 

Our charism: Happy synthesis of monastic and apostolic life

 

                                      The apostolic life, through which the sisters of the Order of Saint Bridget 

   engage in the modern world, has diverse forms. Central to its apostolic

   charism is hospitality, traditional to all monasticism, which in its Bridgettine 

   form translates into the provision of guest houses where individuals and

   groups from all Christian traditions or none are warmly welcomed and

   looked after. Our sisters also work with youth, evangelise, have nursery 

   schools, to name but some of their other activities.

 

The heirs of the spiritual teaching of Blessed Elisabeth, the 'pilgrim of unity', have progressively developed the missionary ecumenical charism of the new Order, and non-Catholic religious services are regularly hosted in the convents of the Order. The Bridgettine centre in Farfa, Italy, is an international ecumenical centre where people of all different faiths come together for a serene interchange of ideas in search of the truth, as is the John Paul II Centre for Interreligious Dialogue on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

 

Inseparable from this apostolic life, and giving the apostolic life its source of power and energy is the Bridgettine prayer life which is deeply rooted in the Eucharist  daily Mass and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament - the singing of the Divine Office, special  devotion to the humanity of Christ, especially to

the Passion (our family motto is My Love has been crucified: Amor Meus Crucifixus est), and an intense filial devotion to the Mother of God.

 

The happy synthesis of monastic and apostolic life characterises the Order of Saint Bridget, constantly attracts new postulants and novices, and reminds all of the need to live their Christian lives in the constant presence and remembrance of God our Saviour.

 

Our Houses in Holywell, Iver Heath and Maryvale are centres for all to experience our charism, and to reinvigorate their own spiritual life.