Saint of the day, March 24 — Zeale
Saint Catherine of Sweden was born in 1330, a noblewoman and daughter of Saint Bridget of Sweden. St. Catherine and her husband lived in celibacy, and after he died, she became a Bridgetine abbess.
March 24 - Saint Catherine of Sweden
Born: 1330
Died: 1381
Nationality: Swedish
Vocation: married, religious
Attributes: white lily, Bridgetine headdress, deer
Patronage: miscarriage loss
Canonization: 1484, Pope Innocent VIII
St. Catherine of Sweden was born in 1330, a noblewoman and daughter of St. Bridget of Sweden. As a young girl, Catherine was sent to a monastery to be educated until she was 13, and her parents had arranged a marriage for her.
Catherine married a German nobleman named Egard, but her time in the monastery had led her to desire religious life. She persuaded her husband to take a mutual vow of celibacy with her, and the couple practiced mortification and acts of charity together.
After the death of her father, Catherine went to join her mother, Bridget, on a pilgrimage to Rome. Egard died soon after, and Catherine remained with her mother in Rome, where the two visited various other holy sites while Bridget founded the order of the Most Holy Savior, also known as Bridgettines.
Following Bridget’s death in 1373, Catherine returned to Sweden with her body and then went back to Rome to promote her saintly mother’s cause for canonization. Catherine also received the pope's permission for the Bridgettine religious rule.
She became the abbess of Vadstena, Sweden, where she remained in prayer and service until her death in 1381. She is said to have received the Sacrament of Penance daily. Catherine was canonized in 1484.
St. Catherine of Sweden, pray for us.
