Saints: April 2010 Archives
Today is the 10th anniversary of the beatification of Mother Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad, the woman who re-established the Swedish branch of the Order of the Most Holy Savior of Saint Bridget --Bridgettine Order after centuries of the charism's absence, in 1911. This is the order of nuns founded by Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden (1303-1373).
Saint Bridget of Sweden, not to be confused with the Irish saint, was named co-paroness of Europe on October 1, 1999.
Today the order numbers some 700 sisters in 50 houses around the world. In the USA, there is one house of Bridgettine nuns, in Darien, Connecticut, in the Diocese of Bridgeport. The order has about a 4% growth per annum with about 30 novices entering yearly. Info on Wiki can be read here.
There is a group of Bridgetine monks in Oregon, themselves re-founded in 1976.
Blessed Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad's liturgical memorial is June 4.