Brigid (Brigit, Bridget), "the Mary of the Gael," was born
around 450 in Faughart (Fochart, Fothairt) , about two miles
from Dundalk in County Louth in Ulster. According to
tradition, her father was a pagan named Dubthach, and her
mother was Brocessa (Broiseach), one of his slaves. Whether
she was raised a Christian or converted in 468, as some
accounts say, is unknown, but she was inspired by the
preaching of Saint Patrick from an early age.
Even as a child, she was known for her compassion for the
poor. She would give away food, clothing, and even her
father's possessions to the poor. One day he took Brigid to
the king's court, leaving her outside to wait for him. He
asked the king to buy his daughter from him, since her
excessive generosity made her too expensive for him to keep.
The king asked to see the girl, so Dubthach led him outside.
They were just in time to see her give away her father's
sword to a beggar. This sword had been presented to Dubthach
by the king, who said, "I cannot buy a girl who holds us so
St Brigid received monastic tonsure at the hands of St Mael
of Ardagh (February 6). Some miles from Dublin she was
granted by the King of Leinster possession of a plain called
the Curragh, where she built herself a cell under a large
oak tree, thence called Kill-dara, or Cell of the oak. Seven
other girls soon placed themselves under her direction
establishing the monastery of Kill-dara, which gave its name
to the later cathedral city of Kildare. The community grew
rapidly thanks to the renown of the holy Abbess, and became
a double monastery, with the Abbess ranking above the Abbot,
and branched out into several others all over Ireland. This
was the beginning of women's cenobitic monasticism in
The miracles performed by St Brigid are too numerous to
relate here, but perhaps one story will suffice. One evening
the holy abbess was sitting with the blind nun Dara. From
sunset to sunrise they spoke of the joys of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and of the love of Christ, losing all track of time.
St Brigid was struck by the beauty of the earth and sky in
the morning light. Realizing that Sister Dara was unable to
appreciate this beauty, she became very sad. Then she prayed
and made the Sign of the Cross over Dara's eyes. All at
once, the blind nun's eyes were opened and she saw the sun
in the east, and the trees and flowers sparkling with dew.
She looked for a while, then turned to St Brigid and said,
"Close my eyes again, dear Mother, for when the world is
visible to the eyes, then God is seen less clearly by the
soul." St Brigid prayed again, and Dara became blind once
St Brigid fell asleep in the Lord in the year 523 on
February 1 after receiving Holy Communion from St Ninnidh of
Inismacsaint (January 18). She was buried at Kildare, but
her relics were transferred to Downpatrick during the Viking
invasions. It is believed that she was buried in the same
grave with St Patrick (March 17) and St Columba of Iona
Late in the thirteenth century, her head was brought to
Portugal by three Irish knights on their way to fight in the
Holy Land. They left this holy relic in the parish church of
Lumiar, about three miles from Lisbon. Portions of the relic
were brought back to Ireland in 1929 and placed in a new
church of St Brigid in Dublin.
The relics of St Brigid in Ireland were destroyed in the
sixteenth century by Lord Grey during the reign of Henry
The tradition of making St Brigid's crosses from rushes and
hanging them in the home is still followed in Ireland, where
devotion to her is still strong. She is also venerated in
northern Italy, France, and Wales.
The Book of Armaugh, an ancient Irish chronicle, calls Saint
Patrick and Saint Brigid "the pillars of the Irish" and says
that through them both, "Christ performed many miracles."
tradition, Saint Brigid (Brigit, Bridget) was born at
Fochart (or Fothairt), near Dundalk of County Louth in Ulster,
of a noble Irish family, which had been converted by Saint
Patrick (17 Mar.). A wonderful striving for virtue was seen in
her from her earliest years. Being uncommonly beautiful, she had
many suitors and her father tried to marry her to the King of
Ulster. At the age of sixteen, she implored Our Lord Jesus
Christ, whom alone she desired as her spouse, to make her
unattractive, so that no longer would anyone want to marry her.
Her prayer was heard; she lost an eye, and was allowed to enter
a monastery. However, on the very day that she took the veil,
she was miraculously healed and recovered her original
loveliness, which was now set off by spiritual beauty.
from Dublin she was granted possession of a plain called the
Curragh, where she built herself a cell under a large oak tree,
thence called Kill-dara, or Cell of the oak. Seven other girls
soon placed themselves under her direction establishing the
monastery of Kill-dara, which gave its name to the later
cathedral city of Kildare. The community grew rapidly thanks to
the renown of the holy Abbess, and became a double monastery,
with the Abbess ranking above the Abbot, and branched out into
several others all over Ireland.
was often journeying to visit these foundations, and she wrought
miracles everywhere along her way. She drove out demons simply
by the sign of the Cross; she healed the sick, converted sinners,
and her presence inspired love of God in the whole people. All
the leading people of the day knew her and presented her with
tokens of their admiration.
predicted the day of her decease, she fell asleep in peace on 1
February 524, bequeathing to her disciples a monastic Rule,
which epitomized her teaching. She is regarded, on a par with
Saint Patrick, as patroness of Ireland, and is venerated there
as a Saint, second only to the Mother of God. During the Middle
Ages the veneration of Saint Brigid spread throughout Europe.
prayers of Thy Saints, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us.
Brigid of Kildare, Abbess & Virgin (Bride, Bridget,
Faughart (near Dundalk) or Uinmeras (near Kildare), Louth,
Ireland, c. 450; died at Kildare, Ireland, c. 523; feast day
is the 1st of February; feast of
her translation is June 10.
"We implore Thee,
by the memory of Thy Cross's
hallowed and most bitter anguish,
make us fear Thee, make us love
Thee, O Christ. Amen."
--Prayer of Saint Brigid.
Saint Brigid was an original--and that's what each of us are
supposed to be, an original creation of the Almighty
Imagination. Unfortunately, most of us get caught up in the
desire to be accepted by others. We conform to the norm,
rather than opening up to the creative power of God and
blooming to render Him the sweet fragrance of our unique
lives. We miss the glory of giving God the gift of who we
were intended to be.
Brigid lacked that fault. She got things done. She had a
welcome for everyone in an effort to help them be originals,
too. She was so generous that she gave away the clothes from
her back. She never shied away from hard work or
intense prayer. She would brush aside the rules--even the
rules of the Church--if it was necessary to bring out the
best in others. Perhaps for this reason, the saint who
never left Ireland, is venerated throughout the world as the
prototype of all nuns. She bridged the gap between Christian
and pagan cultures.
Brigid saw the beauty and goodness of God in all His
creation: cows made her love God more, and so did wild
ducks, which would come and light on her shoulders and hands
when she called to them. She enjoyed great popularity both
among her own followers and the villagers around; and she
had great authority, ruling a monastery of both monks and
Her chief virtue lay in her gentleness, in her compassion,
and in her happy and devoted nature which won the affection
of all who knew her. She was a great evangelist and joined
hands gladly and gaily with all the saints of that age in
spreading the Gospel. So great was her veneration throughout
Europe that the Medieval knights, seeking a womanly model of
perfection, chose Brigid as the example. This theory
maintains that such was the image of Brigid as the feminine
ideal that the word "bride" passed into the English
language. (This is unlikely, however. The word
probably derives from the Old German "bryd," meaning bride.)
Historical facts about Saint Brigid's life are few because
the numerous accounts about it after her death (beginning in
the 7th century) consist mainly of miracles and anecdotes,
some of which are deeply rooted in pagan Irish folklore.
Nevertheless, they give us a strong impression of her
character. She was probably born in the middle of the
5th century in eastern Ireland. Some say her parents were of
humble origin; others that they were Dubhthach, an Irish
chieftain of Leinster, and Brocca, a slave at his
court. All stories relate that they were both baptized by
Saint Patrick. Some say that Brigid became friends with
Patrick, though it is uncertain that she ever met him.
Beautiful Brigid consecrated herself to God at a young age.
She was veiled as a nun by Saint Macaille at Croghan and
consecrated as Abbess by Bishop Saint Mel at Armagh.
The Book of Lismore bears this story:
Brigid and certain virgins along with her went to take the
veil from Bishop Mel in Telcha Mide. Blithe was he to see
them. For humility Brigid stayed so that she might be the
last to whom a veil should be given. A fiery pillar rose
from her head to the roof ridge of the church. Then said
Bishop Mel: "Come, O holy Brigid, that a veil may be
sained on thy head before the other virgins." It came to
pass then, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, that the
form of ordaining a bishop was read out over Brigid.
Macaille said that a bishop's order should not be confirmed
on a woman. Said Bishop Mel "No power have I in this matter.
That dignity hath been given by God unto Brigid, beyond
every (other) woman." Wherefore the men of Ireland from that
time to this give episcopal honour to Brigid's successor.
Most likely this story relates to the fact that Roman
diocesan system was unknown in Ireland. Monasteries formed
the centre of Christian life in the early Church of Ireland.
Therefore, abbots and abbesses could hold held some of the
dignity and functions that a bishop would on the Continent.
Evidence of this can be seen also at synods and councils,
such as that of Whitby, which was convened by Saint Hilda.
Women sometimes ruled double monasteries; thus, governing
both men and women. Bridget, as a pre-eminent abbess, might
have fulfilled some semi-episcopal functions, such as
preaching, hearing confessions (without absolution), and
leading the neighbouring Christians.
Beginning consecrated life as a anchorite of sorts, Brigid's
sanctity drew many others. When she was about 18, she
settled with seven other like-minded girls near Croghan Hill
in order to devote herself to God's service. About 468 she
followed Saint Mel to Meath.
There is little reliable information about the convent she
founded around 470 at Kildare (originally Cill-Daire or
'church of the oak'), the first convent in Ireland, and the
rule that was followed there. This is one of the ways Brigid
sanctified the pagan with the Christian: The oak was sacred
to the druids, and in the inner sanctuary of the Church was
a perpetual flame, another religious symbol of the druid
faith, as well as the Christian. Gerald of Wales (13th
century) noted that the fire was perpetually maintained by
20 nuns of her community. This continued until 1220 when it
was extinguished. Gerald noted that the fire was surrounded
by a circle of bushes, which no man was allowed to enter.
It is generally thought to have been a double monastery,
housing both men and women--a common practice in the Celtic
lands that was sometimes taken by the Irish to the
continent. It's possible that she presided over both
communities. She did establish schools there for both men
and women. Another source says that she installed a bishop
named Conlaeth there, though the Vatican officially lists
the See of Kildare as dating from 519.
Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare in the eighth century,
expounded the metrical life of St. Brigid, and versified it
in good Latin. This is what is known as the "Second Life",
and is an excellent example of Irish scholarship in the
mid-eighth century. Perhaps the most interesting feature of
Cogitosus's work is the description of the Cathedral of
Kildare in his day:
"Solo spatioso et in altum minaci proceritate porruta ac
decorata pictis tabulis, tria intrinsecus habens oratoria
ampla, et divisa parietibus tabulatis".
(The rood-screen was formed of wooden boards, lavishly
decorated, and with beautifully decorated curtains.)
Probably the famous Round Tower of Kildare dates from the
sixth century (photo below).
The sixth Life of the saint printed by Colgan is attributed
to Coelan, an Irish monk of the eighth century, and it
derives a peculiar importance from the fact that it is
prefaced by a foreword from the pen of St. Donatus, also an
Irish monk, who became Bishop of Fiesole in 824. St. Donatus
refers to previous lives by St. Ultan and St. Aileran.
Even as a child Brigid showed special love for the poor.
When her mother sent her to collect butter, the child gave
it all away. Her generosity in adult life was legendary: It
was recorded that if she gave a drink of water to a thirsty
stranger, the liquid turned into milk; when she sent a
barrel of beer to one Christian community, it proved to
satisfy 17 more. Many of the stories about her relate to the
multiplication of food, including one that she changed her
bath-water into beer to satisfy the thirst of an unexpected
clergyman. Even her cows gave milk three times the same day
to provide milk for some visiting bishops.
Brigid saw that the needs of the body and the needs of the
spirit intertwined. Dedicated to improving the spiritual as
well as the material lives of those around her, Brigid made
her monastery a remarkable house of learning, including an
art school. The illuminated manuscripts originating there
were praised, especially the Book of Kildare, which was
praised as one of the finest of all illuminated Irish
manuscripts before its disappearance three centuries ago.
Once she fell asleep during a sermon of Saint Patrick, but
he good-humouredly forgave her. She had dreamed, she told
him, of the land ploughed far and wide, and of white-clothed
sowers sowing good seed. Then came others clothed in black,
who ploughed up the good seed and sowed tares in its place.
Patrick told her that such would happen; false teachers
would come to Ireland and uproot all their good work. This
saddened Brigid, but she redoubled her efforts, teaching
people to pray and to worship God, and telling them that the
light on the altar was a symbol of the shining of the Gospel
in the heart of Ireland, and must never be extinguished.
Brigid is called the 'Mary of the Gael' because her spirit
of charity, and the miracles attributed to her were usually
enacted in response to a call upon her pity or sense of
justice. During an important synod of the Irish church, one
of the holy fathers, Bishop Ibor, announced that he had
dreamed that the Blessed Virgin Mary would appear among the
assembled Christians. When Brigid arrived the father cried,
"There is the holy maiden I saw in my dream." Thus, the
reason for her nickname.
prayers and miracles were said to exercise a powerful
influence on the growth of the early Irish Church, and she
is much beloved in Ireland to this day.
When dying at the age of 74, St. Brigid was attended by St.
Ninnidh, who was ever afterwards known as "Ninnidh of the
Clean Hand" because he had his right hand encased with a
metal covering to prevent its ever being defiled, after
being the medium of administering the viaticum* to Ireland's
Patroness. (*viaticum = Holy Communion to a Christian
on their deathbed)
She was interred at the right of the high altar of Kildare
Cathedral, and a costly tomb was erected over her. In after
years her shrine was an object of veneration for pilgrims,
especially on her feast day, 1 February, as Cogitosus
related. About the year 878, owing to the Scandinavian
raids, the relics of St. Brigid were taken to Downpatrick,
where they were interred in the tomb of St. Patrick and St.
A tunic reputed to have been hers, given by Gunhilda, sister
of King Harold II, survives at Saint Donatian's in Bruges,
Belgium. A relic of her shoe, made of silver and brass set
with jewels, is at the National Museum of Dublin. In 1283,
three knights took the head of Brigid with them on a journey
to the Holy Land. They died in Lumier (near Lisbon),
Portugal, where the church now enshrines her head in a
In England, there are 19 ancient church dedications to her.
The most important of which is the oldest church in
London--St. Bride's in Fleet Street--and Bridewell or Saint
Bride's Well. In Scotland, East and West Kilbride bear her
name. Saint Brigid's Church at Douglas recalls that she is
the patroness of the great Douglas family. Several places in
Wales are named Llansantaffraid, which means "St. Bride's
Church." The Irish Bishop Saint Donato of Fiesole (Italy)
built a Saint Brigid's Church in Piacenza, where the Peace
of Constance was ratified in 1185.
best-known custom connected with Brigid is the plaiting of
reed crosses for her feast day. This tradition dates to the
story that she was plaiting rush crosses while nursing a
dying pagan chieftain. He asked her about this and her
explanation led to his being baptized.
Traditional Irish blessings invoke her. "Brid agus Muire
dhuit, Brigid and Mary be with you" is a common Irish
greeting, and in Wales people say, "Sanffried suynade ni
undeith, St. Brigid bless us on our journey." A blessing
over cattle in the Scottish isles goes: "The protection of
God and Colmkille encompass your going and coming, and about
you be the milkmaid of the smooth white palms, Brigid of the
clustering, golden brown hair" (Attwater,
Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Gill,
Groome, Montague, O'Briain, Sellner, White).
She is usually portrayed in art with a cow lying at her
feet, or holding a cross and casting out the devil (White).
Her emblem is a lighted lamp or candle (not to be confused
with Saint Genevieve, who is not an abbess). At times she
may be shown (1) with a flame over her; (2) geese or cow
near her; (3) near a barn; (4) letting wax from a taper fall
upon her arm; or (5) restoring a man's hand (Roeder).
Brigid is the patron saint of Ireland, poets, dairymaids,
blacksmiths, healers (White), cattle, fugitives, Irish nuns,
midwives, and new-born babies (Roeder). She is still
venerated highly in Alsace, Flanders, and Portugal
(Montague), as well as Ireland and Chester, England
St Brigid of Kildare Tone 1
O holy Brigid, thou
didst become sublime through thy humility,/ and
didst fly on the wings of thy longing for God./ When thou
in the eternal City and appear before thy Divine Spouse,/
crown of virginity,/ thou didst keep thy promise/ to
remember those who
have recourse to thee./ Thou dost shower grace upon the
world, and dost
multiply miracles./ Intercede with Christ our God that He
may save our
Kontakion of St Brigid
in the Fourth Tone
The holy virgin Brigid
full of divine wisdom,/ went with joy along the
way of evangelical childhood,/ and with the grace of God/
this way the summit of virtue./ Wherefore she now bestows
those who come to her with faith./ O holy Virgin, intercede
our God/ that He may have mercy on our souls.
the Fourth Tone
learned of things divine by the words of Patrick,
thou hast proclaimed in the West the good tidings of
Christ. Wherefore, we venerate thee, O Brigid, and
entreat thee to intercede with God that our souls be
of St Brigid
in the Third Tone
Church of the Oak, thou didst establish thy sacred
monasteries for those that took up the Tree of life,
even the Precious Cross, upon their shoulders. And
by thy grace-filled life and love of learning, thou
didst bear fruit a hundredfold and didst thereby
nourish the faithful. O righteous Mother Brigid,
intercede with Christ, the True Vine, that He save