Like every March 24, today we celebrate Santa Catalina de Swedenreligious and mystical, daughter of the patron saint of Europe, Santa Brígida Birgersdotter (Santa Brígida de Sweden).
It is also called ‘Santa Catalina de Vadstena’, alluding to the place where he lived and died.
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Katarina, or Catalina, was a brigidine nun, that is, it belonged to the religious order founded by her mother, the ‘Order of the Blessed Savior’, whose members are commonly known as ‘Brigidinas’ in honor of its founder. He is venerated as a patron of the virgins, even when he was married, and pregnant mothers ask for their intercession to the danger of spontaneous abortion.
A chip off the old block
Catalina Ulfsdotter, was born in Vadstena, city of the province of Östergötland, Sweden. It was the fourth daughter of Santa Brígida. The date of his birth has not been established exactly, but it is believed that it was between 1331 and 1332. It is true that he belonged to a noble family and fortune, but he learned detachment and generosity.
Santa Brígida, his mother, had instilled Christian values in all his children. She herself gave the best example when the death of her husband resigned from her possessions. On the other hand, Catalina inherited the spirit of leadership, delivery and love of prayer.
Since childhood, he knew how to show a warm simplicity and affability that always made her close to those who surrounded her; He had learned from Brígida to discover the best that can be had in this life: God.
Therefore, he spent several hours of the day dedicated to the affable treatment with the Lord. Liked the meditation of the passion and death of Christ, of the penitential psalms and the trade of the Virgin Mary. Many of these spiritual exercises learned as a child, since he was commissioned since he was 7 years old to the nuns of the Risberg convent for his education.
Respectful and obedient daughter
At the age of 13, his father decided to compromise her in marriage. The chosen one was a noble of Germanic origin, Eggart von Kürnen. She did not agree with the arrangement, but decided to obey her father. After the marriage, Catalina managed to persuade her husband – a man of deep faith – to make a vote of chastity together, which would jealously fulfill the rest of their lives.
In 1349, after the death of his father, Catalina reached an agreement with her husband to be free and leave with her mother towards Rome on a pilgrimage, and visit the tombs of San Pedro and San Pablo.
While on the way, Catalina received the news that Eggart, her husband, had died. Then, he decided not to get married again and stay with his mother in Rome. There Catalina would begin a new life, fervently imitating Brígida in her ascetic life and belonging to God.
Widow
As a widow, Catalina kept visiting the poor and sick of the city, wherever they were, either in the streets, in their homes or in hospices. In addition to attending them spiritually and materially, it helped with domestic chores.
In 1372, Catalina, her mother and her brother left on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The following year, during the return trip, Brígida died in Rome. A year later, his body would return to Sweden to be buried in Vadstena, in the convent of its foundation.
Compliance with God’s work
Catalina was admitted in the convent of Vadstena, which would be Abadesa to 1375, the year in which she would travel to Rome to promote Brígida’s canonization. Despite not obtaining results, he achieved the ratification of the rules of the order founded by his mother, the order of the Blessed Savior of Santa Brígida.
After five years of permanence in Rome, Catalina returned to her homeland and the bishop entrusted him with the general government of the young religious order. A short time later he got sick and died on March 24, 1381. In 1484, Innocent VIII granted the authorization for veneration.
Patronage and veneration
Santa Catalina de Sweden is considered a patron saint of virgins. This could generate a certain confusion if it is considered that it was married for almost 20 years. However, a beautiful explanation underlies that it must be understood in the light of the conditions of its time. She wanted to consecrate her virginity to the Lord from a young age and so always remained. This was possible, in large part, thanks to her husband, who shared with her, in a common way, the desire to consecrate to God being a virgin.
On the other hand, it can also attract attention that pregnant mothers ask for the intercession of the saint in the face of the danger of spontaneous abortion, since Catalina never had children. The explanation of why she is an intercessor in those difficult times, through which many women pass, is that Catalina had to accompany more than one mother who had lost her son in the belly.
Do you want to know more about Santa Catalina in Sweden? We recommend this article of the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/Santa_Catalina_de_Suecia
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