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In Fermoy, Ireland |
St. Bridget of KildarePatron Saint of Ireland  St. Bridget, Mary of the Gael St Brigid was born in the year 450 on the first of February. She was born in Faughart in Dundalk. She was the daughter of a powerful Leinster Celtic Chieftain named Dubhthach (also spelt Dufach) and his Christian slave named Brocessa. The slave girl was sent to a cabin at the foot of the Cooley Mountains near Dundalk, Co Louth, to have the child. Much of St. Bridget's life is shrouded in mystery and folklore, and although reliable information is lacking, Roman hagiography states she founded the first convent in Ireland at Kildare (originally Cill-Daire or 'church of the oak') sometime around 470 AD. The oak was sacred tree in Ireland, and in the inner sanctuary of the Church 20 nuns maintained a perpetual flame, a religious symbol of the Christian faith. Contemporary reports reveal the sacred flame was surrounded by a circle of thick hedges which men were forbidden to enter.  St. Bridget In keeping with the life planned for her, she became a vestal virgin in service to the Goddess Brid, and eventually high priestess at the Kil Dara (the temple of the oak), a pagan sanctuary built from the wood of a tree sacred to the Druids. There she and her companions kept a perpetual ritual fire, in honor of Brid. The exact circumstance of her conversion to Christianity are unknown, though it is certain that her Christian mother was a guiding influence. Some claim that she personally met St Patrick, which is possible since she was ten years old before he died, but there is no proof of that. Whatever the circumstances, Brigid and her companions in service to Brid, all accepted the Christian faith, and formed Ireland's first Christian religious community of women.  St. Bridget, of Ireland St. Brigit had the power to appoint bishops and they had to be goldsmiths. She was associated with miracles and fertility. Into the 18th century a women's only shrine was kept to her in Kildare (meaning Church of the Oak) in Ireland where, nineteen nuns tended her continually burning sacred flame. An ancient song was sung to Her: 'Brigid, excellent woman, sudden flame, may the bright fiery sun take us to the lasting kingdom.' St. Bridgit was said to be the inventor of whistling and of keening." Brigid was known as the "Mary of the Gael" due to her legendary generosity. When sent to collect milk or butter as a child, she was said to give it all away. One account declares if she gave a drink of water to a thirsty stranger the water would miraculously be changed into milk. It was claimed she once gave a barrel of beer to a community and it was wonderfully able to satisfy 17 others. Many of her "miracles" involved multiplication. It was said that her cows gave milk three times in a single day in order to provide milk for a visiting bishop. So strong was the respect and reverence for this holy lady that she became the patroness of parishes, towns, and counties, not only in Ireland, but all across Europe. During the age of Chivalry, she was so revered as a model for women of every age, that gentlemen, knights, and nobles began the custom of calling their sweethearts, their Brides - a custom that has come down to this very day. St. Bridget's Day is celebrated on 1st February. It was originally the feast day of the goddess Brid or Brigid, the Goddess of Fire whose manifestations were song and poetry, which the Celts considered the flame of knowledge. In Celtic tradition it is also called Imbolc as it marks the changing of the season from winter to spring. In traditional Irish custom, this is the season of "na oícheanta airneain," or evening visits. With no farmwork to be done and the weather improving, it is a time when neighbours gather together to share stories, song and dance. It is a joyous time. As the shamrock became associated with St Patrick, a tiny cross made of rushes was linked with St Brigid. Supposedly woven by her to explain the passion of Christ to a dying pagan, similar crosses are fashioned to this day as a defense against harm, and placed in the rafters of a cottage on the feast day of St Brigid - February 1.  St. Bridget's Cross In 835, her remains were moved to protect them from Norse invaders, and interred in the same grave that holds the remains of St. Patrick and St. Columcille at Downpatrick. She died in 525 and she is buried with Saint Patrick and with St. Colmcille in the Cathedral in Armagh. |
