Among the most revered female Catholic saints in Irish history, the story of St Brigid is handed down to us as a mixture of fact and legend. In this authoritative biography on the life of this remarkable saint, a clearer picture emerges of a woman inspired by the love of God to come a leading figure in Irish Catholicism.
Also known as Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland, St Brigid is the only female saint among the patron saints of Ireland. Born in the 5th Century, many pagan associations were attached to the story of St Brigid after her death. In this book, the Rev. JA Knowles attempts to draw a portrait of the historical Brigid based on critical dates and existing records.
Brigid’s kindness to the poor, her healing miracles and her founding of the abbey at Kildare, as well as multiples churches form the background for a fact-based account of the real woman behind the legends.
About “St Brigid of Kildare”
The story of Saint Brigid comes down to us today from the discovery of the earliest illuminated book in Church history.
Ireland in the fifth century was home to Brigid, the country's first and only female bishop and priest. Her scriptorium and abbey in Kildare during that time was crowded with devotees. As a result of hearing of Brigid's influence, the Church views her as a threat and dispatches Decius, a priest and scribe from ancient Rome, on a covert mission to gather evidence of Brigid's heresy.
Saint Brigid’s Early Life
In Faughart, a town in County Louth close to Dundalk, St. Brigid was born in the year 450. Her mother, Broicsech, was a Christian, while her father, Dubhthach, was a chieftain of Leinster who practiced paganism. Similar to how St. Patrick was abducted by Irish pirates and transported to Ireland to serve as a slave, it was believed that Brigid's mother was also born in Portugal but was taken captive and brought to Ireland. Brigid's father gave her the name Brigid in honor of one of the most potent deities in paganism, the goddess of fire, who the Irish believed to be the flame of knowledge and whose manifestations included singing, craft, and poetry.
Of St. Patrick and Becoming a Christian
Influenced by St. Patrick's sermons, Brigid chose to become a Christian. When Brigid turned 18, she ceased labor for her father. Brigid's father advised her to find a husband, but she had already made up her mind to spend the rest of her life taking care of the sick, elderly, and in need. Her father was enraged by Brigid's philanthropy because he believed it to be excessively kind to the needy. Her father realized she would be best suited to the holy life after she finally surrendered his jewel-encrusted sword to a leper. Finally achieving her goal, Brigid entered the convent. Many young ladies from all around the nation quickly joined Brigid in the monastery as word of her good deeds spread. Brigid established numerous convents around Ireland, the most well-known of which was in Co. Kildare. Where the town of Kildare presently exists, it is reported that this convent was once constructed next to an oak tree.
Brigid Establishes a Religious Community
Brigid is credited with organizing community-consecrated religious life for women in Ireland with the help of an initial group of seven companions. Conleth (Conláed), a hermit from Old Connell near Newbridge, was called to help her in Kildare as their pastor. She established two monastic institutions, one for men and one for women.
The Abbess of Kildare was recognized as the commanding general of the monasteries in Ireland for centuries, and Kildare was ruled by a double line of abbesses and abbot-bishops. Brigid's oratory in Kildare grew into a cathedral city and a center for learning and religion.
