"Saint Brigid" redirects here. Not to be confused with Bridget of Sweden.
Saint
Brigid
Saint Brigid of Ireland in stained glass at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Macon, Georgia, U.S.
Virgin
Born
c. 451 Gaelic Ireland
Died
c. 525 Kildare, Kingdom of Leinster, Ireland
Venerated in
Catholic Church Anglican Communion Eastern Orthodox Church[1]
Feast
1 February
Attributes
Brigid's cross; crozier of an abbess; flames or lamp; cow or geese[2]
Patronage
Kildare; Ireland; healers; poets; blacksmiths; livestock and dairy workers[2]
Saint Brigid of Kildare or Saint Brigid of Ireland (Irish: Naomh Bríd; Classical Gaelic: Brighid; Latin: Brigida; c. 451 – 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiographies, she was an abbess who founded the important abbey of Kildare (Cill Dara),[3] as well as several other convents of nuns. There are few historical facts about her, and her hagiographies are mainly anecdotes and miracle tales, some of which are rooted in pagan folklore.[2] They say Brigid was the daughter of a chieftain and a slave woman, and was raised in a druid's household before becoming a consecrated virgin. She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. In her honour, a perpetual fire was kept burning at Kildare for centuries.
Some historians suggest that Brigid is a Christianisation of the Celtic goddess Brigid. The saint's feast day is 1 February, and traditionally it involves weaving Brigid's crosses and many other folk customs. It was originally a pre-Christian festival called Imbolc, marking the beginning of spring. From 2023 it is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland.[4] This feast day is shared by Dar Lugdach, who tradition says was her student, close companion, and successor.
^February 14 / February 1. https://www.holytrinityorthodox.com/htc/orthodox-calendar/
^ abcFarmer, David. The Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Fifth Edition, Revised). Oxford University Press, 2011. pp.66–67, 467–470.
^Jestice, Phyllis G. (2004). Holy People of the World: A Cross-Cultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 140–. ISBN 9781576073551. Retrieved 1 February 2013. Brigid of Ireland, or of Kildare, has been venerated since the early Middle Ages, along with Patrick and Columba, as one of the three national Christian patron saints of Ireland. By the end of the seventh century, at least two Latin biographies had been written describing her as a nobleman's daughter who chose to consecrate her virginity to God, took the veil as a Christian nun, and became the leader of a community of religious women—or perhaps of both women and men. Certainly, by the 7th century, there was an important double monastery at Kildare that regarded her as its founder.
^"St Brigid's Day: Ireland's new public holiday, the 1st named after a woman". 20 January 2022.
County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint BrigidofKildare in the...
Christian counterpart," BrigidofKildare. The goddess and saint have many of the same associations. Saint Brigid is considered a patroness of healers, poets,...
Kildare Cathedral, or St Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, is one of two Church of Ireland cathedrals in the United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare. It is in...
Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being BrigidofKildare and Columba. Patrick was...
Kildare Abbey is a former monastery in County Kildare, Ireland, founded by St Brigid in the 5th century, and destroyed in the 12th century. Originally...
various saints, usually those depicted with fire or snakes, including BrigidofKildare and, less frequently, Mary Magdalene. In the game Cyberpunk 2077,...
successor ofBrigidofKildare as abbess ofKildare, and is recognised as a saint. She is recorded as having died one year to the day after Brigid, and shares...
part of spiritual development. The Martyrology of Óengus recounts an incident where BrigidofKildare counselled a young cleric that "...anyone without...
Christianisation. Some of the best-known saints are Saint Patrick, Colmcill, BrigidofKildare and the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. After 1000, the process of recognizing...
water. BrigidofKildare, patron saint of brewing. Dionysus, Greek god of wine, usually identified with the Roman Bacchus. Du Kang, Chinese Sage of wine...
It was once the main industrial area of the town. The area is said to have been visited by Saint BrigidofKildare in the 4th or 5th century. The name...
Abbey of Western Orthodoxy, the Holy Cross Monastery of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the Saint BrigidofKildare Monastery...
Oblates of Saint BrigidofKildare Monastery Oblates of St. Frances of Rome International Benedictine Oblates Community of Jesus Oblates The Monastery of Our...
actually derived from BrigidofKildare (German: Brigida von Kildare), patron saint of Bierstadt (Birgidstadt). The earliest traces of settlement in the Bierstadt...
in Pictland after he left Ireland, and link Abernethy with Saint BrigidofKildare. Saint Patrick refers to "apostate Picts", while the poem Y Gododdin...
Abbey of Western Orthodoxy, the Holy Cross Monastery of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the Saint BrigidofKildare Monastery...
members of Methodist religious orders, such as the Saint BrigidofKildare Monastery. Use of these forms of address differs depending on the location of the...
part of the Rite of the Holy Well is performed in this area known as the Ula Uachtarach or upper sanctuary. The well, dedicated to BrigidofKildare, is...
royalcollection.org.uk. Retrieved June 23, 2018. "Ireland's own 5th-century female bishop: BrigidofKildare". The Irish Times. Retrieved June 23, 2018....
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