Saint Catherine of Sweden was born around the year 1331. She was the 4th of 8 children of Saint Bridget of Sweden and Ulf Gudmarsson. She was educated at the convent of Riseberg. By the age of 13 she had an arranged marriage to a pious German noble Eggart von Kürnen. Soon after their marriage they both took vows of chastity. She traveled to Rome in 1350 to be with her mother and she was widowed soon after.
For the next 25 years, they used Rome as the place for many pilgrimages. They also traveled to Jerusalem. When they were home, they spent much time in prayer and meditation and worked with the poor and teaching children religion. They had to fend off unwanted advances from men.
When her mother died, Catherine took her body back to Sweden and buried her at the convent of the Order of the Holy Savior (Brigittines). Catherine became the superior of the Order and served as the abbess. She wrote a work entitled Sielinna Troëst (Consolation of the Soul). She attained papal approval of the Brigittine Order in 1375. She also worked on the of canonization of her mother. She died on March 24, 1831 of natural causes. She was canonized by Pope Innocent VIII in 1484. She is patron against abortions and miscarriages.
One place I would like to visit that is local to me is the Convent of Saint Birgitta.
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