Brigid as a Saint
Miracles and legends surround the life of Brigid. She is Mary of the Gaul, the Queen of the South and patroness and
inspiration of Ireland. She is sacred, yet approachable. She is a strong and powerful figure who attained high status
within the Church of her day, and yet she is portrayed as compassionate and kindly to man and animal alike.
Her exact date of birth is unknown, though most sources place it at 451 or 452 CE. Her ancestors are cited as being “princely”, but the Third, Fourth and Fifth Lives of the saint assign her a handmaiden mother named Brocca or Broicsech in the court of her father, Dubhthach (meaning Dark One) a chieftain of the family Etech in Leinster. Though her birthplace is given as Faughart, near Dundalh, County Louth, legends set Faughart as a place of refuge for her and her mother after they fled from Dubhthach’s wife’s anger.
Brigid is described as being a particularly pious and holy child. It was said that she was so devout that god himself could deny her nothing. Her requests and prayers were not for herself, but for the poor. In one tale, she gave away the household milk, and then appealed to the heavenly father for abundance while she churned the remaining buckets. Each milkmaid’s churn soon overflowed with butter, and Brigid once again, gave away the excess to the poor.
She grew into a beautiful young woman with many suitors, all of whom she refused. She chose instead to become a nun and received the veil from St. Macaille at Croghan. For a time, she lived at the base of Croghan Hill with seven other maidens, and then they moved on to the plains of Magh Life. There, under a large oak tree believed to be sacred to the Druids, she built the Convent of Cill-Dara, meaning “Church of the Oak”. In addition to the convent, Brigid built the Cathedral of Kildare, which is described in the Second Life of the saint written by Cogitosus, an 8th century monk of Kildare. A town grew up around the cathedral and Brigid’s small oratory became a center of religion and learning.
St. Mel of Ardagh bestowed abbatial powers on Mother Brigid. In response, she built two monastic institutions, one for men and one for women. Now the abbess of Kildare, Brigid was regarded as superioress general of all convents in Ireland and along with the abbot-bishop, she ruled the religious life of Kildare. Brigid held the power to select whom the Church would appoint abbot, and she chose St. Conleth, the same man she had chosen to oversee the learning institutes. Some scholars have surmised from Conleth’s writings that he was Brigid’s nephew, though this, most likely, is not the cases. For centuries afterward, Kildare remained under the joint leadership of a man and a woman.
As Kildare grew, Brigid founded a school of art, which included metal and gold smithing and a scriptorium. From the scriptorium came the book of the gospels, known as the Book of Kildare, which is described as being so gorgeously illuminated that it left the impression that “all this is the work of angelic and not human skill” (Giraldus Cambrensis). Some assumed that the book was written while Brigid knelt in prayer night after night; angels furnished the design while a scribe copied them. The Book of Kildare was lost during the Reformation and is presumed to have been destroyed.
Brigid is the patroness of Ireland, but what of Ireland’s other patron saint, St. Patrick? Legend tells of the two being friends and this is supported in a paragraph from the Book of Armagh, a manuscript from the 8th century. Translated to English from Latin, the paragraph reads: “Between St. Patrick and St. Brigid, the columns of the Irish, there was so great a friendship of charity that they had but one heart and one mind. Through him and through her, Christ performed many miracles.” Patrick is said to have been born in 387 CE, arrived on Irish soil in 403 and died in 493. These dates would make Patrick 106 at his death and Brigid 41. Various sources list Patrick’s death as occurring some 20 years prior, but this does not negate the likelihood of them having known each other.
Brigid’s pious inspiration is attested to by the churches founded in her honor throughout Ireland. She founded several herself in the Dioceses of Elphim. In Faughart, reputed to be her birthplace, St. Morienna founded Faughart Church. Brigid’s holy well, the legendary place where she is said to have healed lepers, sits two miles outside the city of Kildare in a small, lush park and is still considered one of the most sacred places in Ireland. Until 1179 CE, a small abbey church, known as Reglas Brigid stood at Armagh. Brigid is also remembered with place names such as Kilbride, Brideswell, Tubberbride, and Templebride, throughout the Irish countryside.
As Brigid lay dying, she was attended by St. Ninnidh, who was ever-after known as Ninnidh of the Clean Hand because he had his right had encased in metal soon after he administered the viaticum to Brigid. After her death on February 1, 525 CE, she was interred at the right of the altar of her Cathedral of Kildare beneath an ornate and costly tomb. In 878, Scandinavian raids plagued the island and the saint’s remains were removed to Downpatrick, where she was interred with Saints Patrick and Columba. Their location seems to have been forgotten for a time, because the next entry refers to their “rediscovery” in 1185. On June 9, 1186, they were removed with great ceremony to a proper resting place in Downpatrick Cathedral. During the reign of Henry VIII in the 16th century, Downpatrick Cathedral and the tomb of the three saints was destroyed. No further mention is made of the holy relics except to place certain items in various locations on the Continent.
In the 1960s, the Catholic Church purged its book of saints and a council found insufficient proof of Brigid’s sanctity and even went so far as to say that her existence was questionable. The Vatican II decanonized her. Some scholars continue to question the historical personage of Brigid and claim that she is a Christianized form of the Irish goddess of the same name. Despite these renunciations, St. Brigid is still considered by many to be the patron saint of Ireland, of scholars and scribes, of artisans and metalworkers, of mothers in labor, of poetic inspiration and sovereignty and as the midwife and foster mother to baby Jesus.
As perhaps the greatest testament to Brigid’s undying appeal and veneration, her sacred flame at Kildare was relit in modern times by Sister May Minehan of the Order of Brigandine nuns. The perpetual flame once tended by 19 virgins in turn and on the twentieth day by Brigid herself, was extinguished in 1220 CE by decree of Bishop Henry de Londres of Dublin, who cited its pagan connotations. For a short time, the flame was lit again, but it and the monastery were destroyed during the Reformation. Today, the Round Tower stands on the site of the ruined cathedral and her eternal flame is tended once again.
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