CB asks: “I have heard that the prayers of St. Bridget do not have Church approval. Is this true?”

No, it is not. Several popes have approved the prayers. It is only the promises attached to the prayers that do not have Church approval.

First, for some background.

St. Bridget of Sweden was a beautiful soul who was born on June 14 in 1303. At the moment of her birth, a local priest, Benedict of Rasbo, was praying for the safe deliverance of her mother, Ingeborde, when Our Lady appeared to him out of a luminous cloud and announced. “A child has been born at Birger; her voice will be heard by the entire world.”

From the tender of age of seven, Bridget began to have visions of Christ crucified and would be devoted to the Passion of Our Lord for the rest of her life. She married and lived in the court of the Swedish king Magnus II. The mother of eight children, one of whom was St. Catherine of Sweden, she lived a life of penance after her husband’s death. She did her best to reform Magnus and although she did not entirely succeed, he did regard her highly enough to grant her land and buildings to found a monastery for men and women. This eventually became the home of a new Order known as the Bridgetines.

She traveled to Rome in 1350, while Europe was stricken by the plague, where she worked against Church abuses. This work brought her much opposition and personal debt. She made a final pilgrimage to the Holy Land but the voyage was marred by shipwreck and the death of her son, Charles. She died on July 23, 1373.

In 1999, Bridget, Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, were named co-patronesses of Europe.

During her lifetime, Bridget had always wondered how many blows Our Lord received during His Passion. One day He appeared to her and said, “I received 5480 blows on My Body. If you wish to honor them in some way, say 15 Our Fathers and 15 Hail Marys with the following prayers [which He taught her] for a whole year. When the year is up, you will have honored each one of My Wounds.”

He went on to make 15 astonishing promises to anyone who would pray these prayers such as delivering 15 souls of one’s lineage from Purgatory, converting 15 souls of his lineage, and protection from both sudden and eternal death.

However, only the prayers have Church approval. Pope Pius IX pronounced them as true and for the good of souls on May 31. 1862.  Later, Pope Benedict XV ratified and clarified this approval: “Though they don’t merit the same credence as the truths of religion, one can, however, believe them out of human faith, conforming to the rules of prudence by which they are probable, and supported by sufficient motives that one might believe in them piously.”

You can access the 15 prayers here.

Another devotion given to St. Bridget by Our Lord consists of seven prayers which are to be said for 12 years. Each prayer recalls an instance in His life when He shed blood: the circumcision, the suffering on the Mount of Olives, the scourging, the crowning with thorns, the carrying of the cross, and the crucifixion. This devotion was pronounced authentic and was recommended by the “Sacro Collegio de propaganda fide,” as well as by Pope Clement XII. Pope Innocent X confirmed this revelation as being from Our Lord.

Our Lord is said to have made five promises to those who say these prayers such as promising that one will not suffer purgatory, can choose three people whom Jesus will keep in a state of grace, and no one in four successive generations of the soul who prays them will be lost. The Church has never determined that these promises came from Our Lord.

The seven, 12-year prayers can be found here.

In 1954, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a warning about pamphlets that were being printed and circulated in several languages that contained the promises, noting that the supernatural origin of these promises “is uncertain.” It instructed local ordinaries not to grant permission for the publication of any materials that contain these promises.

However, the prayers are a beautiful and loving tribute to the sufferings of Our Lord and can be prayed as instructed without hesitation.

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