A royal widow’s visions awe the masses
Upon entering the baroque Basilica of Saint John Lateran in Rome, on the first pillar to the right, is a fragment of a medieval fresco by the master Giotto. It is incongruous with the style of the rest of the often restored Basilica. The fresco has been preserved, partial but unchanged, because of its historical importance. It depicts Pope Boniface VIII proclaiming the first Jubilee Year in 1300. That Jubilee, and its indulgences, brought so many pilgrims to Rome that the original intention to celebrate a Jubilee every one hundred years was reduced to every fifty years. 1350, then, saw the second great Jubilee. Ironically, the Pope was living in Avignon at the time. For political reasons, he was unable to visit the eternal city during the very Jubilee he had called.
Among the throngs of pilgrims who did swamp Rome in 1350, however, was today’s saint. Saint Bridget made the grueling journey from far away Sweden. Unlike a typical pilgrim, however, she did not return home after earning her indulgence. Rome became her new home and the platform that made her, and her writings, famous. Bridget only returned to her birthplace twenty-three years later, when her daughter....
Attributions
I, MikaelLindmark, CC BY-SA 2.5 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons; Carlston Marcks, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons; See page for author, CC BY 4.0 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons; Gunnel Jansson, CC BY 2.5 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons; Lennart Karlsson, CC BY 4.0 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons; Syrio, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommon..., via Wikimedia Commons
Негізгі бет July 23: St. Bridget of Sweden, Religious
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