Saint Elizabeth Hesselblad
Swedish Lutheran who became a Catholic and refounded the Bridgettine Order
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Founder, Religious
- Life
- 1870 – 1957
- Era
- 20th century
- Feast
- 4 June
- Countries
- Sweden, United States, Italy
Life story
Elisabeth was born on 4 June 1870 at Fåglavik, Sweden, into a large Lutheran family. In 1888, aged eighteen, she emigrated to the United States to help support her family and trained as a nurse at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. There she gradually moved towards Catholicism, and on 15 August 1902 she was conditionally baptized by the Jesuit Johann Hagen, who had guided her.
She then went to Rome, where Carmelite nuns welcomed her in the house that had belonged to Saint Bridget. With special permission from Pius X she took the habit of the Bridgettine order, and with her companions she later developed an active branch of it. According to the sources, she brought the order back to Sweden, founding a community at Djursholm in 1923 and another at Vadstena in 1935.
During the Second World War she and her sisters sheltered many persecuted Jews and distributed food and clothing to those in need; Yad Vashem later recognized her as Righteous Among the Nations. She died in Rome on 24 April 1957. Pope John Paul II beatified her on 9 April 2000 and Pope Francis canonized her on 5 June 2016.
Works and witness
- Emigrated to the United States in 1888 and trained as a nurse at Roosevelt Hospital, New York
- Was baptized a Catholic on 15 August 1902
- Took the Bridgettine habit with special permission from Pius X
- Brought the order back to Sweden: Djursholm in 1923, Vadstena in 1935
- Sheltered Jews in the Second World War; canonized on 5 June 2016
Saints from the same country
References
- Vatican News (French), 'Sainte Marie-Elisabeth Hesselblad' (saint of the day, 24 April)
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.