Anna Paulsdotter (died 9 October 1500), was a Swedish Bridgettine nun. She was the abbess of Vadstena Abbey from 1486 until 1496.
A nun is a member of a religious community of women, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery. Communities of nuns exist in numerous religious traditions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, and Taoism.
In Christianity, an abbess is the female superior of a community of nuns, which is often an abbey.
The Abbey of Our Lady and of St. Bridget, more commonly referred to as Vadstena Abbey, situated on Lake Vättern in the Diocese of Linköping, Sweden, was the motherhouse of the Bridgettine Order. The abbey started on one of the farms donated to it by the king, but the town of Vadstena grew up around it. It was active from 1346 until 1595.
Anna Paulsdotter was accepted to the order in 1456, became the prioress of the nun's part of the abbey in 1473 and the abbess of the whole double monastery in 1486.
In June 1487, she sent an envoy to Rome to apply for the canonization of Catherine of Vadstena. In September of that year, the city of Vadstena burned to the ground with the exception of the abbey, which was attributed to the assistance of the Virgin Mary and Saint Bridget in subduing the flames dressed in white. In 1488, she received the two monks back from Rome, and celebrated the solemn Translation (relic) of Catherine of Vadstena, assisted by the regent, Sten Sture the Elder. In 1491-93, she had the first complete description of the visions of Bridget printed in Latin in Lübeck by Bartholomæus Gothan. In 1495, she had the first printing press in Sweden installed in the abbey.
Saint Catherine of Sweden, Katarina av Vadstena, Catherine of Vadstena or Katarina Ulfsdotter was a Swedish saint. Her father was Ulf Gudmarsson, Lord of Ulvåsa, and her mother was Saint Birgitta.
Bridget of Sweden ; born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta, was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years. Outside of Sweden, she was also known as the Princess of Nericia and was the mother of Catherine of Vadstena.
In Christianity, the translation of relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality to another ; usually only the movement of the remains of the saint's body would be treated so formally, with secondary relics such as items of clothing treated with less ceremony. Translations could be accompanied by many acts, including all-night vigils and processions, often involving entire communities.
She retired for health reasons in 1496.
