Bridget of Fiesole

Last updated
St. Bridget of Fiesole
Nun, Abbess
Born9th century
Ireland
DiedItaly
Venerated in Catholic Church
Italy
Feast 1 February

St. Bridget of Fiesole is an Irish Saint whose festival is celebrated in Italy on 1 February.

Contents

Life

Born in Ireland to noble parents, she was sister to Andrew of Fiesole. She and her brother were pupils of Donatus, later bishop of Fiesole. In 816 Andrew accompanied Donatus on a pilgrimage to Italy, where after seeing the holy sites, they intended to establish a hermitage. Instead, in 829 Donatus became bishop of Fiesole and made Andrew his archdeacon.

Donatus died around 876, and Andrew a few years later at the Monastery of San Martino di Mensola at Fiesole, which he had founded at Donatus' suggestion. Andrew was anxious to see his sister before dying. Bridget left Ireland to pay him a visit and arrived in time to find him still alive but near his end. [1] Pious accounts would later relate that she had been conveyed by angels. [2]

After her brother's death, she is said to have retired to a secluded life in a cave in the Appeninnes, [3] [4] where she closed her life some time in the ninth century. Soon after a church was built over her cave, which contained her grave. [5] She is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallaght .

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermit</span> Person who lives in seclusion from society

A hermit, also known as an eremite or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anchorite</span> Person who withdraws from society to lead an intensely religious lifestyle

In Christianity, an anchorite or anchoret is someone who, for religious reasons, withdraws from secular society to be able to lead an intensely prayer-orientated, ascetic, or Eucharist-focused life. Anchorites are frequently considered to be a type of hermit, but unlike hermits, they were required to take a vow of stability of place, opting for permanent enclosure in cells often attached to churches. Also unlike hermits, anchorites were subject to a religious rite of consecration that closely resembled the funeral rite, following which they would be considered dead to the world and a type of living saint. Anchorites had a certain autonomy, as they did not answer to any ecclesiastical authority apart from bishops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiesole</span> Town and comune of Florence, in Tuscany, Italy

Fiesole is a town and comune of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Athracht</span>

Athracht is the patron saint of the parish of Locha Techet and Tourlestrane, County Sligo, Ireland. She was a sister of Bishop Conal of Drumconnell. Her feast day is 11 August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Ghislain</span> 7th-century Belgian anchorite

Ghislain was a confessor and anchorite in Belgium. He died at the town named after him, Saint-Ghislain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donatus of Fiesole</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Donatus of Fiesole was an Irish teacher and poet, and Bishop of Fiesole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Corsini</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Andrea Corsini was an Italian Catholic prelate and professed member from the Carmelites who served as the Bishop of Fiesole from 1349 until his death.

Possidius was a friend of Augustine of Hippo who wrote a reliable biography and an indiculus or list of his works. He was bishop of Calama in the Roman province of Numidia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waltrude</span>

Saint Waltrude is the patron saint of Mons, Belgium, where she is known in French as Sainte Waudru, and of Herentals, Belgium, where she is known in Dutch as Sint-Waldetrudis or -Waltrudis. Both cities boast a large medieval church that bears her name.

Andrew the Scot was the Irish-born student and assistant of St. Donatus. He served as archdeacon of Fiesole under Bishop Donatus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maughold</span> 5th-century saint

Maughold is venerated as the patron saint of the Isle of Man. Tradition states that he was an Irish prince and captain of a band of freebooters who was converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick. His feast day is 25 April. His original name is unclear, but was probably adapted from Bishop MacCaille of Croghan, County Offaly, who received Brigit of Kildare into religious life

There is archaeological evidence of insular monasticism as early as the mid 5th century, influenced by establishments in Gaul such as the monastery of Martin of Tours at Marmoutier, the abbey established by Honoratus at Lérins; the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel; and that of Germanus at Auxerre. Many Irish monks studied at Candida Casa near Whithorn in what is now Galloway in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wulfric of Haselbury</span> Anchorite and saint

Wulfric of Haselbury was an anchorite and miracle worker in Wiltshire and Somerset, England, frequently visited by King Stephen. His feast day is 20 February.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modomnoc</span>

St. Modomnóc of Ossory was an Irish saint and missionary in Osraige who was a disciple of St. David of Wales and a member of the Uí Néill royal family. His feast day is February 13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romulus of Fiesole</span>

Saint Romulus of Fiesole was bishop of Fiesole during the 1st century. He is venerated as the patron saint of Fiesole, Italy. Romulus was probably a local deacon, priest, or bishop of the 1st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew the Apostle</span> Apostle of Jesus in the New Testament

Andrew the Apostle, also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus. The title First-Called stems from the Gospel of John, where Andrew, initially a disciple of John the Baptist, follows Jesus and, recognizing him as the Messiah, introduces his brother Simon Peter to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Donnelly</span> Irish Catholic bishop

Nicholas Donnelly, MRIA, was a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of Dublin. He was ordained a priest in 1860 and held various positions in the Dublin diocese, and in 1883 became an auxiliary bishop of Dublin and titular bishop of Canea (Crete).

Saint Tochumra was a holy virgin, or possibly two virgins, in medieval Ireland. Her feast day is 11 June.

Hilarinus was a martyr who died with Donatus of Arezzo during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Julian. His feast day is 16 July.

References

  1. Conyngham, David Power, and Walsh, Thomas. Ecclesiastical History of Ireland United States, Kenedy, 1885, p. 342 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. Thurston, Herbert. "St. Andrew the Scot." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 25 December 2012PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. "Sainte Brigide" (in French). Nominis.cef.fr. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  4. Sensi, M. "Anchorites in the Italian Tradition", Anchoritic Traditions of Medieval Europe (Liz Herbert McAvoy, ed.) United Kingdom, Boydell, 2010, p. 67 ISBN   9781843835202
  5. Monks of Ramsgate. "Brigid". Book of Saints 1921. CatholicSaints.Info. 26 November 2016 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .