Saint Brigid of Ireland

Saint Brigid of Ireland, born in the fifth century to Dubtach, a pagan Scottish king of Leinster, and Brocca, a Christian Pictish slave baptized by Saint Patrick, entered the world under circumstances of profound contrast. Her mother, sold to a Druid landowner just before her birth, raised Brigid until she was old enough to serve her father, Dubtach, as his legal possession. From childhood, Brigid was marked by extraordinary compassion and a tender heart; she could not bear to see others suffer hunger or cold, often giving away Dubtach’s possessions to aid the needy, declaring, “Christ dwelt in every creature.” When Dubtach sought to sell her to the King of Leinster, Brigid, in an act of radical generosity, gave her father’s treasured sword