Today, March 24, is the memorial of Saint Catherine of Sweden.
Born in either 1331 or 1332, Catherine was the fourth of the eight children of Saint Bridget of Sweden and Ulf Gudmarsson.
Through arranged marriage, Catherine was wed, at age 13, to Lord Eggert. The couple agreed that they would take a vow of total chastity and live in a state of virginity. She would become widowed soon after.
She accompanied her mother, St. Bridget, on pilgrimages. They would spend a lot of time praying, meditating, serving and teaching the poor.
When Bridget died, Catherine brought her body back to Sweden, burying it at the convent of the Order of the Holy Savior (Bridgettines) at Vadstena. Catherine replaced her mother as superior of the Bridgettines. She attained papal approval of the Order in 1375, and worked for Bridget’s canonization.
She died of natural causes in 1381.
Catherine’s iconography shows her with a female red deer, which rescued her when rude young men tried to seduce her.