Saints of the Order

Servant of God Mother M. Catherine Flanagan
Mother M. Catherine Flanagan was born in London on 17th July 1892 to Irish parents, in a rather austere but affectionately warm family atmosphere. From childhood she was brought up in close contact with the sacraments and the liturgy, which she deeply loved.

In September 1911, directed by Fr. Benedict Williamson, pastor of the Parish of St. Gregory in London, she arrived at the house of St. Bridget in Piazza Farnese to follow the call of God and be a member of the first Bridgettine community in Rome. Between 1913 and 1915 she completed the first stage of her spiritual formation and made her temporary Profession. She remained there until 1927 when she was sent to Sweden for a year. Later we find her as Mother Superior in Lugano (1928), England (1931), and Vadstena (1935). In 1939 she moved to Djursholm where she was hit by an incurable disease. Consequently she was recovered in a Catholic nursing home in Stockholm, where she spent the last months of his life in great suffering, praying for Sweden and edifying all by her example. She died on 19th March 1941 with clear signs of predestination and in loving compliance with the will of the Lord. On 22nd March 1941 her corpse was transferred in the ancient cemetery of Vadstena where it still rests to this day.

Eldest daughter of the Blessed Mother Elizabeth, her life was characterised by her total availability and sincere fidelity to God’s Providence that, in the last period of her life, signed her with the cross.
Back