Monday, February 02, 2026

Yes, Brigid of Kildare is a Saint and one of three national patron saints of Ireland


Saint Brigid of Kildare is one of the three national patron saints of Ireland, alongside St. Patrick and St. Columba. Often referred to as "Mary of the Gael," she is a multifaceted figure whose patronage covers a wide variety of people, trades, and conditions.






Saint Brigid is recognized as the secondary patron of Ireland. She is patron of healers, the sick, and those seeking protection from disease. She is also patron of poets, scholars, and students, patron of midwives, newborn babies, and children born to unmarried parents. Patron of dairy workers, dairy maids, farmers, chicken farmers, cattle, and livestock. And patron of blacksmiths, printers, and metalworkers. She is also  patron of travelers, boatmen, and sailors.
Patron of brewers and beer (owing to legends of her transforming bathwater into ale). Often cited as the patron saint of computers and those who care for the earth an environmental justice.
And patron of nuns, fugitives, and the poor.

While St. Brigid of Kildare is a recognized saint, she was never
formally canonized because she lived before the current official process for canonization was established by the Roman Catholic Church.
 
Brigid lived in the 5th and 6th centuries (c. 451–525 AD), a period before the Catholic Church established the formal, centralized canonization process overseen by the Pope.
 
During this era, saints were recognized through "popular acclaim" or by local bishops based on their perceived holiness and miracles.

Like St. Patrick, Brigid is a "Saint" by tradition and long-standing veneration, not through a modern legal decree from the Vatican.

Due to a lack of contemporary written evidence and her legendary associations with the pagan goddess Brigid, she was removed from the universal calendar. This removal was not a "de-canonization." The Church still recognizes her as a saint, but her feast day is celebrated primarily on local calendars (like in Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand) rather than worldwide.

Interest in her historical reality has surged recently. In 2023, the Irish government established a national public holiday in her honor, recognizing her as one of Ireland's three patron saints alongside St. Patrick and St. Columba.

Miracles Attributed to St.Brigid 

St. Brigid is renowned for a vast array of miracles that blend Christian charity with mythical power, many of which mirror the attributes of the ancient Celtic goddess Brigid.


Early biographers attribute at least 46 miracles to her, ranging from humble acts of replenishment to grand displays of power.
 
The Miracle of the Beer: Brigid is famously a patron saint of beer. She is said to have turned her own bathwater into beer to nourish visiting clerics and thirsty lepers. In one of her most famous feats, she supplied 18 churches with enough beer for the entire Easter season from a single barrel.

The Expanding Cloak: When asking the King of Leinster for land to build her monastery, he mockingly agreed to give her only what her cloak could cover. As her sisters pulled the corners of her mantle, it miraculously expanded to cover the many acres now known as the Curragh of Kildare.


Healing the Blind: She famously restored the sight of a blind nun named Dara. However, legend says that after seeing the beauty of the world, Dara asked Brigid to return her to darkness so she could see God more clearly in her soul.

Abortion Miracle: Medieval hagiographies, specifically by the monk Cogitosus (c. 650 AD), record Brigid "blessing" a pregnant nun who had broken her vows, causing the fetus to disappear without birth or pain. 






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