St Bridget

Pilgrim badge from the shrine of St Bridget at Syon Abbey, Isleworth, West London. Syon Abbey was a monastery dedicated to St Saviour and St Bridget of Sweden (also known as Birgitta) and housed both monks and nuns. It was founded in 1415 and quickly became a popular pilgrimage destination, especially as it granted pilgrims pardons for their sins at certain times of year. St Bridget was famous for having visions of Christ’s Passion and of the future. She spent much of her later life on pilgrimages. This rather damaged badge shows St Bridget sitting at her writing desk under a pinnacled canopy. She wears a long robe and has a halo with projecting rays around her head. There is a figure of an angel behind her, touching her right shoulder. This represents the angel speaking to St Bridget and is a reference to her visions. The saint’s shrine at Syon continued to attract many pilgrims into the early 16th century.