Saintly celebrations.

Earlier this year I was one of 5,000 people--including the Swedish royal family and politicians--who attended an ecumenical service at the castle of Vadstena to celebrate the 700th anniversary of the birth of another great Swedish woman, St Birgitta.

The Pope recently made her one of three woman patron saints of Europe. A mother of eight, it was only after her husband's death that she was free to take up fully the calling she had first felt as a child. This led her to Rome, where she lived the rest of her life and founded the Brigittine Order. She spoke out fearlessly on the politics of the day, challenging the Pope to return from Avignon to Rome. Her message, 'Lord show me the way and make me willing to walk it' is a challenge to our secular times.