Birgitta had visions of Christ from the age of seven. Born in Sweden in 1303, Birgitta married Ulf Gudmarsson at thirteen. They had eight children, including St. Catherine of Sweden. After Ulf's death in 1344, Birgitta dedicated herself to prayer and service, joining the Third Order of St. Francis. She began to dictate her visions and messages from God. These writings, the Celestial Revelations, were translated into Latin. One of Birgitta's visions instructed her to establish a new religious order, the Brigittines. The King of Sweden donated land and a palace at Vadstena for the monastery. The new order was designed to be a "double order" with nuns and monks in separate areas, but under the authority of an abbess. In 1350, Birgitta went to Rome to get papal approval for her order. She worked for Church reform and urged Pope Urban V to return the papacy to Rome from Avignon, France. Birgitta's faith made her an influential figure. Although she never saw the pope return to Rome or the monastery completed, her order was approved in 1370. She died in Rome in 1373 and was canonized as St. Bridget of Sweden in 1391. In 1999, Pope John Paul II named her, along with St. Catherine of Siena and St. Edith Stein, as one of the co-patronesses of Europe.