St. Brigid Prayer and St. Brigid's Day (February 1)

St. Brigid of Kildare (about 451–525), the abbess who founded the great monastery of Kildare, is with St. Patrick and St. Columba one of the three patron saints of Ireland. Known as “Mary of the Gael,” she was famous for her hospitality and her generosity to the poor, and on her feast, February 1, Irish families still weave St. Brigid’s Crosses from rushes and hang them over their doors. Since 2023 St. Brigid’s Day has been a public holiday in Ireland. Below are prayers to St. Brigid for the home and family, for generosity, for mothers and newborns and for farmers, how to make and bless a St. Brigid’s Cross, Scripture and her story.

A prayer to St. Brigid

Written for this page:

St. Brigid of Kildare, Mary of the Gael,
you welcomed every stranger as Christ and gave freely to the poor.
Pray for me, that my heart may be open, my door welcoming
and my hands generous.
Obtain for me the grace I ask: (name your intention). Amen.

A prayer for the home

The St. Brigid’s Cross over the door is a sign asking God to protect the house from fire, hunger and harm.

St. Brigid, bless this house and all who live here.
Keep it safe from fire and storm, from hunger and sickness.
Make it a home of peace, prayer and hospitality,
where every guest is welcomed as Christ. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the Catholic house blessing.

A prayer for generosity

Many stories tell of Brigid giving away her family’s butter, food and even her father’s jeweled sword to the poor, and of God replenishing what she gave.

St. Brigid, you could not see a poor person without giving.
Free me from fear and selfishness,
and teach me to share what I have,
trusting that God will provide. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page.

She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor.

A prayer for mothers and newborns

St. Brigid, patron of midwives and newborns,
watch over (name), who is expecting a baby, and over her child.
Bring them safely through birth,
and bless the new life God is giving. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page. See the Catholic prayer for pregnancy.

A prayer for farmers

St. Brigid, you tended the cows of your father’s farm and of your abbey.
Bless our farmers, our animals and our fields,
send good weather and a good harvest,
and keep all who work the land safe. Amen.

This prayer was written for this page.

How to make a St. Brigid’s Cross

According to tradition, Brigid sat by the bed of a dying pagan chieftain and, to explain the faith, picked up rushes from the floor and wove them into a cross. He asked to be baptized before he died.

Gather about sixteen long rushes or strong reeds (paper straws work for children).
Fold one rush in half around the middle of a second, straight rush, to make a T shape.
Turn the work a quarter turn and fold a new rush in half over the folded one.
Keep turning and folding, always in the same direction, so that the woven square grows in the center and four arms stretch out.
When it is the size you want, tie each arm with thread and trim the ends.

On the eve of her feast, January 31, the cross is traditionally blessed with holy water and hung over the door or in the kitchen, where the old one from last year is taken down and burned. Some families also leave a ribbon or cloth outside overnight, the Brat Bríde (Brigid’s cloak), believing that she blesses it as she passes, and keep it for healing.

Scripture for St. Brigid

Then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in:
Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.
Then shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink?
And when did we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered thee?
Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came to thee?
And the king answering, shall say to them: Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me.

The life of St. Brigid

The earliest life of Brigid was written by Cogitosus, a monk of Kildare, about a century and a half after her death, and many stories about her are legendary. According to tradition, she was born around 451 at Faughart, near Dundalk, the daughter of a chieftain named Dubthach and a Christian slave woman, Broicsech. She was baptized as a child and grew up working on her father’s farm, where she became known for giving away whatever she could to the poor.

Refusing marriage, she received the veil and gathered other women around her. Around 480 she founded a monastery at Kildare (Cill Dara, “the church of the oak”), which grew into a great double monastery of women and men, with a school of art and learning. She traveled through Ireland founding communities, counseling bishops and kings, and caring for the poor and the sick. She died around 525, and tradition says she was buried at Downpatrick with St. Patrick and St. Columba.

Feast day and patronage

Feast day: February 1. In Ireland, St. Brigid’s Day is a public holiday on the first Monday of February, or on February 1 when it falls on a Friday. A novena can run from January 23 to 31.
Patron of: Ireland (with St. Patrick and St. Columba), Kildare, dairy workers and farmers, midwives and newborn babies, and poets.
Symbols: the St. Brigid’s Cross, a cow, an abbess’s staff, and a lamp or flame.

Frequently asked questions

When is St. Brigid’s Day?

February 1. In Ireland the public holiday falls on the first Monday of February, or on February 1 if that day is a Friday.

What is a St. Brigid’s Cross for?

It is hung over the door or in the kitchen to ask God’s protection on the home, especially from fire and hunger, through the prayers of St. Brigid.

Is St. Brigid the same as St. Bridget of Sweden?

No. St. Brigid of Kildare was an Irish abbess of the fifth and sixth centuries. St. Bridget of Sweden (1303–1373) was a Swedish mystic. See the prayers of St. Bridget.

What is St. Brigid the patron saint of?

Ireland, farmers and dairy workers, midwives and newborns, and poets.

More prayers

Texts and sources

Scripture: Proverbs 31:20; Matthew 25:34–40, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
Cogitosus, Life of St. Brigid (seventh century), and later Irish tradition.
The prayers were written for this page.