Saint Bridget of Sweden is not only the Patron Saint of Europe, she is also the heroine of a newly-published Finnish graphic novel.

The book Pyhän Birgitan perilliset (The Heirs of Saint Bridget) tells the story of Birgitta Birgersdotter and of how the Bridgettine order came to Finland. The book has been published by an association of friends of Finland's present-day Bridgettines called Birgittalaissisarten ystävät ry, so the monies from the book will be spent assisting the sisters at the convent in Turku, Finland.

Want to take a closer look at the images? Click here.

The August issue of Fides has been published. Click here or on the cover to read Fides 8/2014 in pdf format.

The divine liturgy will be celebrated in Ukrainian at St Bridget's in Turku on Saturday. A visiting priest will celebrate the liturgy in Ukraininan and a cantor sings in Finnish.

On Sunday, March 16, the divine liturgy is celebrated in Ukrainian at St Mary's Church at 1 p.m.

Welcome!

The Christmas Bazaar t St Bridget's and Blessed Hemming's Parish in Turku is traditionally arranged by the parish youth. 

Setting up for the bazaar on the First Sunday of Advent begins on Friday: there is a lot to do in the St Bridget Hall and Parish Hall, but even before that the work has begun to get all the baked goods and delicious foods made. Among other things, you will be able to buy boxes of biscuits (or cookies, if you prefer) made according to a recipe by St Hildegard of Bingen. Hildegard herself stated that her biscuits would cleanse the senses and cause an increase of joy. St Hildegard may have mixed her last batch in the 12th century, but that sounds like a recipe for today!

Giacomo Antonio Perti was an Italian composer of the Baroque period and maestro di cappella of San Petronio, the monumental basilica in Bologna. He held the post for an unprecedented 60 years and became the greatest name of the Bologna school.

Giacomo Antonio Perti's Requiem might have been performed during the composer's lifetime, although no indication of any performance has been found. The surviving manuscript is an old copy, and no conclusions regarding performances can be drawn based on it, either. It is therefore quite likely that the performance of the work in Finland is at the same time its first performance in modern times.

The concert will be conducted by Michele Vannelli who is the current maestro di cappella of the basilica of San Petronio and the direct successor of Giacomo Antonio Perti.

Musicians of the King's Road, baroque orchestra and choir
Michele Vannelli, maestro concertatore
Minna Nyberg, soprano
Terhi Lehtovaara, soprano
Kristina Raudanen, alto
Jussi Salonen, tenor
Sampo Haapaniemi, bass
Antto Vanhala, concertmaster

Click on the poster picture to open a pdf file of it on the Musicians of the King's Road website.