Santa Brigida (Rome)

Santa Brigida
The facade of Santa Brigida on Piazza Farnese
Location	96 Piazza Farnese 00186 Roma
Country	Italy
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.brigidine.org
History
Dedication	St Bridget of Sweden
Architecture
Architect(s)	Raffaele Ingami (additions)
Years built	1513, restored in 18th century

Santa Brigida is a convent church dedicated to St Bridget of Sweden and the Swedish national church in Rome. It was also known as Santa Brigida a Campo de' Fiori since it was built on what was then part of Campo de' Fiori but is now the urbanistically distinct Piazza Farnese.

A first building rose during the pontificate of Boniface IX (1389–1404) but was later abandoned. In 1513, Peder Månsson, later (1524) Bishop of Västerås in Sweden, erected a new church. It was officially granted to the Bishop of Uppsala by Pope Paul III (1534–1549).

It was restored in the early 18th century by Pope Clement XI (1700–1721).

In 1828, Pope Leo XII gave the convent and church to the Canons of Santa Maria in Trastevere. They did not have the means to restore it, and gave it to the Congregation of Holy Cross, a French congregation, in 1855. They restored the church and the rooms of St Bridget in 1857-1858.

The next owner was a Polish branch of the Carmelite Order, to whom the convent and church was given in 1889. They held it until 1930, when it was returned to the Bridgittine Order.

The paintings in the church were restored before the Bridgittine jubilee of 1991.

The façade was constructed in 1705 and adorned with statues of St Brigid and her daughter St Catherine by Andrea Fucigna. Minor changes, such as the shapes of the windows, were made in the 19th century.

The design of the neo-romanesque bell-tower, added in 1894, is attributed to the architect Raffaele Ingami who carried out much consolidation work for the convent at the time.