Birgitta was born in Finsta in 1303. Her father Birger Persson was a member of the Royal Council. Her mother, Ingeborg, was related to the ruling dynasty. After the death of her mother, at the age of 12, Birgitta was entrusted to the upbringing of her aunt Karin Bengtsdotter, who one night found her niece kneeling near the bed. And she asked her, "What are you doing there?" Birgitta replied, "I thank him who always helps me." "Who is he?" "The man I saw on the cross."
In 1316 her father married her to Ulf Gudmarson, five years older than her, a son of a lagman from Västergötland. Birgitta, who would have preferred to die a hundred times, but did not even want to enter the convent, bowed to her father's decision. The first part of her life was that of a secular woman who was happily married. Birgitta soon became known for her charitable work. On her estate she built a hospital for the poor and sick and took care of them herself. She also took her children with her so that they could get used to serving God in the poor and sick. Her marriage was blessed with eight children: four sons and four daughters: Màrta (1319), Karl, Birger, Gudmar, and Bengt, Catherine, who would become a saint like her mother; Ingeborg, and Cecilia (1334). In 1335, the young king Magnus, who recently married Bianca of Namur, chose Birgitta for the education of the young queen . Birgitta soon received the love and respect of the people around her. But later she asked to leave the court for a while and in 1341 she and Ulf went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. This was typical of that time to go on the pilgrimage and Birgitta had the nostalgia of the pilgrimage in her blood. During their travels through Europe they visited all the holy places of that time: Cologne, Aachen, Tarascona, Sainte-Beaume. In Marseille, they left for the Spanish coast, where they reached Compostella on foot using a walking stick. On their way back, they crossed France, which has burned to the ground doe to the war. In Arras, Ulf, gravely ill, has been healed through his wife's prayers and after taking the vow to enter the Order of Cistercians when he will see his country again. He spent the last three years of his life in Alvastra (the first community of Saint Bernard in the north, founded in 1143), together with Cistercian monks, where he died in 1344 in the fame of holiness. After the death of her husband Birgitta moved to the Cistercian monks and decided to "leave the world and devote herself entirely to the service of the Lord". Her state of widowhood deepened her deepest relationship with God, who chose her as His "mouthpiece". In 1349, she went to Rome to celebrate the Holy Year (1350). She became a Roman citizen because, until her death on July 23, 1373, she stayed in Rome for twenty-four years. Birgitta was first buried in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, then her daughter Catherine took her to Vadstena, where her mother wanted to live and die. On the way back to Sweden many miracles happened. Birgitta was canonised by Boniface IX in 1391 and the authenticity of her revelations was recognised by the Concil of Constance in 1415.