The Line :: Pendants
St. Brigid's Cross
Ancient Ireland, the land of saints and scholars, is the birthplace of a legendary young maiden named Brigid. Numerous tales are told of Brigid’s rise to sainthood, but evidence remains today of her impact on the nation: St. Brigid’s cross. One such telling of the tale goes like this.
Young Brigid was born to a Druid chieftain father; her mother a Christian slave. As the young servant girl grew up, her loving disposition and generosity to the poor became a thorn in her father’s side. He grew tired of her generosity—she continually gave away milk and bread to beggars and lepers. Her father granted her freedom to rid her from his house.
It is said that Brigid was a follower of St. Patrick, the former slave-turned-missionary who became the patron saint of Ireland. In her freedom, Brigid devoted her life to Christian deeds and devotion, serving the poor and needy. She founded the abbess at Kildare, Ireland’s first Christian community for women of the church.
One day, the legend goes, Brigid was summoned to her father’s dying side. As she ministered to the old chieftain, she longed to share her faith. She began to weave reeds together in the form of a cross, placing it into the dying man’s hands.
“What is this?” he asked, and Brigid began to share of God’s love for the bitter old man. She spent many hours at his side, telling him the good news of heaven. Before he died, he too became a Christian.
Over the years, St. Brigid’s cross was hung in thatched roofs and rafters to protect homes and families from fire and evil. Today it is hung over Irish windows and doorways, even outside offices and businesses.
Our extraordinary St. Brigid’s cross pendant is woven of the finest gold, a tribute to our own Irish roots.
Go mbeannaí Dia duit!
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