Sr.Fabia Kattakayam has been elected as the Superior General of the Order of the Most Holy Savior informally known as the Brigittine or Bridgettine Order .
Sr.Fabia originally hails from Iritty in Kannur district in Kerala. She is the first Indian to be elected to this post. The election was done at the mother house of the Order in Rome.
The Bridgettine Order is a monastic religious order of Augustinian nuns, Religious Sisters and monks founded by Saint Birgitta (Saint Bridget) of Sweden in 1344, and approved by Pope Urban V in 1370.
The distinctive part of the Brigittine habit for the women of the Order is the metal crown which they wear called the “Crown of the Five Holy Wounds”. It has five red stones, one at each joint, to remember the Five Wounds of Christ on the Cross. The monks wear a red cross with a Eucharistic host at the centre on the right breast of their cloak.
There are several different branches of Bridgettines. The largest branch of the Bridgettines today is the one founded by Saint Elizabeth Hesselblad, a nurse, on 8 September 1911 of semi-contemplative Religious Sisters dedicated to providing hospitality for those in need of rest. It was fully approved by the Holy See on 7 July 1940, and currently consists of convents in Europe, Asia and North America.
In India there are 21 Brigittine convents spread across different states in India. Kerala has 5 convents in Pariyaram,Kozhikode, Kalamassery,Thiruvanathapuram, Neyyattinkara.