The 15 prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden is a special devotion to the Passion of Our Lord that can be prayed daily in about 5-8 minutes. If you’d like to begin the 15 O’s devotion or if you are looking for a free St. Bridget of Sweden PDF download that can be printed out, we have one for you at the bottom of this page.
Who is St. Bridget of Sweden?
Saint Bridget of Sweden, whose feast day is celebrated on July 23, is a 14th century saint who had an extraordinary life. From as early as 7 years old she had visions of the crucified Jesus. She was married to Ulf Gudmarsson for many years and together they had eight children before he died in 1344.
Throughout her adult life St. Bridget was a writer, a mystic, and the founder of the Order of the Most Holy Savior. In 1350 St. Bridget bravely crossed Europe during an outbreak of the “Black Death” plague to make a jubilee year pilgrimage to Rome. She begged the Pope to return to Rome from France. She had a prophecy that there would be a formation of a Vatican State, her prediction was very close to the current boundary lines we have today.
How did the 15 O’s Devotion Come About?
St. Bridget longed to know the exact number of blows Jesus had to endure during his His Passion. She prayed about this for a long time. Finally, Jesus answered her and told her that he received 5,480 blows.
Jesus told her she could honor them by reciting 15 prayers every day for a year and following each prayer, to recite one Our Father and one Hail Mary. These prayers are commonly known as the “15 O’s” because each prayer begins with “O Jesus.”
The 15 O’s were commonly found in Medieval prayer books during the late Middle Ages. They tell the Biblical story of events from Christ’s Passion in a penitential way. When you pray the 15 O’s you meditate on the great suffering Christ had to endure for the salvation of your soul, and this helps you to ponder how you are living your life and how you might better conform yourself to Christ out of gratitude for his great sacrifice to save you. It is a great daily prayer meditation if you are struggling with a habitual sin or want to grow in love for God. It is also a great devotion to pray weekly on Fridays to honor the memory of the death of Our Lord both during and outside of the season of Lent.
This version of the 15 O’s in English comes from a direct translation of a 1670 version written in Latin by Michael Martin. He explains that he used the popular Paradisus Animae Christianae prayer book by Jacob Merlo Horst. Martin’s English translation best matches the Latin from the Paradisus Animae Christianae, so it is different from other popular and more modern English versions online in order and wording.
Is this Devotion Approved by the Church?
The prayers have been approved for use by Pope Pius IX on May 31, 1862, but the promises attached to them are not approved by the Church. This is because these promises did not appear until long after the original prayers began to be circulated and they cannot be verified as authentic promises given by Jesus to St. Bridget of Sweden. There are many versions of promises, and they all differ. Because Pope Pius IX approved the prayers and not the promises, this means that the promises do not have any ecclesiastical standing. In 1954, the Congregation of the Holy Office prohibited publication of the promises along with this devotion because they have no merit.
15 Prayers of St. Bridget of Sweden
You are encouraged to pray 1 Our Father and 1 Hail Mary after each prayer
First Prayer
O JESUS CHRIST! Eternal Sweetness to those who love you, joy surpassing all joy and all desire, Salvation and Hope of all sinners, you have proven that you have no greater desire than to be among men, even assuming human nature at the fullness of time for the love of men. Recall all the sufferings you have endured from the instant of your conception, and especially during your Passion, as it was decreed and ordained from all eternity in the Divine plan. Remember the sadness and bitterness which you experienced during the Last Supper with your disciples. Having washed their feet, you gave them your Most Precious Body and Blood, and while at the same time you sweetly consoled them, you also foretold your coming Passion to them.
Remember all the fear, anguish and pain you suffered in your delicate Body before the Passion of your Crucifixion, when, after having prayed three times bathed in a sweat of blood, you were betrayed by Judas, your disciple, arrested by the chosen people, accused by false witnesses, unjustly judged by three judges in Jerusalem during the Pascal season and in the flower of your youth, condemned, despoiled of your garments and clothed in strange garments, beaten, your Face and Eyes veiled, buffeted with blows, tied to a pillar, scourged, crowned with thorns, struck on the head with a reed, and wounded with innumerable other outrages.
O Lord God, I beseech you, in memory of all these pains and sufferings which you endured before your Passion on the Cross, grant me before my death true contrition, a sincere and entire Confession, worthy satisfaction, and the remission of all my sins. AMEN.
Second Prayer
O JESUS! Creator of Heaven and earth Whom nothing can encompass or limit, you hold the earth in the palm of your hand. You remember the very bitter pain you suffered when the Jews nailed your Sacred Hands to the Cross with the first blunt nail, and perforated your delicate Feet, and not finding you in a pitiable enough state to satisfy their rage, they enlarged your Wounds, and added pain to pain, and with indescribable cruelty stretched your Body on the Cross, pulled you from all sides, and dislocated your Limbs.
I beg of you, by the memory of your most sacred suffering on the Cross, to grant me the grace to fear you and to love you. AMEN.
Third Prayer
O JESUS! Heavenly Physician, raised aloft on the Cross to heal our wounds with Yours, remember the bruises which you suffered and the weakness of all your Members which were distended to such a degree that never was there pain like yours. From the crown of your Head to the Soles of your Feet there was not one spot on your Body that was sound, and yet, forgetting all your sufferings, you didn’t cease to pray to your Heavenly Father for your enemies, saying: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
Through this great Mercy, and in memory of this suffering, grant that the remembrance of your Most Bitter Passion may effect in me a perfect contrition and the remission of all my sins. AMEN.
Fourth Prayer
O JESUS! True liberty of angels, Paradise of delights, remember the horror and sadness which you endured when your enemies, like furious lions, surrounded you, and tormented you with insults, spits, blows, lacerations and other unheard-of cruelties.
Mindful of these punishments, spiteful words and harsh torments, which your enemies afflicted upon you, I beseech you, Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver me from all my enemies visible and invisible, and to bring me under your protection to the perfection of eternal salvation. AMEN.
Fifth Prayer
O JESUS! Mirror of eternal splendor, be mindful of the sadness you experienced when you beheld in the mirror of your clear majesty the predestination of those who would be saved by the merits of your Passion and the great multitude of reprobates who would be damned for their sins. And be mindful of the depths of your great mercy which you have for us lost and desperate sinners, and which you displayed to the good thief when you said to him: “This day, you shall be with Me in Paradise.” I beg of you, oh Sweet Jesus, that you will show me mercy at the hour of my death. AMEN.
Sixth Prayer
O JESUS! Beloved and most desirable King, remember the grief you suffered, when naked and miserable you hung upon the Cross, and when all your relatives and friends abandoned you and you did not find any consolation, except in your Beloved Mother, who remained loyal to you during your agony and whom you entrusted to your disciple when you said: “Woman, behold your Son!”
I beg of you, O most sweet Jesus, by the sword of sorrow which pierced the soul of your holy Mother, to have compassion on me in all my afflictions and tribulations, both corporal and spiritual, and to grant me consolation in all my trials, and especially at the hour of my death. AMEN.
Seventh Prayer
O JESUS! Inexhaustible font of compassion, Who by a profound gesture of Love, said from the Cross: “I thirst!” and suffered from the thirst for the salvation of the human race, I beseech you, inflame in our hearts the desire to tend toward perfection in all our acts; and to extinguish in us the concupiscence of the flesh and the ardor of worldly desires. AMEN.
Eighth Prayer
O JESUS! Sweetness of hearts, delight of the spirit, by the bitterness of vinegar and gall which you tasted for us, grant us the grace to receive worthily your Precious Body and Blood at the hour of our death for the remedy and consolation for our souls. AMEN.
Ninth Prayer
O JESUS! Royal virtue, joy of the mind, recall the anguish and sorrow You endured at the approach of death, when filled with bitterness, insulted, and outraged by the Jews, You cried out in a loud voice that you were abandoned by your Father, saying: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” By this anguish, I beg of you, not to abandon us in our anguish, O Lord God. AMEN.
Tenth Prayer
O JESUS! Who are the beginning and end of all things, life and strength for all time, remember that for our sakes you were plunged into the waters of your Passion from the soles of your Feet to the crown of your Head.
In consideration of the length and breadth of your Wounds, teach me, who is drowned in sin, to keep through pure love your Commandments, whose way is wide and easy for those who love you. AMEN.
Eleventh Prayer
O JESUS! Deep abyss of mercy, I beg of you, on account of the depths of your Wounds which penetrated to the very marrow of your Bones and your being, draw me, who is immersed in sin, out of my sins and to hide me in your Wounds away from the face of your wrath until your anger shall have passed. AMEN.
Twelfth Prayer
O JESUS! Mirror of Truth, symbol of unity, bond of Charity, remember the innumerable multitude of wounds with which you were covered from head to foot, torn and reddened by the spilling of your most holy Blood, how great the sorrows which you suffered in your virginal Flesh for us! Sweetest Jesus, what more is there that you could have done for us which you have not done?
Inscribe, I beseech you, sweet Jesus, all your wounds upon my heart with your most precious Blood so that I may read in them your sorrows and death and continually persevere in thanksgiving until the end. AMEN.
Thirteenth Prayer
O JESUS! Strong Lion, Immortal and Invincible King, remember the pain which you endured when all your strength, both moral and physical, was entirely exhausted. you bowed your Head, saying: “It is done!”
Through this anguish and grief, I beg of you Lord Jesus, to have mercy on me at the hour of my death when my mind will be greatly troubled and my soul will be in anguish. AMEN.
Fourteenth Prayer
O JESUS! Only begotten Son of the Father, splendor and figure of His Substance, remember the commendation you made of your Spirit to your Father, saying: “Into your Hands, O Lord, I commend My Spirit!” And with your Body all torn, your Heart broken, and the depths of your Mercy open to redeem us, you expired.
By this most precious death, I beg of you, King of Saints, comfort me and help me to resist the devil, the world, flesh and blood, so that being dead to the world I may live for you alone. I beg of you at the hour of my death to receive me, a pilgrim and an exile returning to you. AMEN.
Fifteenth Prayer
O JESUS! True and fruitful Vine! Be mindful of the overflowing and abundant outpouring of your Blood which you poured forth copiously, like wine pressed from grapes, when upon the wine press of the Cross you treaded alone (Isa. 63:3), and when your side was pierced with a soldier’s lance, you gave us blood and water to drink which issued forth until there was not left in your Body a single drop. Then at last, like a bundle of myrrh lifted to the top of the Cross, your delicate Flesh was destroyed, the very Substance of your Body withered, and the Marrow of your Bones dried up.
Through your most bitter Passion and though the outpouring of your Precious Blood, I beg of you, oh Sweet Jesus, to receive my soul in the agony of my death. AMEN.
10 Responses
I need prayer and deliverance from porn seeing
Good luck 🙏🏼✝️
Dear Viswanathan,
I pray that God has been good to you and that as I write this email that you have been blessed by God and that you no longer have this affliction,. But, if you do, may I offer the rosary for you and others who are struggling with this sin. May Satan not hold his grip on you, I hope and pray that you have confessed this sin to a priest, I will pray for you so that Satan will release you. You must fight this with all your soul, body and blood. Go to the following site for resources and help with this addition: https://www.usccb.org/topics/marriage-and-family-life-ministries/help-for-those-struggling. I hope this will be of great help for you. May God and Mary guide you to Heaven.
With much love,.
Thank you so much this way I can print and give them away to my friend who has little it no access to the Internet.
Such a beautiful gift from God.
Not able to download. Could you send a link to my email please? Thank you.
Unable to download to print.
Do you have the 12 year prayers that I can download.?
This would be a wonderful addition but currently we do not. I am very sorry.
Ishwar ki stuti Ho Praise be to God