Celtic and Old English Saints 15 May =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Dympna of Gheel * St. Gerebernus of Sonsbeck * St. Colman of Oughaval * St. Britwin of Beverley =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Dympna (Dymphna, Dympne) of Gheel, Virgin & Martyr ---------------------------------------------------- Died c. 650. Dympna is said to have been the daughter of a pagan Irish (from Monaghan?), British, or Amorican king and a Christian princess who died when she was very young, but who had baptized her daughter. As Dympna grew into a young woman, her uncanny resemblance to her dead mother aroused an incestuous passion in her father. On the advice of her confessor, Saint Gerebernus (f.d. today), Dympna fled from home. Accompanied by Gerebernus and attended by the court jester and his wife, she took a ship to Antwerp. She then travelled through wild forest country until she reached a small oratory dedicated to Saint Martin on the site of the present-day town of Gheel (25 miles from Antwerp). The group settled there to live as hermits and during the several months before they were found, Dympna gained a reputation for holiness because of her devotion to the poor and suffering. Dympna's father had pursued her to Antwerp, and he sent spies who found them by tracing their use of foreign coins. The king tried to persuade her to return, but when she refused, the king ordered that she and Gerebernus be killed. The king's men killed the priest and their companions but hesitated to kill Dympna. The king himself struck off her head with his sword. The bodies were left on the ground. They were buried by angelic or human hands on the site where they had perished. The whole story gripped the imagination of the entire countryside especially because, according to tradition, lunatics were cured at her grave. Great interest in her cultus was renewed and spread when the translation of the relics of Dympna was followed by the cures of a number of epileptics, lunatics, and persons under evil influences who had visited the shrine. Under her patronage, the inhabitants of Gheel have been known for the care they have given to those with mental illnesses. By the close of the 13th century, an infirmary was built. Today the town possesses a first-class sanatorium, one of the largest and most efficient colonies for the mentally ill in the world. It was one of the first to initiate a program through which patients live normal and useful lives in the homes of farmers or local residents, whom they assist in their labour and whose family life they share. The strength of Dympna's cultus is evidenced by this compassionate work of the people of Gheel for the mentally ill at a time when they were universally neglected or treated with hostility. The body of Dympna is preserved in a silver reliquary in the church bearing her name. Only the head of Gerebernus rests there, the remains have been removed to Sonsbeck in the diocese of Muenster. (Attwater, Benedictines, D'Arcy, Delaney, Farmer, Kenney, Montague, O'Hanlon, White). In art, Saint Dympna is a crowned maiden with a sword and the devil on a chain. Many children in Belgium are called Dympna, but in Ireland she is remembered under the form Damhnat, while in England Daphne is used. Dympna is invoked against insanity, mental illness of all types, asylums for the mentally ill, nurses of the mentally ill, sleepwalking, epilepsy, and demoniac possession (Roeder). Her feast day is kept in Ireland and Gheel. St. Gerebernus (Gereborn, Gerebrand, Genebrard), Martyr ---------------------------------------------------- 7th century. As an aged Irish priest Gerebernus accompanied Saint Dympna (f.d. today), whom he had baptized in her infancy, to Belgium and shared in her martyrdom at Gheel. He is the patron saint of the village of Sonsbeck (Santbeck), Cleves, in the Rhineland, Germany, where his relics are enshrined, except for his head, which is in Gheel. Curiously, he was the subject of "holy robbers of Xanten" who specialised in stealing holy relics, although they were unable to remove those of Dympna. His intercession is sought against gout and fever (Benedictines, D'Arcy, Husenbeth). St. Colman (Columbanus) McO'Laoighse, Abbot ---------------------------------------------------- 6th century. A disciple of Saint Columba (f.d. June 9) and Saint Fintan of Clonenagh (f.d. February 17), Saint Colman founded and governed the monastery of Oughaval, of which only a few stones remain (Benedictines). Saint Colman was a disciple of St. Columba, Abbot of Iona and Sr. Fintan, Abbot of Clonenangh. In the Martyrology of Tallagh he is included as Colman Mac h Laighsi on 15 May. He was of the family (clan) of Laoighsigh Ceannmoir, son of Conall Cearnach, a celebrated Ultonian hero who lived in the first century. His father was Lugna and his grandfather was Eugene. Their tribe-name was Mac Ua Loighse. The first mention of St. Colman, a pious youth and native of the Portlaoise area in the Province of Leinster, is in the Life of St. Fintan of Clonenagh. He desired to dedicate his whole life to the service of Christ in prayer and ascetic labour. To this end he made a pilgrimage to Iona to seek spiritual counsel from the renowned abbot of that holy island, St. Columba. He remained at Iona for several years as a novice learning the disciplines of the monastic life. Later Colman felt the call to return to Ireland and he asked St. Columba how it would be possible to live there without being able to confess his sins to his abbot. St. Colman said, “Go to that pious man whom I see standing among the Angels and before the tribunal of Christ, on each Sunday night”. Colman asked, “Who and what sort of man is he?” and the holy Abbot answered, “There is a certain saintly and handsome man, in your part of the country, whose complexion is florid, whose eyes are brightly sparkling, and whose white locks of hair are thinly scattered on his head.” To this Colman replied, “I know of no man answering this description, in my country, except Abbot Fintan.” Then St. Columba confirmed, “He it is, my son, whom I see before the tribunal of Christ, as I have already told you. Go to him, for he is a true shepherd of Christ’s flock and he shall bring many souls with him to the kingdom of Christ.” Colman received the blessing of St. Columba and set out on the journey to his native land. Comimg to St. Fintan, Colman told him all that the holy Abbot of Iona had said. On hearing these things the elderly abbot blushed deeply so it seemed as though his face was on fire. He cautioned Colman not to report these things to anyone, at least, during his own lifetime. Colman selected Oughaval, a town land within the present-day Parish of Stradbally in county Laois, as the site of his monastic settlement. The exact date of the founding of the monastery is unknown but it was shortly before the repose of Saint Fintan in about the year 595. The place can still be identified and the burial ground is still be use. However it is impossible recognise the actual church or monastic building since the stone was reused at the beginning of the 18th century to build a mausoleum. It was a mediaeval church until 18th century. The Mick walls and Tower at West End are very, very old. Colman is very popular name in Ireland. The Martyrology of Donegal lists 96 saints of this name and the Book of Leinster records no less than 209. In addition there seems to be some confusion in ancient texts between Colman (Colmanus in Latin) and Columbanus. Not long before his own death, St. Columba of Iona foresaw the death of a certain holy man named Columbanus, a bishop in the Province of Leinster and some hagiographers have identied this saint with St. Colman of Oughaval. However there seems to be no serious historical foundation for this assumption, and indeed we have no evidence that our patron was a bishop. As is well known, Celtic lands in general and Ireland in particular, during this period had few large settlements that could be described as cities or towns. Thus church administration was based more on the local monastery than on a diocesan structure. The abbot of a large monastery therefore had greater influence than most bishops whose basic function was to ordain. The fate of St. Colman’s monastic foundation is something of a mystery. It had ceased to function long before the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII. The history of the monastery subsequent to the repose of St. Colman is the subject of current research. Saint Colman of Oughaval pray for us The Russian Orthodox Church has recently erected a church at Oughaval dedicated to this Saint. Canon of Saint Colman of Oughaval http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/servcolm.htm Icon of Saint Colman of Oughaval http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/colman.htm St. Britwin (Brithwin, Brithun) of Beverley, Abbot ---------------------------------------------------- Died c. 733. When Saint John of Beverley (f.d. May 7) resigned his bishopric at York, his good friend Abbot Saint Brithwin received him into his monastery at Beverley (Benedictines). Lives kindly supplied by: For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints ***************************************** ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
