Celtic and Old English Saints 21 June =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Mewan of Brittany * St. Corbmac of Durrow * St. Engelmund of Vebsen =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Mewan of Brittany, Abbot ------------------------------------- (also known as Maine, Mevenus, Meen. Melanus) Born in Gwent, South Wales; died at Gael, Brittany, c. 617. Traditionally the Cornish Saint Meen is said to have been born to a rich and noble family. He mother was related to Saints Magloire (f.d. October 24) and Samson (f.d. July 28). Accompanied by his reputed godson Saint Austell (f.d. June 28), he followed Saint Samson from Wales to Brittany. Samson used him to preach to the people on their way. As they passed through Cornwall they founded adjoining parishes called Saint Mewan and Saint Austell. In Brittany Meen evangelized the Broceliande district which figures in the Arthurian romances. He acquitted himself so well as a preacher that he was given land and goods by Count Caduon and Count Guerech I of Vannes to found a monastery. With their assistance he founded one monastery near Rennes, Saint John the Baptist of Gael, now called Saint-Meen's. With Meen as abbot, the monastery gained renown for its sanctity and regularity. When King Saint Judicaeel (f.d. December 17) renounced his throne c. 616, he received the monastic habit from Saint Meen. Then he founded another monastery near Angers, which was later called Saint-Meen or Saint-Meon, which he populated with monks from Gael. The cultus of Saint Meen spread throughout France and there were numerous pilgrimages to his shrine at the monastery. At Gael there was a fountain whose water was renowned for healing skin diseases. The abbey was converted into a Lazarist seminary in 1640. His extant _vita_, in which he is called Conard-Meen, was written there 500 years after his death. In England he is the patron of Saint Mewan and perhaps Mevagissey in Cornwall. Some of his relics are claimed by Glastonbury; others were translated to Saint-Florent's abbey near Saumur. His name is found in a 7th-century English litany and in pre-Conquest missals. His feast is kept in Cornwall and Exeter (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth). Troparion of St Mewan tone 7 Holy disciple of Saint Samson of Dol,/ thou didst persevere in thy resolve and enter a monastery in Brittany./ Thou didst press on in thy holy struggle/ and establish thine own monastery./ O holy Mewan, pray for us to Christ our God/ that our souls may be saved. St. Corbmac of Durrow, Abbot ------------------------------------------ 6th century. Saint Corbmac was a disciple of Saint Columba, who appointed him abbot of the monastery he founded at Durrow (Benedictines). St. Engelmund of Vebsen, Abbot --------------------------------------------- Born in England; died c. 739. Engelmund was educated in England and became a monk at an early age, then priest, and abbot. He migrated to Friesland, where he was a successful evangelist with Saint Willibrord, at Velsen near Haarlem (Benedictines). In art, Saint Engelmund is depicted as a pilgrim abbot with a fountain springing under his staff (Roeder). He is venerated in Friesland and invoked against toothache (Roeder). Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. Attwater, D. (1958). A Dictionary of Saints. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons. [Attwater 2] Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Coulson, J. (ed.). (1960). The Saints: A Concise Biographical Dictionary. New York: Hawthorn Books. Green & Co. Encyclopaedia of Catholic Saints, June. (1966). Philadelphia: Chilton Books. Farmer, D. H. (1997). The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Husenbeth, Rev. F. C., DD, VG (ed.). (1928). Butler's Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. London: Virtue & Co. Roeder, H. (1956). Saints and Their Attributes, Chicago: Henry Regnery. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm Orthodox Ireland Saints http://tinyurl.com/ysvzbh An Alphabetical Index of the Saints of the West http://www.orthodoxengland.btinternet.co.uk/saintsa.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/
