Celtic and Old English Saints 11 August =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Blane of Bute * St. Attracta of Drum * St. Lelia of Limerick * St. Digna of Northumbria =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Blane of Scotland (of Kinngaradha) Bishop (Blaan, Blain) ---------------------------------------------------------------- Late 6th century; second feast on July 19; feast day celebrated on August 10 in some places. Saint Blane, a disciple of Saint Comgall (f.d. May 11) and Saint Canice (f.d. October 11), was nobly born on Bute Island, Scotland. He returned home to finish his education under his uncle Bishop Saint Cathan (f.d. May 17), was ordained to the priesthood, founded a monastery at Kingarth (Bute), and evangelized among the Picts. He made a pilgrimage to Rome. Later in Scotland, Blane became bishop, probably at Dunblane, where he is buried and his bell is preserved. This became the site of Dunblane cathedral. Several hymns, a catechism, and other extant works are attributed to him, and several places bear his name on Bute and other parts of Scotland (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopaedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, Montague). Troparion of St Blane tone 5 Drifting over the sea in a boat without oars/ thou wast directed by God to the Island of Bute, O Hierarch Blane,/ where thou didst devote thyself to apostolic labours./ O worker of miracles,/ thou art worthy to be praised as Equal to the Apostles./ Wherefore we beseech thee pray to Christ our God/ that He will raise up labourers to re-cultivate that northern part of His Vineyard,/ so long overgrown with the darnel of heresy and apostasy,/ which thou didst once tend with such care,/ that again many may be lead into the way of salvation. St. Attracta, Abbess of Drum (of Achonry) (Adhracht, Araght, Athracht) ---------------------------------------------------------------- 5th century. Saint Attracta seems to have been a contemporary of Saint Patrick (f.d. March 17), although she may have lived a century later. Tradition tells us that she was born into a noble Irish family. When she was refused permission to enter the convent, she fled to Saint Patrick and received the veil from him at Coolavin. She was definitely a hermit at Killaraght on Lough Gara in Sligo, and later at Drum near Boyle. Convents developed at both locations under her direction. The hospice she founded for travellers at Killaraght endured for a thousand years and was well reputed for its hospitality and charity to the poor. Saint Attracta is venerated throughout Ireland, but especially in the west, both for the lasting foundations she made and for the spectacular miracles attributed to her intercession, especially those of healing. She is the patroness of the Diocese of Achonry and her name is popular among Irish girls. (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Montague). St. Lelia of Limerick, Virgin ---------------------------------------------------------------- Date unknown. Saint Lelia was a very early Irish virgin, who is connected with the dioceses of Limerick and Kerry. Several places in Ireland commemorate her name (Benedictines). St. Digna, Woman-Solitary in Northumbria (+4th c.) --------------------------------------------------- Sources: ======== Attwater, D. (1983). The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, NY: Penguin Books. Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Delaney, J. J. (ed). (1978). Saints for All Seasons. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Encyclopaedia of Catholic Saints, August. (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. Montague, H. P. (1981). The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland. Guildford: Billing & Sons. For All the Saints: http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/ss-index.htm These Lives are archived at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/celt-saints *****************************************
