Celtic and Old English Saints 10 March =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Failbhe the Little * St. Kessog of Lennox * St. Emilian of Lagny * St. Attalas of Bobbio * St. Himelin of Vissenaeken =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Failbhe the Little, Abbot ------------------------- Died 754. Saint Failbhe was abbot of Iona for seven years before his death at age eighty (Benedictines). St. Kessog of Lennox, Bishop & Martyr (also known as Mackessog) ---------------------------------------- Born in Cashel, Ulster, Ireland; died c. 560. Son of the king of Cashel (Munster), Saint Kessog is said to have worked miracles even as a child. He left Ireland to evangelize Scotland, where he was consecrated a missionary bishop. Using Monks' Island in Loch Lomond as his headquarters, he evangelized the surrounding area until he was martyred, though where is uncertain--some claim at Bandry where a heap of stones was known as St. Kessog's Cairn, and others abroad. Part of the cairn at Bandry was removed in the 18th century to clear the way for a road. At that time, a stone statue of Kessog was found inside it. Luss was the principal centre of his cultus with a sanctuary granted by Robert the Bruce. Many miracles were ascribed to Kessog, who is the patron of Lennox. A celebrated Scottish church still bears the title of St. Kessoge-Kirk. For a long time the Scots used his name for their cry in battle, but later changed it for that of Saint Andrew. They sometimes painted Kessog in a soldier's habit, holding a bow bent with an arrow in it (Benedictines, Delaney, Farmer, Husenbeth). Troparion of St Kessog Tone 6 Thy life was resplendent with miracles, O Hierarch Kessog,/ and as thou didst devote thy life to missionary labours,/ teach us the way to devote our lives to the service of the Church/ that Christ our God will have mercy on our souls. Kontakion of St Kessog Tone 4 That God is not served by idleness is the message of thy life, O Wonderworker Kessog./ For thy ceaseless efforts thou art rewarded in heaven/ and this day art praised by the Lord's lazy and most unprofitable servants. St. Emilian of Lagny, Abbot ---------------------------- (also known as Eminian) Died 675. Saint Emilian was another of the Irish missionary-monks, who migrated to the Continent, where he became the abbot of a monastery in Lagny, France (Benedictines). St. Attalas of Bobbio, Abbot ----------------------------- Born in Burgundy, France; died 627. Saint Attalas was educated under Bishop Aregius of Gap, professed himself a monk at Lerins, but followed Saint Columbanus to Luxeuil in search of a stricter rule. When the Irish missionaries were expelled from France because Columbanus decried Austrasian King Theodoric for keeping concubines, Attalas went with the Irish saint to Bobbio, Italy. He helped Columbanus build the abbey in Bobbio on land granted them by the Lombard King Agilulf and succeeded him as abbot in 615. It was during Attalas's abbacy that most of the monks stood out against the severity of the Columbanian Rule. Attalas was, like Columbanus, a vigorous opponent of Arianism and was known for the miracles he performed. He died at Bobbio and was buried there in the same tomb as his predecessor (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopaedia, Montague). Saint Attalas is portrayed in art as an abbot near a mill with his staff in hand. He may also have a chair near him or be shown with Saint Columbanus (Roeder). He is venerated at Lerins and Luxeuil (Roeder). St. Himelin of Vissenaeken (also known as Hymelin) --------------------------- Died c. 750. Saint Himelin, an Irish or Scottish priest, is said to have been the brother of Saint Rumold of Malines. He died and was buried at Vissenaeken, near Tirlemont, Belgium, on his return from a pilgrimage to Rome. His shrine, in turn, is a noted pilgrimage centre (Benedictines, Montague). Sources: ======== Benedictine Monks of St. Augustine Abbey, Ramsgate. (1947). The Book of Saints. NY: Macmillan. Delaney, J. J. (1983). Pocket Dictionary of Saints, NY: Doubleday Image. 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 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 ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
