Celtic and Old English Saints 19 August =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= * St. Mochta of Louth * St. Guenninus of Vannes * St. Credan of Evesham =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
St. Mochta of Louth, Abbot Bishop (Mocheteus, Mochteus, Mochuta) -------------------------------------------------------------- Died c. 534. He was born in Britain but was brought to Ireland as a child. Saint Mochta was an important saint in Ireland, as is evident by the number of stories that grew up around his name. He was a disciple of Saint Patrick, who was educated and consecrated bishop in Rome by Pope St. Leo I, but some scholars believe he was consecrated by Saint Patrick. When he returned to Ireland, he settled at a place in County Meath called Kell Mor Ydan (now unknown). Local opposition led him to move north to Louth in eastern Ireland. Louth was originally the site of a shrine to the Celtic god Lugh. With twelve companions Saint Mochta founded a large monastery that gained a nation wide reputation. Both monastery and village were burned and plundered frequently by the Danes in the period 829-968 St Mochta is claimed as the first bishop of Louth. Among the legends that arose, he and Patrick made a pact that each would care for the other's community after the founder's death. It is also claimed that Mochta numbered 200 bishops among his disciples and lived to be 300 years old - a punishment because he doubted the ages of many of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Scholars believe that he, the last of Patrick's disciples then alive, died at 90. Louth, the smallest county in Ireland, covers an area of only of only 317 square miles. It runs northwards from the River Boyne to Carlingford Lough, consisting mainly of fertile undulating country with a coastline of wide sandy bays and occasional rocky headlands. In the north, however, between Dundalk Bay and Carlingford Lough, is the mountainous Cooley Peninsula. The territory now known as County Louth figures prominently in the epic tales of ancient Ireland. It was also the scene of important events, and many chapters of Ireland's history are illustrated by the county's numerous relics of the past(Benedictines, Farmer, Husenbeth). St. Guenninus, Bishop of Vannes -------------------------------------------------------------- 7th century. The relics of Bishop Saint Guenninus are enshrined in his cathedral in Brittany (Benedictines). St. Credan of Evesham, Abbot -------------------------------------------------------------- Died c. 780. We know that Saint Credan, 8th abbot of Evesham Abbey, governed during the reign of King Offa of Mercia (757-796) because his name appears in several of the king's charters. He had a thriving cultus prior to the coming of the Normans, who suspected anything Anglo-Saxon. The relics of Credan and other local saints at Evesham were put through an ordeal by fire in 1077. It is reported that they emerged unscathed and during the translation that followed, they are reported to have shone like gold. Credan's relics and shrine also withstood the damage that occurred when the church tower fell in 1207 (Benedictines, Farmer). 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 *****************************************
