We all know that St. Patrick is the big man on campus when it comes to saints in Ireland. But Ireland is the land of saints and scholars (plural), so today I thought I’d give you the short but sweet highlights of another revered Irish saint, St. Columba (7 Dec 521 – 9 June 597).

♣ St. Columba has a whole lotta names. Born in Co. Donegal, he was baptized Colum (meaning dove), often referred to as Colmcille (meaning dove of the churches) and also St. Columba which is the Latinized version of Colmcille. (There are also a bunch of variations on those three names but I’ll spare you a long list.)

♣ St. Columba was born at a time when Druid traditions were on their way out and Christianity was burgeoning in Ireland. As a child, St. Columba was fostered by a priest. (Columba was a descendant of royalty and it was customary for children of ruling families to be fostered; however, the priest doing the fostering was atypical.) So it certainly makes sense that Columba later became a monk and then an ordained priest.

♣ Columba studied at monasteries, one being Clonard Abbey (which is located in modern day Co. Meath) under Saint Finnian. It was at Clonard that Columba became one of the twelve apostles of Ireland (the twelve students under Finnian) and was promoted from monk to priest. (Finnian, by the way, was a famous Irish monastic Saint known for founding Clonard Abbey and also a church on the remote island Skellig Michael which incidentally is now a UNESCO Heritage Site.)

♣ What happened next is a bit of faction (fiction/fact) but apparently the story goes that while Columba was studying under Saint Finnian of Moville (not to be confused with the aforementioned St. Finnian), he copied a psalter (a sacred text which included the psalms and other devotional materials). Copying the psalter was apparently a big no-no and Columba’s actions majorly upset Finnian. Columba and Finnian’s dispute then lead to the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561 and many casualties. Columba was in serious trouble and with the threat of excommunication he exiled himself to the island of Iona in Scotland.

♣ Because of his self imposed exile, Columba got down to some serious missionary work in Scotland and in the North of England. He founded a number of churches and is credited with the introduction of Christianity to a group of tribes in Scotland called the Picts.

♣ Columba’s feast day is June 9th, the day of his death in 597.

Source; Source; Source ; Image Source 1; Image Source 2

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4. Ireland: Did you know? Part III
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