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St. Columban, Abbot (c.530-615)
In Ireland, following the evangelization of Saint Patrick, there was much enthusiasm for
the monastic life. Monasteries proliferated, and the overflow of monks and saints poured
through the British Isles and across the Channel to the Continent. Irish monks offered a
haven of learning and culture wherever they settled in Europe. Columban, one of the
greatest of Irish missionaries, began his monastic life in Bangor, but soon embarked for
France with 12 companions. His first foundation in Burgundy attracted so many young men
that he was forced to open several more monasteries in the area. Because his severe Celtic
spirituality aroused considerable opposition among bishops, he next made his way through
Austria and Switzer4land, founding new monasteries as he went, and came to a halt in
Milan, where he became involved in bitter controversy against the Arian heresy. He died in
Italy in 615. Columban made a significant contribution to the popularization of monastic
life in Europe and wrote an influential monastic rule, later overshadowed by that of
Benedict in the West.
Statues Key
In 1913, Thomas Bush painted the two murals above each
outer side altar in the transept. In the north part of the transept is the mural of Christ
Healing the Afflicted... to be continued |
