Saint Columbanus
The Irish monk who carried strict monastic life to the European continent
- Rank
- Saint
- Kind
- Missionary, Founder, Religious
- Life
- 543 – 615
- Era
- 7th century
- Feast
- 23 November
- Countries
- Ireland, France, Italy, Switzerland
Life story
Columbanus was born around 543 in Leinster, Ireland. He was schooled in the learned world of the Irish monasteries, became a monk, and spent many years at Bangor. Around 590 he left his island with a small band of companions and crossed to Gaul, then part of the Frankish kingdom, where King Guntram of Burgundy allowed him to settle.
He founded his first house at Annegray in the Vosges, followed by Luxeuil and Fontaine. Luxeuil soon became a centre of training that drew the sons of Frankish nobles. He wrote a demanding monastic rule stressing obedience, silence and self-denial. That austerity, together with his loyalty to the Irish method of dating Easter, brought him into conflict with some Frankish bishops. Around 610 he also fell out with King Theuderic II and the queen-grandmother Brunhilda and was expelled from the realm. According to the accounts, he was put aboard a ship for Ireland, but a storm drove it back to shore, and he went on through the region of Lake Constance. His disciple Gall stayed behind in the Alps when his master moved on.
Columbanus finally reached Italy, where the Lombard king Agilulf granted him land. In 614 he founded Bobbio in the north of the country, later renowned for its library. He died there on 21 November 615. Besides his rule, he left letters, sermons and verse in Latin. The monasteries that followed his tradition helped spread monastic life and the copying of books across western Europe. The Martyrologium Romanum commemorates him on 23 November.
Works and witness
- Left Ireland around 590 with companions to work in Gaul
- Founded the monasteries of Annegray, Luxeuil and Fontaine in the Vosges
- Wrote a monastic rule plus letters, sermons and Latin verse
- Expelled from the Frankish kingdom around 610
- Founded Bobbio in Italy in 614 and died there in 615
Saints from the same country
References
- Martyrologium Romanum
- Jonas of Bobbio, Vita Columbani
- Columbanus, Epistulae and Regula monachorum
Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.