Columbanus of Luxeuil
An Irish monk in voluntary exile, he sowed monasteries from Gaul to Italy and stood up to kings.
- Early Middle Ages
- Ireland
- Feast day November 23
- c. 540 – 615
- Monk
- Missionary
- Founder
Born in Ireland around 540 and formed at the monastery of Bangor, he left his island around 590 with twelve companions for what the Irish called pilgrimage for Christ: an exile without return, chosen as asceticism. In Gaul he founded the monasteries of Annegray, Luxeuil and Fontaine, where his rule, harsher than Benedict's, drew hundreds of monks. His freedom of speech cost him: he reproached Brunhilda and her grandson Theuderic II for their conduct, refused to bless their illegitimate children, and was expelled from the kingdom. He crossed Neustria, went up the Rhine, preached among the Alemanni around Lake Constance — his disciple Gall stayed there and gave his name to Sankt Gallen — then crossed the Alps and founded Bobbio in Emilia, where he died in 615. His foundations, his rule and his practice of repeated confession left a lasting mark on continental monasticism. He is commemorated on 23 November.
Recognising
Shown in monastic habit with a bear at his feet, an allusion to the accounts in which he tames the beasts of the Vosges forests.