Columban, Saint (kəlŭm`bən), c.540–615, Irish missionary to the continent of Europe, also called Columbanus. He was trained in the abbey at Bangor. He and 12 companions, including St. Gall, sailed to France (c.585), where they set out to eradicate the general impiety that had grown up under the successors of Clovis. He went into seclusion in the Vosges, and c.590 he founded the abbey at Luxeuil Luxeuil (lüksö`yə), former abbey, E France, at the present-day town of Luxeuil-les-Bains. It was founded c.590 by St.
..... Click the link for more information. . His Celtic practices and austerities eventually alienated both ecclesiastical and civil powers. Involved in the hostility between Queen Brunhilda and the Frankish bishops, he was generally feared by them all and was exiled. He went (610) to Switzerland and to Bregenz, seeking to reestablish Christianity there. Hostile reaction caused him to go (612) to Milan. At Bobbio Bobbio (bôb`byō), town, in Emilia-Romagna, N central Italy. It is a commercial center and a summer resort. St.
..... Click the link for more information. he set up an abbey. There he died and lies buried. St. Columban was a considerable scholar, and all his foundations became known for their learning. He composed a rule for monks, which was later completely replaced by the longer and less austere rule of St. Benedict. Feast: Nov. 21 and, in Ireland, Nov. 23.

Bibliography

See B. Lehane, The Quest of Three Abbots (1968); C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism (1984).

Columban, Saint

(born c. 543, Leinster, Ireland—died Nov. 23, 615, Bobbio, Italy; feast day November 23) Irish abbot and missionary. One of the greatest missionaries of the Celtic church, he initiated a revival of spirituality on the European continent. He left Ireland c. 590 with 12 monks, and the Merovingian king Guntram granted him land in the Vosges Mountains in Gaul, where he established several monasteries, including the great intellectual and religious house at Luxeuil. He was disciplined for keeping Easter according to the Celtic usage, and he ran afoul with the Frankish clergy for his indictment of their moral laxity. He was forced into exile for his criticism of the sins of the powerful queen Brunhild and her court and then moved into what is now Switzerland, where he preached to the Alemanni. He later settled in Italy and founded the monastery of Bobbio (c. 612), a centre of medieval culture known for its great library.