St. Columban, or Columbanus (about 543–615), was an Irish monk who, at about forty-five, left his monastery of Bangor with twelve companions to become a “pilgrim for Christ” and spent the rest of his life founding monasteries across France, Switzerland and Italy. He was a fearless preacher, a strict monastic legislator and a friend of popes, and he was one of the first writers to speak of “the whole of Europe” as a single Christian people. Robert Schuman, a father of the European Union, called him the patron of all who seek to build a united Europe. His feast day is November 23. Below are his story, his rule and spirituality, and a prayer to St. Columban.
A short prayer to St. Columban, written for this page:
St. Columban, pilgrim for Christ, you left your homeland to bring the Gospel to Europe.
Pray for missionaries, for Ireland and for the peoples of Europe,
that they may rediscover the faith that built their nations. Amen.
Who was St. Columban?
Columban was born in Leinster, Ireland, about 543, and studied the Scriptures before entering the great monastery of Bangor, in what is now County Down, under its abbot St. Comgall. About the year 590 he set out with twelve companions, among them St. Gall, on a peregrinatio pro Christo, a voluntary exile for the love of Christ, after the example of Abraham (Genesis 12:1, Douay-Rheims):
And the Lord said to Abram: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father’s house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.
In Burgundy, in eastern France, the Frankish king gave them land, and Columban founded the monasteries of Annegray, Luxeuil and Fontaine, which soon filled with hundreds of monks. His rule was demanding, with long fasts, constant prayer and frequent private confession, a practice the Irish monks helped spread on the continent. He clashed with the Frankish bishops over Irish customs and with King Theuderic II and his grandmother Queen Brunhilda, whose immoral court he refused to bless. Expelled in 610, he traveled up the Rhine to Lake Constance, where he preached near Bregenz and where St. Gall stayed behind to found a hermitage that became the great Abbey of St. Gall. Columban crossed the Alps into Italy and in 614 founded the Abbey of Bobbio, near Piacenza, a center of learning for centuries. He died there on November 23, 615.
His spirituality
- Pilgrim for Christ. Columban taught that the Christian is a stranger and pilgrim on earth, whose true home is heaven.
- Penance and confession. The Irish penitentials and his monastic rule helped shape the practice of frequent private confession in the Western Church. See how to go to confession.
- Love for the Pope. In his letters to Pope St. Gregory the Great and Pope Boniface IV he wrote with Irish frankness, yet with deep love for the See of Peter, which he called the head of the churches “of the whole of Europe.” See St. Gregory the Great.
What is St. Columban the patron saint of?
St. Columban is honored as a patron of:
- Europe and those who work for its unity
- Missionaries, especially the Missionary Society of St. Columban, founded in Ireland in 1916 for the missions in China and Asia
- Ireland, along with Sts. Patrick, Brigid and Columba
- Bobbio and Luxeuil
Prayers to St. Columban
Written for this page.
For missionaries
St. Columban, you left everything to bring Christ to people who did not know Him.
Pray for missionaries throughout the world:
give them courage, health and joy, and make their work bear lasting fruit. Amen.
For Europe
Lord, through the prayers of St. Columban, St. Benedict and all the patrons of Europe,
renew the faith of the peoples of Europe,
and let them build their future on the Gospel. Amen.
Feast day
The feast of St. Columban is November 23, the day of his death; it is an optional memorial in the universal calendar and a feast in Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
Who was St. Columban?
An Irish monk who left Ireland about 590 and founded monasteries in France, Switzerland and Italy, dying at Bobbio in 615.
Is St. Columban the same as St. Columba?
No. St. Columba (Colmcille, 521–597) founded the monastery of Iona in Scotland. St. Columban (Columbanus) worked on the continent of Europe.
When is St. Columban’s feast day?
November 23.
More saints
- St. Boniface
- St. Patrick prayer
- St. Brigid prayer
- St. Benedict prayer
- St. Gregory the Great
- Blessed Miguel Pro (also November 23)
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Genesis 12:1 (Douay-Rheims).
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), “St. Columbanus,” public domain (Wikisource).