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{{Short description|Irish missionary (543–615)}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with [[Columba]], the Irish missionary to Scotland.}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox saint
| honorific_prefix= [[Saint]]
| name            = Columbanus
| image           = San Colombano.jpg
| imagesize       =
| alt             = Picture of Saint Columbanus
| caption         = Saint Columbanus, stained glass window, [[Bobbio Abbey]] crypt
| titles          =
| birth_date      = 543
| birth_place     = [[Leinster]], [[Kingdom of Meath]]
| death_date      = {{death date and age |615|11|23 |543 |df=y}}
| death_place     = [[Bobbio|Bobium]], [[Kingdom of the Lombards]]
| venerated_in    = [[Eastern Orthodox Church]]<br />Roman [[Catholic Church]]
| beatified_date  =
| beatified_place =
| beatified_by    =
| canonized_date  =
| canonized_place =
| canonized_by    =
| major_shrine    =
| feast_day       = 23 November
| attributes      =
| patronage       = 
}}

'''Saint Columbanus''' ({{langx|ga|Columbán}}; 543 – 23 November 615)<ref name="edmonds">{{cite encyclopedia|last=Edmonds |first=Columba |title=St. Columbanus |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |volume=4 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |location=New York |year=1908 |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04137a.htm |access-date=15 January 2013}}</ref> was an [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Irish missionary]] notable for founding a number of [[monastery|monasteries]] after 590 in the [[Franks|Frankish]] and [[Lombards|Lombard]] kingdoms, most notably [[Luxeuil Abbey]] in present-day France and [[Bobbio Abbey]] in present-day Italy.

Columbanus taught an Irish monastic rule and penitential practices for those repenting of sins, which emphasised private confession to a priest, followed by penances imposed by the priest in reparation for the sins. Columbanus is one of the earliest identifiable [[Hiberno-Latin]] writers.<ref name="edmonds"/>

==Sources==
Most of what we know about Columbanus is based on Columbanus' own works (as far as they have been preserved)<ref name="walker">{{cite book|editor-last=Walker |editor-first=G. S. Murdoch |title=Columbani Opera |publisher=The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies |location=Dublin |year=1957 |isbn=978-1-85500-050-6}}</ref><ref name="lapidge">{{cite book|last=Lapidge |first=Michael |title=Columbanus: Studies on the Latin Writings |year=1997 |publisher=Boydell Press |location=Woodbridge |isbn=978-0-85115-667-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=odZIo0Q6z90C}}</ref> and [[Jonas of Bobbio|Jonas of Susa]]'s ''Vita Columbani'' (''Life of Columbanus''), which was written between 639 and 641.{{#tag:ref|Walker's edition is also available on [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/ CELT] (University College Cork), a website that provides Irish medieval sources with English translations. A critical edition of Jonas's ''Vita Columbani'' was published in 1905 by Bruno Krusch in ''[http://www.dmgh.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb00000740_meta:titlePage.html?sortIndex=010:070:0037:010:00:00 Monumenta Germaniae Historica]''[http://www.dmgh.de/de/fs1/object/display/bsb00000740_meta:titlePage.html?sortIndex=010:070:0037:010:00:00 , ''Scriptores Rerum Germaincarum'' ''in usum schoarum'', vol. 37, Hannover: Hahn 1905]. See also [http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columban.asp Internet Medieval Sourcebook].|group=Note}}

Jonas entered Bobbio after Columbanus' death but relied on reports of monks who still knew Columbanus.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Munro |first=Dana C. |title=The Life of St. Columban, by the Monk Jonas, (7th Century) |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/columban.asp |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Internet History Sourcebooks}}</ref> A description of miracles of Columbanus written by an anonymous monk of Bobbio is of much later date.<ref name="ohara">O'Hara, Alexander, and Faye Taylor. "Aristocratic and Monastic Conflict in Tenth-Century Italy: the Case of Bobbio and the ''Miracula Sancti Columbani''" in ''Viator. Medieval and Renaissance Studies''. 44:3 (2013), pp. 43–61.</ref> In the second volume of his ''Acta Sanctorum O.S.B.'', Mabillon gives the life in full, together with an appendix on the miracles of Columbanus, written by an anonymous member of the Bobbio community.<ref name="edmonds"/>

==Biography and early life==

Columbanus (the Latinised form of ''Colmán'', meaning ''little dove'') was born in [[Leinster]], Ireland in 543.<ref name=":0" /> After his conception, his mother was said to have had a vision of her child's "remarkable genius".<ref name=":0" />

He was first educated under Abbot Sinell of [[Civil parish of Arney|Cluaninis]], whose monastery was on an island of the [[Lough Erne|River Erne]], in modern [[County Fermanagh]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Saint Columbanus |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Saint_Columbanus/ |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref> Under Sinell's instruction, Columbanus composed a commentary on the [[Psalms]].

Columbanus then moved to [[Bangor Abbey]] where he studied to become a teacher of the Bible.<ref name=":0" /> He was well-educated in the areas of grammar, rhetoric, geometry, and the Holy Scriptures.<ref name=":0" /> Abbot [[Comgall]] taught him Greek and Latin.<ref name=":1" /> He stayed at Bangor until c. 590,<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Saint Columban {{!}} Christian missionary |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Columban |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> when Comgall reluctantly gave him permission to travel to the continent.<ref name="wallace">Wallace 1995, p. 43.</ref><ref name=":0" />

===Frankish Gaul (c. 590 – 610)===
{{Location map+ | France |relief=1
| places =
  {{Location map~ | France
    | label = Saint-Malo
    | lat_deg = 48.6481
    | lon_deg = -2.0075 }}
  {{Location map~ | France
    | label = Luxeuil
    | lat_deg = 47.4859
    | lon_deg = 6.2253 }}
  {{Location map~ | France
    | label = Soissons
    | lat_deg = 49.3817
    | lon_deg = 3.3236 }}
  {{Location map~ | France
    | label = Nantes
    | lat_deg = 47.2181
    | lon_deg = -1.5528 }}
| caption = Columbanus in Frankish Gaul
}}
Columbanus set sail with twelve companions: [[Saint Attala|Attala]], Columbanus the Younger, [[Saint Gall|Gallus]],<ref name=":2" /> [[Deicolus|Domgal]],<ref name=":1" /> Cummain, Eogain, Eunan, Gurgano,<ref name=":0" /> Libran, Lua, Sigisbert and Waldoleno.<ref name="edmonds"/> They crossed the [[English Channel|channel]] via [[Cornwall]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbanus |url=http://www.monasticireland.com/storiesofsaints/columbanus.htm |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Monastic Ireland}}</ref> and landed in [[Saint-Malo]], Brittany.<ref name=":1" />

Columbanus then entered Burgundian France. Jonas writes that:<blockquote>At that time, either because of the numerous enemies from without, or on account of the carelessness of the bishops, the Christian faith had almost departed from that country. The creed alone remained. But the saving grace of penance and the longing to root out the lusts of the flesh were to be found only in a few. Everywhere that he went the noble man [Columbanus] preached the Gospel. And it pleased the people because his teaching was adorned by eloquence and enforced by examples of virtue.<ref name=":0" /></blockquote>Columbanus and his companions were welcomed by [[Guntram|King Guntram of Burgundy]],<ref name=":1" /> who granted them land at [[La Voivre, Haute-Saône|Anegray]], where they converted a ruined Roman fortress into a school.<ref name=":0" /> Despite its remote location in the [[Vosges Mountains]], the school rapidly attracted so many students that they moved to a new site at [[Luxeuil Abbey|Luxeuil]] and then established a second school at [[Fontaine-lès-Luxeuil|Fontaines]].<ref name=":0" /> These schools remained under Columbanus' authority, and their rules of life reflected the [[Celtic Christianity|Celtic]] tradition in which he had been educated.

As these communities expanded and drew more pilgrims, Columbanus sought greater solitude. Often he would withdraw to a cave seven miles away, with a single companion who acted as messenger between himself and his companions.<ref name=":0" />

==== Conflict with Frankish Bishops ====
Tensions arose in 603 CE when St. Columbanus and his followers argued with Frankish bishops over the exact date of Easter. (St. Columbanus celebrated Easter according to Celtic rites and the Celtic Christian calendar.)<ref name=":1" />

The Frankish bishops may have feared his growing influence. During the first half of the sixth century, the councils of Gaul had given to bishops absolute authority over religious communities. Celtic Christians, Columbanus and his monks used the Irish Easter calculation, a version of [[Bishop Augustalis]]'s 84-year {{lang|la|[[computus]]}} for determining the date of Easter ([[quartodecimanism]]), whereas the [[Franks]] had adopted the [[Victorius of Aquitaine|Victorian]] cycle of 532 years. The bishops objected to the newcomers' continued observance of their own dating, which – among other issues – caused the end of [[Lent]] to differ. They also complained about the distinct [[Celtic Christianity#Monastic tonsure|Irish tonsure]].

In 602,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saint Columbanus – Irish Biography |url=https://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintColumbanus.php#ftn119 |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Library Ireland}}</ref> the bishops assembled to judge Columbanus, but he did not appear before them as requested. Instead, he sent a letter to the prelates – a strange mixture of freedom, reverence, and charity – admonishing them to hold synods more frequently, and advising them to pay more attention to matters of equal importance to that of the date of Easter. In defence of his following his traditional paschal cycle, he wrote:

{{blockquote|I am not the author of this divergence. I came as a poor stranger into these parts for the cause of Christ, Our Saviour. One thing alone I ask of you, holy Fathers, permit me to live in silence in these forests, near the bones of seventeen of my brethren now dead.<ref name="smith"/>}}

When the bishops refused to abandon the matter, Columbanus appealed directly to [[Pope Gregory I]]. In the third and only surviving letter, he asks "the holy Pope, his Father" to provide "the strong support of his authority" and to render a "verdict of his favour", apologising for "presuming to argue as it were, with him who sits in the chair of Peter, Apostle and Bearer of the Keys". None of the letters were answered, most likely due to the pope's death in 604.<ref name="edmonds"/>

Columbanus then sent a letter to Gregory's successor, [[Pope Boniface IV]], asking him to confirm the tradition of his elders – if it was not contrary to the Faith – so that he and his monks could follow the rites of their ancestors. Before Boniface responded, Columbanus moved outside the jurisdiction of the Frankish bishops. As the Easter issue appears to end around that time, Columbanus may have stopped celebrating the Irish date of Easter after moving to Italy.<ref name="edmonds"/>

==== Conflict with Brunhilda of Austrasia ====
Columbanus was also involved in a dispute with members of the Burgundian dynasty. Upon the death of King Guntram of Burgundy, the succession passed to his nephew, [[Childebert II]], the son of his brother [[Sigebert I|Sigebert]] and Sigebert's wife [[Brunhilda of Austrasia]]. When Childebert II died, his territories were divided between his two sons: [[Theuderic II]] inherited the Kingdom of [[Burgundy]] and [[Theudebert II]] inherited the Kingdom of [[Austrasia]]. Both were minors and Brunhilda, their grandmother, ruled as their regents.<ref name=":0" />

Theuderic II "very often visited" Columbanus, but when Columbanus rebuked him for having a concubine,<ref name=":0" /> Brunhilda became his bitterest foe because she feared the loss of her influence if Theuderic II married.<ref name="cusack">Cusack 2002, p. 173.</ref> Brunhilda incited the court and Catholic bishops against Columbanus and Theuderic II confronted Columbanus at Luxeuil, accusing him of violating the "common customs" and "not allowing all Christians" in the monastery. Columbanus asserted his independence to run the monastery without interference and was imprisoned at [[Free Imperial City of Besançon|Besançon]] for [[Capital punishment|execution]].<ref name=":0" />

Columbanus escaped and returned to Luxeuil. When the king and his grandmother found out, they sent soldiers to drive him back to Ireland by force,<ref name=":0" /> separating him from his monks by insisting that only those from Ireland could accompany him into exile.<ref name="edmonds" />

Columbanus was taken to [[Nevers]], then travelled by boat down the [[Loire]] river to the coast. At [[Tours]] he visited the tomb of [[Martin of Tours]], and sent a message to Theuderic II indicating that within three years he and his children would perish.<ref name=":0" /> When he arrived at [[Nantes]], he wrote a letter before embarkation to his fellow monks at Luxeuil monastery. The letter urged his brethren to obey [[Saint Attala|Attala]], who stayed behind as abbot of the monastic community.<ref name="edmonds" />

The letter concludes:

{{blockquote|They come to tell me the ship is ready. The end of my parchment compels me to finish my letter. Love is not orderly; it is this which has made it confused. Farewell, dear hearts of mine; pray for me that I may live in God.<ref name="edmonds"/>}}

Soon after the ship set sail from Nantes, a severe storm drove the vessel back ashore. Convinced that his holy passenger caused the tempest, the captain refused further attempts to transport the monk.<ref name="edmonds" /> Columbanus found sanctuary with [[Chlothar II]] of [[Neustria]] at [[Soissons]], who gave him an escort to the court of King [[Theudebert II]] of [[Austrasia]].<ref name=":0" />

===The Alps (611–612)===
Columbanus arrived at Theudebert II's court in [[Metz]] in 611, where members of the Luxeuil school met him and Theudebert II granted them land at [[Bregenz]].<ref name=":0" /> They travelled up the [[Rhine]] via [[Mainz]] to the lands of the [[Suebi]] and [[Alemanni]] in the northern Alps, intending to preach the Gospel to these people. He followed the Rhine river and its tributaries, the [[Aar]] and the [[Limmat]], and then on to [[Lake Zurich]]. Columbanus chose the village of [[Tuggen]] as his initial community, but the work was not successful.<ref name="edmonds"/> He continued north-east by way of Arbon to [[Bregenz]] on [[Lake Constance]]. Here he found an [[Oratory (worship)|oratory]] dedicated to [[Aurelia of Strasbourg]] containing three brass images of their tutelary deities. Columbanus commanded [[Saint Gall|Gallus]], who knew the local language, to preach to the inhabitants, and many were converted. The three brass images were destroyed, and Columbanus blessed the little church, placing the relics of Aurelia beneath the altar. A monastery was erected, [[Wettingen-Mehrerau Abbey|Mehrerau Abbey]], and the brethren observed their regular life. Columbanus stayed in Bregenz for about one year.<ref name="edmonds"/>

In the spring of 612, war broke out between Austrasia and Burgundy and Theudebert II was resoundingly beaten by Theuderic II. Austrasia was subsumed under the kingdom of Burgundy and Columbanus was again vulnerable to Theuderic II's opprobrium.<ref name=":1" /> When Columbanus' students began to be murdered in the woods, Columbanus decided to cross the Alps into Lombardy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Columbanus |website=Monastic Ireland |url=http://www.monasticireland.com/storiesofsaints/columbanus.htm |access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref>

Gallus remained in this area until his death in 646. About seventy years later at the place of Gallus' cell the [[Abbey of St Gall|Abbey of Saint Gall]] was founded. The city of [[St. Gallen]] originated as an adjoining settlement of the abbey.

===Lombardy (612–615)===
{{Location map+ | Alps
| relief = Y
| default_width = 300
| places =
  {{Location map~ | Alps
    | label = Tuggen
    | lat_deg = 47.2011
    | lon_deg = 8.94103 }}
  {{Location map~ | Alps
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  {{Location map~ | Alps
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    | lon_deg = 9.18951 }}
  {{Location map~ | Alps
    | label = Bobbio
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| caption = Columbanus in the Alps and Italy
}}
Columbanus arrived in [[Milan]] in 612 and was welcomed by King [[Agilulf]] and Queen [[Theodelinda]] of the [[Lombards]]. He immediately began refuting the teachings of [[Arianism]], which had enjoyed a degree of acceptance in Italy. He wrote a treatise against Arianism,<ref name=":0" /> which has since been lost. In 614, Agilulf granted Columbanus land for a school at the site of a ruined church at [[Bobbio Abbey|Bobbio]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

At the king's request, Columbanus wrote a letter to [[Pope Boniface IV]] on the controversy over the ''[[Three-Chapter Controversy|Three Chapters]]'' – writings by Syrian bishops suspected of [[Nestorianism]], which had been condemned in the fifth century as [[heresy]].<ref>[https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T201054/text005.html Letter 5] (English translation)</ref>{{full citation needed|date=October 2023}} [[Pope Gregory I]] had tolerated in Lombardy those persons who defended the ''Three Letters'', among them King Agilulf. Columbanus agreed to take up the issue on behalf of the king. The letter has a diplomatic tone and begins with an apology that a "foolish Scot" ({{lang|la|Scottus}}, Irishman) would be writing for a Lombard king. After acquainting the pope with the imputations brought against him, he entreats the pontiff to prove his orthodoxy and assemble a council. When critiquing Boniface, he writes that his freedom of speech is consistent with the custom of his country.<ref name="edmonds"/> Some of the language used in the letter might now be regarded as disrespectful, but in that time, faith and austerity could be more indulgent.<ref name="montalembert-440">Montalembert 1861, p. 440.</ref> Columbanus was tactful when making critiques, as he begins the letter he expresses with the most affectionate and impassioned devotion to the Holy See.

{{blockquote|We Irish, though dwelling at the far ends of the earth, are all disciples of Saint Peter and Saint Paul&nbsp;... we are bound to the Chair of Peter, and although Rome is great and renowned, through that Chair alone is she looked on as great and illustrious among us&nbsp;... On account of the two Apostles of Christ, you are almost celestial, and Rome is the head of the whole world, and of the Churches.}}

Later, he reveals charges against the Papacy so as to encourage Boniface to make concessions:

{{blockquote|For, as I hear, you are alleged to favour heretics—God forbid men should believe that this has been, is, or shall be true. For they say that Eutyches, Nestorius, and Dioscorus, old heretics as we know, were favoured at some Council, at the fifth, by Vigilius. Here, as they say, is the cause of the whole calumny; if, as is reported, you also favour thus, or if you know that even (Pope) Vigilius himself died under such a taint, why do you repeat his name against your conscience? Already it is your fault if you have erred from the true belief and made your first faith void; justly do your subordinates oppose you, and justly do they hold no communion with you.<ref>Letter 5, Chapter 9</ref>}}

Columbanus' deference towards Rome is sufficiently clear, calling the pope "his Lord and Father in Christ", the "Chosen Watchman", and the "First Pastor, set higher than all mortals",<ref name="allnatt">Allnatt 2007, p. 105.</ref> also asserting that "we Irish, inhabitants of the world’s edge, are disciples of Saints Peter and Paul and of all the disciples"<ref>Letter 5, Chapter 2</ref> and that "the unity of faith has produced in the whole world a unity of power and privilege."<ref>Ibid., Chap. 11</ref>

[[File:Bobbio-abbazia di san colombano-esterno6.jpg|thumb|left|Facade of the Abbey in Bobbio]]
King Agilulf gave Columbanus a tract of land called [[Bobbio]] between Milan and Genoa near the [[Trebbia]] river, situated in a [[defile (geography)|defile]] of the [[Apennine Mountains]], to be used as a base for the conversion of the Lombard people. The area contained a ruined church and wastelands known as ''Ebovium'', which had formed part of the lands of the papacy prior to the Lombard invasion. Columbanus wanted this secluded place, for while enthusiastic in the instruction of the Lombards he preferred solitude for his monks and himself. Next to the little church, which was dedicated to [[Saint Peter|Peter the Apostle]], Columbanus erected a monastery in 614. [[Bobbio Abbey]] at its foundation followed the Rule of Saint Columbanus, based on the monastic practices of [[Celtic Christianity]]. For centuries it remained the stronghold of orthodoxy in northern Italy.<ref name="edmonds"/>{{refn|Bobbio Abbey may have been the model for the monastery in northern Italy in [[Umberto Eco]]'s novel ''[[The Name of the Rose]]''.|group=Note}}

===Death===
[[File:Bobbio bridge.jpg|thumb|Stone bridge over the Trebbia river leading to [[Bobbio Abbey]] in northern Italy]]
During the last year of his life, Columbanus received messages from King [[Chlothar II]], inviting him to return to Burgundy, now that his enemies were dead. Columbanus did not return, but requested that the king should always protect his monks at [[Luxeuil Abbey]].<ref name=":0" /> He prepared for death by retiring to his cave on the mountainside overlooking the Trebbia river, where, according to a tradition, he had dedicated an oratory to Our Lady.<ref name="montalembert-444">Montalembert 1861, p. 444.</ref> Columbanus died at Bobbio on 21 November 615 and is buried there.<ref name=":0" />

==Rule of Saint Columbanus==
The Rule of Saint Columbanus embodied the customs of [[Bangor Abbey]] and other Irish monasteries. Much shorter than the [[Rule of Saint Benedict]], the Rule of Saint Columbanus consists of ten chapters, on the subjects of obedience, silence, food, poverty, humility, chastity, choir offices, discretion, mortification, and perfection.<ref name="ucc">{{cite web|author=Columbanus Hibernus |editor-last=Walker |editor-first=G. S. M. |title=Monk's Rules |work=Corpus of Electronic Texts |publisher=University College Cork |url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/online/T201052.html |access-date=19 January 2013}}</ref>

In the first chapter, Columbanus introduces the great principle of his Rule: obedience, absolute and unreserved. The words of seniors should always be obeyed, just as "Christ obeyed the Father up to death for us".<ref name="ucc"/> One manifestation of this obedience was constant hard labour designed to subdue the flesh, exercise the will in daily self-denial, and set an example of industry in cultivation of the soil. The least deviation from the Rule entailed corporal punishment, or a severe form of fasting.<ref name="smith">Smith 2012, p. 201.</ref> In the second chapter, Columbanus instructs that the rule of silence be "carefully observed", since it is written: "But the nurture of righteousness is silence and peace". He also warns, "Justly will they be damned who would not say just things when they could, but preferred to say with garrulous loquacity what is evil".<ref name="ucc"/> In the third chapter, Columbanus instructs, "Let the monks' food be poor and taken in the evening, such as to avoid repletion, and their drink such as to avoid intoxication, so that it may both maintain life and not harm".<ref name="ucc"/> Columbanus continues:

{{blockquote|For indeed those who desire eternal rewards must only consider usefulness and use. Use of life must be moderated just as toil must be moderated, since this is true discretion, that the possibility of spiritual progress may be kept with a temperance that punishes the flesh. For if temperance exceeds measure, it will be a vice and not a virtue; for virtue maintains and retains many goods. Therefore we must fast daily, just as we must feed daily; and while we must eat daily, we must gratify the body more poorly and sparingly&nbsp;...<ref name="ucc"/>}}

[[File:Columbanus at Bobbio.jpg|thumb|upright|Fresco of Saint Columbanus in [[Brugnato Cathedral]]]]
In the fourth chapter, Columbanus presents the virtue of poverty and of overcoming greed, and that monks should be satisfied with "small possessions of utter need, knowing that greed is a leprosy for monks". Columbanus also instructs that "nakedness and disdain of riches are the first perfection of monks, but the second is the purging of vices, the third the most perfect and perpetual love of God and unceasing affection for things divine, which follows on the forgetfulness of earthly things. Since this is so, we have need of few things, according to the word of the Lord, or even of one."<ref name="ucc"/> In the fifth chapter, Columbanus warns against vanity, reminding the monks of Jesus' warning in Luke 16:15: "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God's sight."<ref name="ucc"/> In the sixth chapter, Columbanus instructs that "a monk's chastity is indeed judged in his thoughts" and warns, "What profit is it if he be virgin in body, if he be not virgin in mind? For God, being Spirit."<ref name="ucc"/>

In the seventh chapter, Columbanus instituted a service of perpetual prayer, known as {{lang|la|[[laus perennis]]}}, by which choir succeeded choir, both day and night.<ref name="montalembert-405">Montalembert 1898, II p. 405.</ref> In the eighth chapter, Columbanus stresses the importance of discretion in the lives of monks to avoid "the downfall of some, who beginning without discretion and passing their time without a sobering knowledge, have been unable to complete a praiseworthy life". Monks are instructed to pray to God to "illumine this way, surrounded on every side by the world's thickest darkness".<ref name="ucc"/> Columbanus continues:

{{blockquote|So discretion has got its name from discerning, for the reason that it discerns in us between good and evil, and also between the moderate and the complete. For from the beginning either class has been divided like light and darkness, that is, good and evil, after evil began through the devil's agency to exist by the corruption of good, but through God's agency Who first illumines and then divides. Thus righteous Abel chose the good, but unrighteous Cain fell upon evil.<ref name="ucc"/>}}

In the ninth chapter, Columbanus presents mortification as an essential element in the lives of monks, who are instructed, "Do nothing without counsel." Monks are warned to "beware of a proud independence, and learn true lowliness as they obey without murmuring and hesitation".<ref name="ucc"/> According to the Rule, there are three components to mortification: "not to disagree in mind, not to speak as one pleases with the tongue, not to go anywhere with complete freedom". This mirrors the words of Jesus, "For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38) In the tenth and final chapter, Columbanus regulates forms of [[penance]] (often corporal) for offences, and it is here that the Rule of Saint Columbanus differs significantly from that of Saint Benedict.<ref name="edmonds"/>

The Communal Rule of Columbanus required monks to fast every day until ''[[Nones (liturgy)|None]]'' or 3 p.m.; this was later relaxed and observed on designated days.<ref name="Frantzen 2014">Frantzen, Allen J. (2014). ''Food, Eating and Identity in Early Medieval England''. The Boydell Press. p. 184. {{ISBN|978-1-84383-908-8}}</ref> Columbanus' Rule regarding diet was very strict. Monks were to eat a limited diet of beans, vegetables, flour mixed with water and a small bread of a loaf, taken in the evenings.<ref name="Frantzen 2014"/><ref>O'Hara, Alexander (2018). ''Jonas of Bobbio and the Legacy of Columbanus''. Oxford University Press. p. 59. {{ISBN|978-0-19-085800-1}}</ref>

The habit of the monks consisted of a tunic of undyed wool, over which was worn the [[cuculla]], or cowl, of the same material. A great deal of time was devoted to various kinds of [[manual labour]], not unlike the life in monasteries of other rules. The Rule of Saint Columbanus was approved of by the [[Fourth Council of Mâcon]] in 627, but it was superseded at the close of the century by the Rule of Saint Benedict. For several centuries in some of the greater monasteries the two rules were observed conjointly.<ref name="edmonds"/>

==Character==
Columbanus did not lead a perfect life. According to Jonas and other sources, he could be impetuous and even headstrong, for by nature he was eager, passionate, and dauntless. These qualities were both the source of his power and the cause of his mistakes.<ref name="edmonds"/> His virtues, however, were quite remarkable. Like many saints, he had a great love for God's creatures. Stories claim that as he walked in the woods, it was not uncommon for birds to land on his shoulders to be caressed, or for [[squirrel]]s to run down from the trees and nestle in the folds of his cowl.<ref name="edmonds"/> Although a strong defender of Irish traditions, he never wavered in showing deep respect for the Holy See as the supreme authority. His influence in Europe was due to the conversions he effected and to the rule that he composed. It may be that the example and success of [[Columba]] in Caledonia inspired him to similar exertions.<ref name="edmonds"/> The life of Columbanus stands as the prototype of missionary activity in Europe, followed by such men as [[Saint Kilian|Kilian]], [[Vergilius of Salzburg]], [[Donatus of Fiesole]], [[Wilfrid]], [[Willibrord]], [[Suitbert of Kaiserwerdt]], [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]], and [[Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne]].<ref name="edmonds"/>

==Miracles==
The following are the principal miracles attributed to his intercession:<ref name="edmonds"/>
# Procuring food for a sick monk and curing the wife of his benefactor
# Escaping injury while surrounded by wolves
# Causing a bear to evacuate a cave at his bidding
# Producing a spring of water near his cave
# Replenishing the Luxeuil granary
# Multiplying bread and beer for his community
# Curing sick monks, who rose from their beds at his request to reap the harvest
# Giving sight to a blind man at Orleans
# Destroying with his breath a cauldron of beer prepared for a pagan festival
# Taming a bear and yoking it to a plough

Jonas relates the occurrence of a miracle during Columbanus' time in Bregenz, when that region was experiencing a period of severe famine.
{{blockquote|Although they were without food, they were bold and unterrified in their faith, so that they obtained food from the Lord. After their bodies had been exhausted by three days of fasting, they found so great an abundance of birds, just as the quails formerly covered the camp of the children of Israel, that the whole country near there was filled with birds. The man of God knew that this food had been scattered on the ground for his own safety and that of his brethren, and that the birds had come only because he was there. He ordered his followers first to render grateful praises to the Creator, and then to take the birds as food. And it was a wonderful and stupendous miracle; for the birds were seized according to the father's commands and did not attempt to fly away. The manna of birds remained for three days. On the fourth day, a priest from an adjacent city, warned by divine inspiration, sent a supply of grain to Saint Columban. When the supply of grain arrived, the Omnipotent, who had furnished the winged food to those in want, immediately commanded the phalanxes of birds to depart. We learned this from Eustasius, who was present with the others, under the command of the servant of God. He said that no one of them remembered ever having seen birds of such a kind before; and the food was of so pleasant savor that it surpassed royal viands. Oh, wonderful gift of divine mercy!<ref name=jonas-54>Jonas 643, p. 54.</ref>}}

==Legacy==
[[File:Annegray.JPG|thumb|Monastery ruins at Annegray]]
Historian Alexander O'Hara states that Columbanus had a "very strong sense of Irish identity&nbsp;... He's the first person to write about Irish identity, he's the first Irish person that we have a body of literary work from, so even on that point of view he’s very important in terms of Irish identity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.irishcatholic.com/europes-forgotten-founding-fathers/|title=Europe's forgotten founding fathers|first=Greg|last=Daly|date=15 November 2018}}</ref> In 1950 a congress celebrating the 1,400th anniversary of his birth took place in [[Luxeuil]], France. It was attended by [[Robert Schuman]], [[Seán MacBride]], the future [[Pope John XXIII]], and [[John A. Costello]] who said "All statesmen of today might well turn their thoughts to St Columban and his teaching. History records that it was by men like him that civilisation was saved in the 6th century."<ref name="irishtimes.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/columban-the-patron-saint-of-a-united-europe-1.961368|title=Columban, the patron saint of a united Europe|first=Sean|last=McDonagh|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-first-poem-about-ireland-by-monk-who-inspired-heaney-and-eu-s-architect-1.3013550|title=The first poem about Ireland by monk who inspired Heaney and EU's architect|newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref>

Columbanus is also remembered as the first Irish person to be the subject of a biography. An Italian monk named [[Jonas of Bobbio]] wrote a biography of him some twenty years after Columbanus' death.<ref name="irishtimes.com"/><ref name="ReferenceA"/> His use of the phrase in 600 AD {{lang|la|totius Europae}} (all of Europe) in a letter to [[Pope Gregory the Great]] is the first known use of the expression.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.historyireland.com/20th-century-contemporary-history/sidelines-20/|title=Sidelines|date=19 March 2013}}</ref>

At [[Saint-Malo]] in Brittany, there is a granite cross bearing Columbanus's name to which people once came to pray for rain in times of drought. The nearby village of [[Saint-Coulomb]] commemorates him in name.<ref name="mi">{{cite web |title=Columbanus Today: Places of His Ministry |url=http://www.monasticireland.com/storiesofsaints/columbanustoday.htm |access-date=15 January 2013 |work=Monastic Ireland}}</ref>

In France, the ruins of Columbanus' first monastery at [[Annegray]] are legally protected through the efforts of the Association Internationale des Amis de St Columban, which purchased the site in 1959. The association also owns and protects the site containing the cave, which served as Columbanus' cell, and the holy well that he created nearby.<ref name="mi" /> At [[Luxeuil-les-Bains]], the Basilica of Saint Peter stands on the site of Columbanus' first church. A statue near the entrance, unveiled in 1947, shows him denouncing the immoral life of King [[Theuderic II]]. Formally an abbey church, the basilica contains old monastic buildings, which have been used as a minor seminary since the nineteenth century. It is dedicated to Columbanus and houses a bronze statue of him in its courtyard.<ref name="mi" />

[[Luxeuil Abbey]], described in the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' as "the nursery of saints and apostles", produced sixty-three apostles who carried his rule, together with the Gospel, into France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.<ref name="stokes-254">Stokes, p. 254.</ref> These disciples of Columbanus are credited with founding more than a hundred different monasteries.<ref name="stokes-74">Stokes, p. 74.</ref> The canton and town still bearing the name of [[St. Gallen]] testify to how well one of his disciples succeeded.

[[Bobbio Abbey]] became a renowned center of learning in the Early Middle Ages, so famous that it rivaled the monastic community at Monte Cassino in wealth and prestige. St. Attala continued St. Columbanus' work at Bobbio, proselytizing and collecting religious texts for the abbey's library.<ref name=":1" /> In Lombardy, [[San Colombano al Lambro]] in Milan, [[San Colombano Belmonte]] in Turin, and [[San Colombano Certénoli]] in Genoa all take their names from the saint.<ref name="webb">{{cite book|last=Webb |first=Alfred |title=A Compendium of Irish Biography |publisher=BiblioLife |location=Charleston |year=2009 |url=http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SaintColumbanus.php |isbn=978-1116472684}}</ref>

In 2024, the XXV International Meeting of Columban Associations for the "Columban’s Day 2024" took place in [[Piacenza]], Italy. The Holy Father said Columbanus enhanced the Catholic Church. "The life and labours of the Columban monks proved decisive for the preservation and renewal of European culture", he said.<ref>{{cite news |last1=  Lubov|first1= Deborah Castellano |title=Pope Francis: 'The Holy Irish Abbot St. Columban enriched the Church'|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-06/pope-francis-sends-greeting-to-columbans-day-2024.html |accessdate=24 June 2024 |publisher= [[Vatican News]]|date=23 June 2024}}</ref>

The [[Missionary Society of Saint Columban]], founded in 1916, and the [[Missionary Sisters of St. Columban]], founded in 1924, are both dedicated to Columbanus.

==Veneration==
[[File:Bobbio-abbazia di san colombano-cripta3.jpg|thumb|Remains of Columbanus, [[Bobbio Abbey]] crypt]]
The remains of Columbanus are preserved in the crypt at [[Bobbio Abbey]]. Many miracles have been credited to his intercession. In 1482, the relics were placed in a new shrine and laid beneath the altar of the crypt. The sacristy at Bobbio possesses a portion of the skull of Columbanus, his knife, wooden cup, bell, and an ancient water vessel, formerly containing sacred relics and said to have been given to him by [[Pope Gregory I]]. According to some authorities, twelve teeth of Columbanus were taken from the tomb in the fifteenth century and kept in the treasury, but these have since disappeared.<ref name="stokes-183">Stokes, p. 183.</ref>

Columbanus is named in the ''[[Roman Martyrology]]'' on 23 November, which is his feast day in Ireland. His feast is observed by the Benedictines on 21 November. In art, Columbanus is represented bearded, bearing the monastic cowl, holding in his hand a book with an Irish [[satchel (bag)|satchel]], and standing in the midst of wolves. Sometimes he is depicted in the attitude of taming a bear, or with sun-beams over his head.<ref name="husenheth">Husenheth, p. 33.</ref>

The [[Bishop of Hereford]], [[John Oliver (bishop)|John Oliver]], suggested Columbanus as a patron of motorcyclists because of his extensive travels through Europe during his lifetime. His patronage was declared by [[Holy See|the Vatican]] in 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cavanaugh |first1=Ray |title=The patron of bikers: an early medieval monk named Columban |url=https://aleteia.org/2017/11/23/the-patron-of-bikers-an-early-medieval-monk/ |access-date=17 September 2023 |work=[[Aleteia]] |date=23 November 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==

{{Ibid|date=December 2024}}
===Notes===
{{Reflist|group=Note}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book|last=Allnatt |first=Charles F. B. |title=Cathedra Petri |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |location=Whitefish, Montana |year=2007 |isbn=978-0548785072}}
* {{cite book |last1=Blackburn |first1=Bonnie |last2=Holford-Strevens |first2=Leofranc |title=The Oxford Companion to the Year |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0192142313 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont00blac }}
* {{cite book|last=Concannon |first=Thomas |title=The Life of St. Columban |publisher=BCR |location=Wimpole Close |year=2010 |isbn=978-1117876894}}
* {{cite book |last=Cusack |first=Margaret Anne |title=The Illustrated History of Ireland |publisher=Gramercy |location=New York |year=2002 |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedhisto00cusa |isbn=978-0517629147 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Edmonds |first=Columba |title=St. Columbanus |encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia |volume=4 |publisher=Robert Appleton Company |location=New York |year=1908 |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04137a.htm |asin=B000R4GCD8 }}
* {{Cite book |editor-last=Flechner |editor-first=Roy |editor2-last=Meeder |editor2-first=Sven |title=The Irish in Early Medieval Europe: Identity, Culture and Religion |year=2016 |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137430595 }}
* Gray, Patrick T. R., and Michael W. Herren (1994). "Columbanus and the Three Chapters Controversy" in ''Journal of Theological Studies'', NS, 45, pp.&nbsp;160–170.
* {{cite book |last1= Healy |first1=John |author-link1=John Healy (bishop) |year=1892 |chapter= [[s:The ancient Irish church/Chapter 6|Saint Columbanus]]|title= The ancient Irish church|language= en|edition=1 |location=London |publisher=Religious Tract Society |pages= 70–81}}
* {{cite book |last=Jonas |title=Life of St. Columban |publisher=BiblioLife |location=Charleston |year=2009 |url=http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columban.asp |isbn=978-1113338648 |access-date=15 January 2013 |archive-date=17 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117030051/http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/basis/columban.asp |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Lapidge |editor-first=Michael |title=Columbanus: Studies in Latin Writings |publisher=Boydell Press |location=London |year=1997 |isbn=978-0851156675}}
* {{cite book|last=Mc Sweeney |first=Richard |title=Abiding in Bobbio |publisher=Lulu |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |year=2015 |isbn=978-1329382237}}
* {{cite book|last=Montalembert |first=Charles Forbes |title=The Monks of the West |volume=2 |publisher=William Blackwood |location=London |year=1861 }}
* {{cite book|last=Moran |first=Patrick Francis |title=Irish Saints in Great Britain |publisher=Nabu Press |location=Charleston |year=2010 |isbn=978-1176742925}}
* {{cite book|last=Ó Fiaich |first=Tomás |title=Columbanus in His Own Words |publisher=Veritas |location=Dublin |year=2012 |isbn=978-1847303578}}
* {{cite book|last=O'Hara |first=Alexander |title=Saint Columbanus: Selected Writings |publisher=Veritas |location=Dublin |year=2015 |isbn=978-1847305879}}
* {{cite book|last=Richter |first=Michael |title=Bobbio in the Early Middle Ages: The Abiding Legacy of Columbanus |publisher=Four Courts Press |location=Dublin |year=2008 |isbn=978-1846821035}}
* {{cite book|last1=Smith |first1=Sir William |last2=Wace |first2=Henry |title=A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines |publisher=Nabu Press |location=Charleston |year=2012 |isbn=978-1286170847}}
* {{cite book|last=Stokes |first=Margaret |title=Six Months in the Apennines |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |location=Whitefish, Montana |year=2007 |isbn=978-0548271971}}
* {{cite book|last=Wallace |first=Martin |title=A Little Book of Celtic Saints |publisher=Appletree Press |location=Belfast |year=1995 |isbn=978-0862814564}}
* {{cite book|last=Wilson |first=James |title=Life of St. Columban |publisher=Clonmore and Reynolds Ltd |location=Dublin |year=1954 |asin=B0007IWDF0}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/columban.asp The Life of St. Columban, by the Monk Jonas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117030051/http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/basis/columban.asp |date=17 January 2013 }} ([[Internet History Sourcebooks Project|Internet Medieval Sourcebook]])
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=St. Columbanus|short=x}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Columban, Saint|short=x}}
* [http://www.knightsofstcolumbanus.ie/ The Order of the Knights of Saint Columbanus]
* [https://celt.ucc.ie//published/T201053/index.html Sermons of Columbanus] ([[Corpus of Electronic Texts|CELT]])
* [https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T201054/index.html Letters of Columbanus] (CELT)

{{Hiberno-Latin authors}}
{{Subject bar |portal1= Saints |portal2= Biography |portal3= Catholicism |portal4= Ireland}}
{{Saints of Ireland}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:6th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:7th-century writers in Latin]]
[[Category:543 births]]
[[Category:615 deaths]]
[[Category:Irish Christian missionaries]]
[[Category:Founders of Catholic religious communities]]
[[Category:7th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Burials at Bobbio Abbey]]
[[Category:Medieval Irish saints]]
[[Category:6th-century Irish abbots]]
[[Category:7th-century Irish Christian clergy]]
[[Category:People from County Meath]]
[[Category:Irish expatriates in France]]
[[Category:Irish expatriates in Italy]]
[[Category:Medieval Irish saints on the Continent]]
[[Category:Founders of Christian monasteries]]
[[Category:7th-century Irish writers]]
[[Category:6th-century Irish writers]]
[[Category:Irish writers in Latin]]
[[Category:Missionary linguists]]
[[Category:People from Bobbio]]