Today marks the feast day of an important Irish saint, St. Flannan, who is honored in a particular way in Killaloe, a small village on the border of Counties Clare and Tipperary. The Cathedral Church of Killaloe is named after St. Flannan.

Born sometime in the seventh century, Flannan was the son of an Irish chieftain, Turlough of Thomond. He joined the monastery in Killaloe that the famous Irish abbot St. Molua founded.

A legend about how Flannan ended up succeeding Molua says that one day, Flannan was baking bread for the monks and for the poor in the monastery kitchen for thirty-six hours straight. In the middle of the night, he kept baking, and light began to stream from his fingers into the darkness, enabling him to keep baking throughout the night. When Abbot Molua heard about this young monk’s dedication to serving, he appointed him as the next Abbot of Killaloe.

Unsurprisingly, Flannan, before and during his tenure as abbot, gained a reputation for his unwavering hospitality. The families surrounding the abbey whom he looked after clamored for Flannan to be appointed a bishop.

Accordingly, Flannan traveled to Rome where Pope John IV consecrated him the first Bishop of Killaloe. He was a wildly popular bishop, and devotion to him seems to have spread to the Hebrides, islands off the coast of Scotland, where he may have preached.

Flannan is now the patron saint of Killaloe and of County Clare. The image of him to the left comes from CatholicIreland.net and is used with permission.

St. Flannan, faithful monk whose hands shone with Christ’s light—pray for us!

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Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Flannan is used with permission from CatholicIreland.net. Last accessed November 1, 2024.