| ST. GERALD |
| Feast: March 13
|
| Bishop
of Mayo, an English monk, date of birth unknown; died 13 March, 731; followed
St. Colman, after the Synod of Whitby (664), to Ireland, and settled in
Innisboffin, in 668. Dissensions arose, after a time, between the Irish and the
English monks, and St. Colman decided to found a separate monastery for the
thirty English brethren. Thus arose the Abbey of Mayo (Magh Eo, the yew plain),
known as "Mayo of the Saxons", with St. Gerald as the first abbot, in
670. St. Bede writes: "This monastery is to this day (731) occupied by
English monks ... and contains an exemplary body who gathered there from
England, and live by the labour of their own hands (after the manner of the
early Fathers), under a rule and canonical abbot, leading chaste and single
lives." Although St. Gerald was a comparatively young man, he proved a wise
ruler, and governed May until 697, when, it is said, he resigned in favour of
St. Adamnan. Some authors hold that St. Adamnan celebrated the Roman Easter at
Mayo, in 703, and then went to Skreen, in Hy Fiachrach, and that after his
departure the monks prevailed on St. Gerald to resume the abbacy. The Saxon
saint continued to govern the Abbey and Diocese of Mayo till his death. His
feast is celebrated on 13 March. Mayo, though merged in Tuam for a time,
remained a separate see until 1579.
W. H. Grattan-Flood From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright © 1913 by the Encyclopedia Press,
Inc. Electronic version copyright © 1996 by New Advent, Inc. |
|
Provided Courtesy of:
|