St. Columbanus of Bobbio

Columbanus, also called Columban, was an Irish monk formed under Comgall at Bangor. With permission to leave his community, he crossed to Britain and then to Gaul with companions. Their religious life attracted others, and the foundations associated with him included Annegray and Luxeuil in the Vosges.

His rule required a demanding life of prayer, obedience and penance. Butler also describes the disputes that arose over the Irish observance of Easter and the saint’s appeals to Rome. Conflict with the Burgundian court, especially over the king’s conduct, eventually brought expulsion. Columbanus was ordered to return to Ireland, but the interrupted voyage led him instead to further journeys on the Continent.

After a period near Lake Constance, he passed into Italy and founded Bobbio under the protection of the Lombard king Agilulf. His letters and rule preserve the force of his religious teaching, together with the difficult questions he addressed. Butler records his death at Bobbio in 615. His monasteries carried the learning and religious discipline of the Irish houses into new regions, though the later history of each foundation took its own course.