Saint Comgall
Saint Comgall (born c. 516 AD in Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland; died c. 602 AD in Bangor, County Down, Ireland) was the founder and first abbot of the great monastery of Bangor (Bangor Abbey) on the shores of Belfast Lough in County Down. Bangor became one of the most famous monasteries in early Christian Ireland — said to have housed at its peak over three thousand monks — and was the school in which Saint Columban received his formation before his mission to Europe. His feast day is May 10.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Comgall
| Saint Comgall | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | May 10 |
| Profession | Monk; founder and abbot of Bangor; mentor of Columban |
| Rel. Affiliation | Celtic Church; Bangor monastery |
| Patronage | Bangor; County Down; monastic life; Ireland |
| Attributes | Abbot's staff; book; Irish cross; monks gathered around him |
| Birthplace | Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland |
| Death Place | Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Primary Shrine | Bangor Abbey, Bangor, County Down — the medieval abbey ruins mark the site; a Church of Ireland parish continues at the site |
| Liturgical Class | Not included (universal calendar); observed in Archdiocese of Armagh |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Comgall was born around 516 AD at Magheramorne in County Antrim. He is said to have studied under Saints Fintan of Clonenagh and Finnian of Clonard. He was ordained a priest and in 558 AD founded the monastery of Bangor (Beannchar — "pointed peaks" or "horns") on a promontory on Belfast Lough in County Down.
Bangor Abbey became extraordinary in its scale and influence. Ancient sources credit it with thousands of monks — the hagiographies speak of three thousand, and while this is likely a rhetorical exaggeration, the monastery was undoubtedly vast and important. It operated a continuous Divine Office, with choirs taking shifts so that the singing of God's praises never ceased — a practice known as the laus perennis ("perpetual praise"), influenced by the monastery of Agaunum (Saint-Maurice) in Switzerland.
Most importantly, Bangor was the school of Saint Columban (Columbanus), who spent much of his youth there under Comgall before his mission to Europe (c. 590 AD). The relationship between master and disciple shaped the character of the Columban missions.
The Antiphonary of Bangor — a late 7th-century liturgical book produced at Bangor, now in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan — is the oldest surviving manuscript of Irish liturgical music and one of the most important documents of early medieval Irish Christianity.
Comgall died on May 10, 602. Bangor was devastated in Viking raids in 824 and never fully recovered.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Magheramorne, County Antrim, Ireland
Death location: Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland
Notable location: The great monastery he founded c. 558 AD; the Antiphonary of Bangor (preserved in Ambrosiana, Milan) is the oldest surviving Irish liturgical manuscript; Columban received his formation here (Bangor Abbey, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Bangor Abbey, Bangor, County Down — ruins of the medieval abbey built over the original monastic site; the adjacent Church of Ireland parish church (Bangor Abbey Church) continues the tradition.
Feast day
May 10
Veneration
Saint Comgall is venerated in Ireland and Northern Ireland with a feast day on May 10.
Prayers
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