Saint Fanchea
Saint Fanchea of Rossory (also: Fainche; born c. 456 AD in Leinster or Ulster, Ireland; died c. 520 AD in Rossory, County Fermanagh, Ireland) was an Irish abbess venerated as the sister of Saint Enda of Aran, the Father of Irish Monasticism. She is credited with converting her brother Enda from a warrior prince to a monk — a turning point that led to the foundation of the great island monastery of the Aran Islands. She founded a convent at Rossory (near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh) and was its abbess. Her feast day is January 1.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Fanchea
| Saint Fanchea | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | January 01 |
| Profession | Abbess; convent foundress; sister of Saint Enda |
| Rel. Affiliation | Irish monastic church |
| Patronage | Rossory; County Fermanagh; those converting away from violence; abbesses |
| Attributes | Abbess's staff; lily; Irish cross; shroud or corpse (referring to the conversion of Enda) |
| Birthplace | Leinster or Ulster, Ireland |
| Death Place | Rossory, County Fermanagh, Ireland (near Enniskillen) |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Primary Shrine | Rossory Church (Church of Ireland), near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh — the ancient site of her convent; her feast is kept here |
| Liturgical Class | Not in universal Roman Calendar; feast January 1 in Irish local tradition |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Fanchea was an Irish woman of noble birth, traditionally identified as the sister of Saint Enda of Aran. She founded a women's monastic community at Rossory near Enniskillen on the shores of Lower Lough Erne (County Fermanagh) and served as its abbess.
The great story associated with her is her role in the conversion of her brother Enda. According to the legend in Enda's life, he was a warrior-prince who came to her convent seeking to take a girl for marriage. Fanchea, rather than simply refusing, led him to see the girl's body — she had died — and confronted him with the reality of mortality and the vanity of earthly desire. The sight transformed him. He renounced his warrior's life, went to study in Scotland (under Saint Ninian at Candida Casa, according to some accounts), and returned to found the greatest early Irish monastery — on the Aran Islands off the Galway coast. Without Fanchea's intervention, the tradition of Aran and the entire stream of saints she helped form might not have existed.
She died on January 1, around 520 AD, at her convent at Rossory. Her feast is observed on January 1.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: Leinster or Ulster, Ireland
Death location: Rossory, County Fermanagh, Ireland (near Enniskillen)
Notable location: The convent she founded; she was its abbess; the site is on the southern shore of Lower Lough Erne; the Church of Ireland church in Rossory bears the dedication to her (Rossory, near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland)
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Parishes
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Shrines
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Known shrines
- Rossory Church (Church of Ireland), near Enniskillen, County Fermanagh — the site of her convent; her feast observed here.
Feast day
January 1
Veneration
Saint Fanchea is venerated in the Diocese of Clogher with a feast day on January 1.
Prayers
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Intercessory
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