Columban missionary Sr Ann Gray writes about this year’s Columban’s Day gathering in the Swiss city of St Gallen, named after one of the 12 monks who left Bangor monastery in Co Down with St Columban in the 6th century as ‘Pilgrims for Christ’.
‘Whether we are Franks, Irish or Britons, we are members of one body.’
While the Feast of St Columban takes place each year on 23rd November, the day on which Columban is reputed to have died, many parishes and communities across Europe come together each year at the beginning of July to celebrate ‘Columban’s Day’.
This annual gathering began as an initiative of the then parish priest of San Colombano al Lambro, northern Italy, Canon Mario Capelli and Mauro Steffenini, in the lead up to Jubilee 2000 and it has continued ever since.
This year the event was celebrated in the Swiss city of St Gallen, which bears the name of the 7th century Irish monk Gall, one of the 12 companions who left the monastery of Bangor, Co Down with St Columban as ‘Pilgrims for Christ’ to continental Europe.
Over thirty people who had travelled from Ireland, led by Columbans from Dalgan and Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin, joined the Friends of St Columbanus from Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France and Italy on a pilgrim walk. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
The activities began with representatives from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein of Churches, local Councils, cultural groups and Columban Missionaries that make up the Columban Way pilgrim and cultural route. They came together in the Angel’s Chapel in St Gallen for the official signing of the Columban Charter of Partnership.
In this Charter, we declare our intention “to help support and promote pilgrimage, cultural and scientific activities relating to Saint Columbanus and to his travels and those of his followers, including St Gall, in all regions and countries where their memory remains alive.”
Signatories from Ireland, France, Switzerland and Italy of the Columban Charter of Partnership including Bishop Markus Büchel of St Gallen, Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin, Columban Missionaries, Fr Raymond Husband and Sr Ann Gray as well as other Irish representatives from the Columban Way in Carlow, Meath and Bangor. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
The following day, over thirty of us who had travelled from Ireland, led by the Columbans from Dalgan and Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin, joined the Friends of St Columbanus from Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France and Italy on a pilgrim walk.
We set out with a reminder that as we walk we connect with the ground we walk on and the beauty of Creation; with “God and the Holy Spirit that speaks to us in the silence from within; with those who have trod the road over centuries, pilgrims and wayfarers; with one another and with those we meet on our pilgrim way along the road; and with those who cannot make the journey due to their ill-health or other circumstances, we carry them with us”.
Irish bishops: Michael Duignan, Denis Nulty, Noel Treanor and Donal McKeown with Bishop Markus Büchel of St Gallen as well as Columbans Fr Raymond Husband and Fr Donal O’Keeffe, and parish priests Frs Joe Rooney and Joseph Gunn. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
This walk took us through lush forests, paths alongside the river, railway tracks, small farms of llamas, hens and ducks. We had the opportunity to engage in conversation with a wide variety of people or to walk in silence as we connected with nature and one another.
Our goal was to reach the town of Arbon, the place where St Gall set up his hermitage in the beautiful region of Lake Constance. There, in the small oratory, we listened to the story of St Gall and the odyssey of the Irish monks that relit the fire of the Gospel and Christian values across Europe. We prayed and gave thanks.
Walking like this on the Columban Way, I not only feel overawed with the sense that I am walking on paths which St Columban most likely walked centuries ago but I have the opportunity to make contact with people from France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy, people whose lives today continue to be influenced by Columban.
Fr Raymond Husband, Regional Director of the Columbans in Ireland, presents Bishop Markus Büchel of St Gallen (centre) with a banner illustrating the Harry Clarke stained glass window of Columban from Dalgan, watched by Bishop Denis Nulty of Kildare & Leighlin. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
In the evening, despite being very tired after walking 13km on a very hot day, our next activity was an unforgettable visit to the famous Abbey Library of St Gallen which includes among its books, a 7th century Irish Gospel of St Gall, a 9th century Priscian’s Grammar – Latin and Old Irish, both from Ireland, and several early medieval manuscripts that were preserved at a time when Ireland was being invaded by the Vikings.
Bishop Denis Nulty rings the Columban bell after signing the Columban Charter of Partnership in July 2023. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
To be surrounded by so many ancient original manuscripts and books and just to be in this library was an unforgettable and awesome experience.
Solemn Evening Prayer and veneration of the relics of St Gallus and Columbanus brought the day to a close with prayer for peace throughout Europe and the whole world. At the end of this service of prayer, Bishop Markus Büchel of St Gallen presented to Fr Joseph Gunn, parish priest of St Comgall’s, Bangor with a relic of St Gall and in return Fr Gunn gifted Bishop Markus and the people of St Gallen with a copy of the Bangor icons of Saints Columban and Gall.
Representatives from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy and Liechtenstein of Churches, local Councils, cultural groups and the Columban Missionaries that make up the Columban Way pilgrim and cultural route came together in the Angel’s Chapel in St Gallen for the official signing of the Columban Charter of Partnership. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
Sunday morning then saw us gathering once again in the Cathedral of St Gallen for the Solemn celebration of Mass. Dedicated to St Gall and built above his grave around 719AD, this is a truly magnificent cathedral and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The final day of our pilgrimage was a visit to Bregenz, across the border into Austria to the modern-day parish of Saint Kolumban. Consecrated in 1966, this parish has strong links with Luxeuil, Bobbio, Dalgan and Bangor.
Bishop Markus Büchel of St Gallen with Bishop Donal McKeown, Bishop Noel Treanor, Bishop Denis Nulty and Bishop Michael Duignan celebrating Mass in the Cathedral of St Gallen. Image: ColumbanMissionImages
With St Columban playing a prominent part in parish life here, the parish priest was delighted to be presented by Columban Fr Ray Husband with a banner illustrating the Harry Clarke stained glass window of Columban from Dalgan, symbolising yet another connection between Bregenz and Ireland, Columban’s place of birth.
With this visit, our pilgrimage had come to an end. During the days together, as I made new friends from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy and spent time once again with those I had met on previous pilgrimages, I was filled with wonder at the connections we can make through a shared respect, admiration and love for St Columban.
On Sunday, at the end of the Solemn Mass in the Cathedral of St Gall, Bishop Adriano Cevolotto of Piacenza-Bobbio reminded us of the heartfelt appeals of Pope Francis for a tired Europe that it might “hold together unity and diversity” and always remain illuminated by the light of Christ. Pilgrimage on the Columban Way is certainly one response to this appeal.
Sr Ann Gray is from Scotland. She was a lay missionary in Sierra Leone before she entered the Columban Sisters. She has served on mission in Hong Kong and China and one term as congregational leader. She is now based in Magheramore and is Assistant Editor of the Far East magazine.
Published in the November issue of the Far East magazine. Please subscribe and support our mission projects. For €10 for a digital subscription and €20 for a print edition. See; https://columbans.ie/product/far-east-magazine-yearly-subscription/
