St Columbanus was a man who crossed borders, both literally and figuratively. He has a message for our world in this Jubilee Year of Hope, writes Bishop Denis Nulty, ahead of the XXVI Columbanus Day gathering in Carlow from 11th to 13th of July.
As the XXV Columbanus Day International Meeting came to a close in Piacenza on 23rd June 2024, it was announced that the XXVI Columbanus Day would be hosted in “Carlow, Irlanda”! It’s like winning the Eurovision or Adare being announced as the next host of the Ryder Cup!
In hosting the Columbanus Day, the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin is bringing the event for the first time into the Republic of Ireland. In doing so, participants are being invited to go to where St Columbanus was born, where his life-long journey began, a journey which has left an indelible mark on the history of Europe.
It is often said that Columbanus is better known and revered abroad than he is in Ireland. I see the hosting of the XXVI Meeting as an opportunity to address this deficit.
Statue of St Columban outside the Basilica of Ss Peter and Paul in Luxeuil. Photo: Sarah Mac Donald
An opportunity has been given for the people of Carlow and Ireland to be reintroduced to this man Columbanus, to become familiar with his story and more importantly the legacy he left behind, a legacy that was sown from the day he sailed from Bangor with twelve companions in 591 AD.
Why Carlow? The late Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich told us “Columbanus was born around 543 on the borders of the modern counties of Carlow and Wexford”, an assertion supported by scholars such as Dr Margaret Murphy, the late Fr Aidan Larkin, a Columban Missionary, and the recently deceased Archbishop Noël Treanor. While the exact location of his birth is hard to accurately pinpoint, it is firmly believed to be in the parish of Myshall at the foot of Mount Leinster.
Bobbio 2024: At the launch of the exhibition ‘Ireland and the Birth of Europe’, Bishop Denis Nulty (2nd from right) with (l to r) Archbishop Noel Treanor (RIP), historian Professor Damian Bracken and his wife Jacinta Bracken. Photo: Sarah Mac Donald.
How long did he stay in Myshall and indeed Leinster? It would seem, just his early childhood years, before turning his steps northwards – against the wishes of his mother, (and perhaps younger ladies too!) Columbanus, like many men of his day was attracted to the monastic life.
When he was about 17 years of age, he entered the monastery on Cleenish Island (Lough Erne) founded by Sinell, a student of his Myshall co-parishioner St Finian, before finally arriving at St Comgall’s Abbey at Bangor. Bangor was renowned for its stern discipline and scholarship.
Mass at the XXV Columbanus Day International Meeting in Piacenza Cathedral, Italy on 23 June 2024 which was attended by Bishop Denis Nulty and other Irish and Italian bishops as well as Columban Fathers, Sisters and Friends of St Columbanus.
The Church recognises three forms of martyrdom – red, green and white. Red indicates the shedding of blood; green – extreme penance and fasting out of love for God while white martyrdom consisted of a person abandoning everything he loved for God’s sake.
Such was Columbanus in allowing God to quite literally blow him and his companions in their small boat, to whatever shore God wished, never to return home. His motivation for doing so was to follow Christ with total abandonment, an act akin to martyrdom.
Their journey took them across the European mainland, founding abbeys in Eastern France (Luxeuil, Annegray and Fontaines), before being expelled through the jealousy and rage of its rulers to settle in safer Frankish territory. Their voyage continued through present day Austria and Switzerland. After parting with his long-time companion Gall, he finally settled in Bobbio, Italy, where he would die in 615 AD.
The Columban Way – from Myshall in Co Carlow to Bobbio in Italy. Photo: Columban Way Carlow.
Our celebrations from 11th-13th July 2025 in Carlow will welcome visitors from the many places associated with St Columbanus’, particularly France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. The programme will highlight Carlow’s spiritual, cultural and historical connections to him, with events taking place in Carlow town and in Myshall.
On Friday afternoon (11th July) we begin in Carlow County Museum where the festivities will be officially launched with a lecture by Professor Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (UCG) on ‘Ireland and the birth of Europe’.
We continue with a Symposium on Creation by Fr Seán McDonagh which will be hosted in St Patrick’s, Carlow College, taking its impetus from Columbanus’ first sermon: “If you want to know the Creator, understand Creation”.
That evening we move to Myshall for an Ecumenical Evening Prayer in the presence of a relic of St Columbanus in the Adelaide Memorial Church, before going in ceremonial procession to the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross where the relic will be permanently installed.
St Columban’s Abbey in Bobbio, Italy, where St Columbanus died in 615AD. Photo: Sarah Mac Donald
Saturday begins with our walking boots on, as participants are invited on a 5km journey which marks the beginning of the recently established Columban Way, from the shadow of Mount Leinster on the Blackstairs Mountains to Myshall village. The Columban Way is a 571 km walking route linking both parts of our island, inspired by the journey Columbanus took from Myshall to Bangor over 1400 years ago.
After a buffet lunch in Myshall Hall, we will move back to the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross to listen to an address by former President Mary McAleese on ‘Columbanus, the Man from Myshall’. Later that evening we will return to Carlow College for a Civic Reception for our visitors and friends of Columbanus, before enjoying a concert in the Cathedral of the Assumption, showcasing the best in Carlow’s sacred and traditional music.
The highlight of Sunday is the XXVI Columbanus Day Mass in the Cathedral of the Assumption at 10.30am, in the presence of many religious and civic dignitaries, where the host diocese of the XXVII Columbanus Day in 2026 will be announced. Our festivities conclude with the customary Pilgrim’s lunch.
Members of the Columban Way in Carlow.
At a critical time in our world, and in this Jubilee Year of Hope, the message of Columbanus is more important than ever. He was a man who crossed borders, literally and figuratively, and the first to speak about a European identity. The expression “totius Europae” (all of Europe) appeared in a letter Columbanus wrote to Pope Gregory the Great in 600.
Pope Benedict XVI described Columbanus as one of the Fathers of Europe, showing us the way our continent might once more become conscious of its Christian roots. Pope Francis reminded us it was the task of all Christians to work together so that we can all live in peace and unity.
Columbanus is also the patron saint of motorcyclists, so we look forward to welcoming you all – on your bikes, buses, cars and planes – to Carlow in July!
The 26th Columbanus Day celebrations will take place in Carlow from 11th – 13th July 2025. For more information see: https://www.kandle.ie/countdown-to-xxvi-columbanus-day-2025/
Bishop Denis Nulty is Bishop of the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin. His uncle was Columban missionary, Fr Michael Balfe, who was ordained a priest in 1948 and died in 1973. Fr Balfe spent time on mission in Japan before ill health forced him to come back to Ireland.
First published in the July/August 2025 issue of the Far East magazine. Please subscribe here: https://columbans.ie/far-east-magazine/
