Columbanus (Saint Columbanus)

Timeline

1. c. 543–590Bangor · County DownColumbanus was born to a free family in Leinster, Ireland, and received a good classical education in childhood. In his youth, rejecting worldly marriage, he went to be trained by Saint Sinell, then entered the monastery of Bangor founded by Comgall, where he underwent strict Irish monastic ascetic training for decades, studying scripture, poetics, and Latin literature.
2. c. 591–610Luxeuil · Haute-SaôneAround 591, Columbanus crossed the sea to Gaul with twelve monastic companions, first founding a monastery at the ruins of Annegray in Burgundy, then establishing Luxeuil Abbey (591) and Fontaines nearby. Luxeuil rapidly grew into one of the most important monastic centers in Gaul, but its insistence on the Irish method of calculating Easter and private confession brought it into conflict with Frankish bishops.
3. 610–615Bobbio · Emilia-RomagnaIn 610 Columbanus was expelled from Gaul for criticizing the court morals of Frankish Queen Brunhilda. After passing through Nantua, Bregenz, and other places, he founded a monastery at Bobbio in the Apennines in 612–613 at the invitation of the Lombard king Agilulf. Bobbio Abbey later became an important medieval European scholarly center holding a large collection of classical texts; Columbanus died there in 615.