Ultan of Ardbraccan
| Saint Ultan | |
|---|---|
| Died | 657 |
| Feast | September 4 |
St. Ultan of Ardbraccan (d. ca. 657) was an Irish saint and Abbot-Bishop of Ardbraccan during the 7th Century CE.
Ultan founded a school, educating and feeding its poor students, and was noted for his work in collecting the writings of Saint Brigid and illuminating them. He was also known for his beautiful hymns.
He was the maternal uncle of St. Brigid, and collected a life of her for his pupil, St. Brogan Cloen of Rostuirc, on Ossory. There seems to be some difficulty in his chronology inasmuch as the assumption of his relation to St. Brigid must involve an extraordinary longevity, namely 180 years, because his death is not chronicled till 657.
He succeeded St. Breccan as Abbot-Bishop of Ardbraccan about the year 570.
Although no contemporary writings of his life have survived, he is believed to have been Bishop of Meath and an apostle of Desi of Meath. Much mention of him is made in the Martyrology of Aengus. His feast day is celebrated on September 4.
References
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
Farmer, D.H. (1979). The Oxford dictionary of saints. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
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