A MODERN WELSH HAGIOGRAPHY
HAGIOGRAFFEG GYMREIG GYFOES
19 August
Saint Clydog
Today is the feast of #StClydog (Clydawg, Clitaucus, or Cledog). He is remembered in the #Welsh tradition as a royal martyr of the borderlands, his story preserved in both local legend and the ‘Book of Llandaff’. He was a prince of the Brychan dynasty, (grandson of Brychan of Brecknock, and son of Clydwyn), whose inheritance lay in the district of Ergyng and Ewyas, in what is now south #Herefordshire and #Monmouthshire.
The primary source for his life is the ‘Vita Sancti Clitauci’, which survives in the Book of Llandaff and in the manuscript ‘Cotton Vespasian A.xiv’. This short account focuses not on his upbringing or reign but on his #Martyrdom and the veneration that followed.
#SaintClydog is portrayed as a pious and just ruler whose life was cut short while still young. According to the Vita, he was killed by a jealous retainer while out hunting (said to be in rivalry for the affection of a noble lady). His body was placed upon a cart, and when the oxen carrying it came to a halt by the #RiverMonnow they would not be moved further. This was taken as a divine sign, and there his body was interred.
A church was soon raised over the spot, and the place became known as #MerthyrClydog (the martyr-shrine of Clydog). Today it is the village of Clodock, where the medieval #Church is still dedicated to him, and a #HolyWell nearby recalls the sanctity of the place.
The saint’s feast was noted by Baring-Gould and Fisher in their Lives of the British Saints as occurring on 19 August. Though his devotion was never widespread, Clydog’s memory sanctified the border country between Wales and England. His continued commemoration at Clodock shows how early #Christian communities honoured native rulers who embodied #justice, #faith, and #sacrifice. St Clydog remains a #witness that earthly power is fleeting, but #holiness endures, and that true kingship is found in #service and #fidelity to #Christ.
18 August
Saint Arthfael
My apologies that I mistakenly transposed #StHythan (18 August) with #StArthfael who we should have remembered two days ago! #SaintArthfael (“bear-prince”, and in Latin sources ‘Armagilus’), was a #Welsh 6th-century holy man whose life is celebrated on 16 August, the day of his death.
According to tradition, Arthfael was born at #Boverton in #Glamorgan, of noble British lineage, and related to several saints of his generation, including #StSamson and #StCadfan. From his earliest years he showed devotion to #Christ, choosing the #religious life over worldly honour.
In the great migration of holy men from Britain to Armorica, Arthfael crossed the Channel and established foundations in #Brittany. He founded a community at Plouarzel on the Léon coast, and later gave his name to Ploërmel (Latin Plebs Armagili), which became a centre of his devotion. His reputation for wisdom and sanctity reached the Frankish court, and King Childebert I summoned him to #Paris. For six years he lived at court as counsellor and confidant, where the ancient Saint-Malo breviary records his #miracles: healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, strengthening the lame, and producing water by prayer when none could be found.
On his return to Brittany, #SaintArthfael was granted lands near Rennes, where he founded the monastery of Saint-Armel-des-Bochaux in the Forest of Teil. It was here, according to later tradition, that he subdued a #dragon which plagued the region, binding it with his stole and leading it to the river Seiche to be destroyed - an image that secured his reputation as a vanquisher of evil.
His last years were spent in #prayer and monastic discipline at Bochaux, where he died around the middle of the 6th century, probably c. 552. His feast has been faithfully kept on 16 August in Breton calendars since the Middle Ages.
Breton sources contain some uncertainty about his status: a 12th-century Dol episcopal catalogue claims that Arthfael was #Bishop of Dol, but later liturgical books commemorate him only as #Confessor. Despite this, his veneration was widespread. He was invoked especially against headaches, fevers, colic, gout, and rheumatism, and became a patron of hospitals and leper-houses. His relics, including a jawbone, are still preserved at Saint-Armel (Ille-et-Vilaine), where #Pilgrims continue to seek his aid at the saint’s fountain.
Arthfael embodies the holy migration of #Welsh saints to Brittany, remembered as a monastic founder, miracle-worker, counsellor of kings, and defender against the powers of darkness, whose memory still endures in the churches and place-names of Brittany.
17 August
Saint Sawyl
Today we remember yet another uncelebrated #Saint, #StSawyl, remembered in the dedication of #Llansawel in #Carmarthenshire, who stands at the meeting place of history and legend. Known in the Welsh Triads as Sawyl Penuchel (‘high-headed’ meaning ‘arrogant’) he was a post-Roman British ruler, son of Pabo Post Prydain and ancestor of Coel Hen’s line. Other traditions call him Penisel, (‘low-headed’ or ‘humble’) a striking reversal that suggests the memory of one who moved from pride to humility in the sight of God.
The genealogies name Sawyl as the father of #StAsaph (who himself was disciple of Kentigern and first bishop of St Asaph Diocese). The imputation is that Sawyl’s household was #Christian, and he himself was a patron of #ChristianFaith, one who enabled his family to serve the #Gospel. The dedication of a church to his name confirms that he was venerated not merely as a king but as a saint in his own right.
His later life was not without #controversy. The ‘Life of St Cadoc’ tells how he fell away from Christianity and with his warband on a raid, stole food from the monastery at Llancarfan, only to be humiliated by #StCadoc. Sawyl and his men pursued Cadoc to exercise their wrath, however Sawyl and his men drowned in a bog. Saint Sawyl’s last words as he drowned purportedly being: ”I am rebaptised as penance”.
While the tale may preserve a historical clash between chieftain and monastery, its #symbolism is clear: arrogance is brought low, and those who resist holiness are overcome by their own folly.
Theologically, Sawyl embodies the conversion of #pride into #humility. His two epithets tell a story: from Penuchel to Penisel, from exaltation to lowliness, from arrogance to #repentance. In him, local memory found a #witness that leadership must be tempered by humility, and that true greatness is shown in service to #Christ. His burial mound, once marked by a shield-shaped stone, evokes the imagery of the “shield of faith” (Eph. 6.16), turning warrior-pride into Christian hope.
St Sawyl, then, is remembered not for perfection but for #transformation. In his story, the people of Wales saw that no pride is beyond the reach of grace, and that from humbled rulers may come faithful examples of #repentance.
16 August
Saint Hunydd
Today we explore #StHunydd who belongs to the great company of saintly children of Brychan Brycheiniog (the 5th-century ruler whose descendants became founders and patrons of churches throughout #Wales, #Cornwall, and #Ireland). Her name is preserved in the medieval Bonedd y Saint (“Genealogies of the Saints”), where she is listed among Brychan’s many daughters. Variants of her name, including Hunid, Hunith, Hunyd, and Henydd, appear in different manuscripts, testifying to her presence in the #tradition even where details of her life have faded.
Hunydd is honoured as the patron saint of #Llanhennock, near #Caerleon in Monmouthshire. The place-name preserves her memory, deriving from ‘Llan Hunydd’ (the church of Hunydd). Though the present parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist, the older tradition locates #SaintHunydd at the root of its #Christian foundation. In this way she joins her many sisters as one who brought the faith into the valleys and hill-communities of south-east Wales.
Though little detail of her life survives, Hunydd stands as a representative of the ‘hidden saints’: #women remembered by name and by place, even when their individual stories were not recorded. Her presence in the genealogical lists ensured her inclusion among the company of Brychan’s children who were celebrated locally and invoked collectively in prayer.
Her commemoration highlights the breadth of Christian witness that shaped the early #Welsh #Church. Through Hunydd and her sisters, the people of Brycheiniog saw the example of holy women who consecrated their lives to Christ, whether as virgins, mothers, or founders. To honour her today is to remember the many unnamed and unsung #disciples whose lives were woven into the foundations of Welsh #Christianity.
15 August
Saint Marchell
#StMarchell (also known as Marcella), is an early medieval Welsh virgin saint, venerated chiefly in #Denbighshire and mid-Wales. Tradition places her life in the late 5th or early 6th century, during the age when the Christian faith was consolidating in the post-Roman Celtic kingdoms. She is said to have been a #sister of #StTyfrydog, another local saint, and to have embraced a life of #chastity and #devotion to #God, dedicating her gifts to the care of the poor and the building up of the #ChristianCommunity.
Her principal shrine was at #Llanfarchell (now Denbigh), where a church has long been dedicated in her honour. The present church of #SaintMarcella (often called the ‘White Church’ for its limewashed exterior) stands about a mile east of Denbigh’s centre. The current building dates from c.1500 but sits on a site of far older religious significance which is testimony to the saints existence. Indeed adjacent to it was Ffynnon Farchell, a #holywell believed to have #healing properties and associated with her #intercession.
Her influence also extended to the commote of #YstradMarchell in #Powys, which took its name from her, and to #StrataMarcella Abbey, a major #Cistercian monastery founded in the 12th century whose title reflects the same dedication. These place-names witness to her enduring devotion, even if few written vita (lives) survive.
The early calendars contain no verifiable date for her feast day and details of her biography are sparse. St Marchell stands as a symbol of the many early #Welsh #HolyWomen whose quiet #witness, pastoral care, and rootedness in place helped shape the #Christian identity of their communities. Her memory preserved in the names, waters, and churches of north and mid-Wales.
14 August
Saint Cian
Today we explore #StCian who is remembered as the founder and patron of the parish of #Llangian on the Llŷn Peninsula, #Gwynedd. His name is preserved in the place-name (llan (church/enclosure) + Cian) testifying to a long-standing local devotion. Archaeological evidence points to early Christian activity on the site: in the churchyard stands the “Melus Medicus” stone, a 5th/6th-century inscribed pillar commemorating a local physician, indicating an established #Christian community in the period when Cian is traditionally placed.
Later tradition (preserved in both medieval and modern hagiographical compilations) makes #SaintCian a companion or servant of #StPeris of #Llanberis. In some retellings he is said to have been a #soldier who abandoned military life for the service of #God, ending his days as a hermit at Llangian. These details, however, are absent from any early Welsh sources and probably represent later pious embroidery.
Modern writers, following Rice Rees (1836) and the Monks of Ramsgate (1921), list Cian’s feast on 11 December, but this is the date universally associated with St Peris. It therefore appears to be a secondary association: there is no independent evidence for #Cian’s own commemoration on that day, and it is likely that his feast (once observed locally) was lost to memory as his devotion declined. Unlike Peris, Cian left no surviving vitae (life) or liturgical office, and by the later Middle Ages his memory was overshadowed.
Today, Cian’s veneration survives principally through the dedication of Llangian parish church and the enduring witness of its early Christian site. In liturgical or historical calendars, it is more accurate to acknowledge him without a fixed feast day, honouring him instead as a saint “whose day is known to God,” and whose legacy rests in the #faith of the #community he is believed to have founded.
13 August
Saint Cynwyl
Today we explore #StCynwyl who is remembered as a 6th-century saint of south-west #Wales, venerated chiefly in #Carmarthenshire and #Ceredigion. His name is preserved in the parishes of Cynwyl Gaeo (Caio) and Cynwyl Elfed, both with ancient church sites (whose curvilinear churchyards suggest early Christian foundations). A third medieval dedication lay at #Aberporth (later a chapelry of Talley Abbey).
Later medieval genealogies, (although often of uncertain reliability) make #SaintCynwyl a brother of #StDeiniol of Bangor and #StGwarthan (as well as a grandson of the northern dynast Pabo Post Prydain). However, these links reflect the tendency of Christians ‘on the ground’ to connect local saints to royal or heroic lineages rather than secure historical record.
#Cynwyl appears in the 11th-century Arthurian tale ‘Culhwch and Olwen’ as “Cynwyl the Saint,” one of Arthur’s retainers and, in some versions of the tradition, the last to survive the battle of Camlann. His horse is named Hen Groen (“Old Skin”). It is likely that it is this blending of hagiography and heroic legend that reinforced his stature in popular memory, thus why this relatively obscure saint is still remembered today.
Local tradition at Caio tells of Cynwyl praying knee-deep in the cold River Annell; water drawn from the supposed impressions of his knees was used to #bless cattle. Such local customs reflect the continuing pastoral and protective role attributed to the saint.
Material traces of Cynwyl include an inscribed Latin stone reset in the wall of Cynwyl Gaeo church and the early fabric in the churches at Caio and Cynwyl Elfed. Both sites retain their ancient ‘llannau’, witness to long continuity of worship and it is this #archeological evidence that assures us that the saint actually existed.
There is no evidence of a medieval liturgical observance on any date; (though in one late 19th Century source a seemingly arbitrary date in April was chosen). St Cynwyl’s enduring #legacy rests on his place-names, his integration into #Arthurian lore, and his role as a patron of #Rural Christian communities.
12 August
Ann Griffiths
Today the official Calendar of the #ChurchInWales rightly remembers #AnnGriffiths, born Ann Thomas, at Dolwar Fach farm in Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, #Montgomeryshire, emerged in the late 18th century as one of Wales’s most luminous #HymnWriters. Raised in a #devout rural household, she experienced a deep evangelical conversion during the Calvinistic #Methodist revivals, influenced by preachers such as Thomas Charles of Bala.
Her surviving works, in #Welsh, fuse Reformed theology and poetic #passion, drawing richly from the Psalms, the Song of Songs, and prophetic imagery. Compressed, luminous Welsh; tight stanzaic craftsmanship despite oral roots. She balances doctrinal density with lyrical tenderness, and is often considered, alongside William Williams (Pantycelyn), among the high-water marks the religious #verse of #Wales.
Ann’s compositions were almost entirely #oral, and their survival rests
on Ruth Evans, a young woman from the same parish who became her maid and #SpiritualConfidante. For four years Ruth lived and worked alongside Ann, present for her private devotions and hearing verses as they formed. “She used to recite her hymns to her maid, Ruth Evans, who treasured them in her memory,” notes one account. After marrying John Hughes, Ruth dictated the #Hymns to him, preserving texts that would otherwise have been lost.
Ruth became the living manuscript of Ann’s poetry, bridging her brief, intense life and the printed tradition that emerged decades later. Their relationship is a rare example in early 19th-century Welsh Nonconformity of a laywoman’s theological and poetic influence safeguarded entirely through the devoted memory of another woman. Testimonies - “spiritual confidante,” “knew more about her than anyone else”, suggest closeness that was emotional as well as practical, a #friendship of unusual depth and trust.
Ann’s style and influence have endured. Canonical within Welsh #Hymnody, her hymns are frequently included in Welsh hymnals and sung widely in #Chapel tradition. She remains a touchstone for later #poets, #theologians, and #historians of Welsh #Nonconformity, her small body of work attracting a large amount scholarly attention for its depth.
In historical terms, Ann and Ruth’s partnership belongs to the long #Christian #Tradition of spiritual friendship: an intense, Christ-centred bond between two women, (acceptable in the piety of their age yet personally profound). Modern readers may sense in their companionship an intimacy and loyalty that (while framed in Methodist devotion) also carries resonances of enduring same-gender devotion, speaking to those who value chosen bonds of #affection.
Ann died in 1805, shortly after childbirth; her infant daughter also died. Ruth, now married, ensured her hymns entered the Methodist stream and the #SpiritualHeritage of Wales.
11 August
Gwrthefyr Fendigaid
Today, as a Tertiary Franciscan I am personally keeping the feast of St Clare of Assisi. However in the Welsh tradition, it is #GwrthefyrApGwrtheyrn, who is honoured today. Known in both Bardic and Triadic memory as #GwrthefyrFendigaid (‘Vortimer the Blessed’), he stands as a figure where kingship and #sanctity meet. Son of Gwrtheyrn (Vortigern), the king accused of opening Britain to Saxon settlement, Gwrthefyr is remembered as a #penitent prince who rose to defend his people when others faltered.
According to the ‘Historia Brittonum’, #StGwrthefyr took up arms against the Saxon mercenaries and won four notable victories: at the River Darent, at Aylesford (where both his brother Catigern and the opposing Saxon leader Horsa fell), near an inscribed stone by the Channel shore, and finally driving the invaders to their ships. His campaigns were not merely military actions, but acts of #faith, seen in later tradition as a holy stand for the ‘hen ffydd’ (‘old faith’- the #Celtic #Christian faith of the Britons) against #pagan incursion.
Soon after these victories, Gwrthefyr died (some later chroniclers claiming poison from his Saxon stepmother, Rowena). Before his death, he asked to be buried at the Saxon landing-place, that his very presence might continue to act as a #shield against paganism. This wish (echoing the relics of saints placed at city gates), was disregarded, and in the Welsh Triads his bones are said instead to have been “concealed in the chief ports of the Island of Britain” as one of the “Three Fortunate Concealments,” a sacred safeguard akin to the head of Brân the Blessed.
The epithet ‘Fendigaid’ (‘blessed’) reflects not a formal canonisation but a spiritual memory: Gwrthefyr is seen as a #ChristianRuler who combined royal authority with the virtues of #sacrifice, #protection, and #fidelity. Medieval tradition numbers him among the #Saints of #Wales, presenting him as a prince whose reign, however brief, was marked by zeal for the people of #God and for the #Church.
Though largely absent from official calendars, Gwrthefyr’s story endured in poetry, triads, and the moral imagination as a warning against faithless rulers and a call to #righteous #leadership. In him, the warrior’s sword and the saint’s cross are joined, making #SaintGwrthefyr a lasting symbol of steadfast defence of both homeland and #faith, a blessed guardian whose memory intercedes for the land he loved.
10 August
Saint Tecwn
Today we explore #SaintTecwyn, (sometimes rendered Tegwyn in older sources) who is remembered as a 6th-century saint of North #Wales, founder and patron of #Llandecwyn in #Meirionnydd. He appears in the medieval Welsh genealogies (Bonedd y Saint) as a son of Ithel Hael of Brittany, and a brother to other missionary saints of Gwynedd (Tanwg, Twrog, Tegai, and Baglan). Tradition holds that Tecwyn came to Wales in the company of #StCadfan, joining the community of holy men on #BardseyIsland (Ynys Enlli), and establishing the church on the commanding hill above the #DwyrydEstuary which still bears his name.
His devotion remained local, centred on #Llandecwyn and neighbouring Llanfihangel-y-Traethau, where a later stained-glass window depicts “The Arrival of St Tecwyn.” A short pilgrimage route, “St Tecwyn’s Way,” connects these churches today.
Although modern popular lists often assign St Tecwyn a feast in September, there is no known medieval #calendar, #martyrology, or liturgical text that records such a date. The coincidence with the ancient and universal Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on the same day makes it historically unlikely that a minor local saint would have been celebrated then.
Tecwyn is therefore one of those saints whose #FeastOfTitle has been lost hence my decision to explore him on an unassigned day. It is far more likely that the September date is a 20th-century affection chosen for convenience or to anchor his memory in the devotional year, rather than an authentic survival of early tradition.
As no historical feast date for #StTecwyn survives his commemoration on the enduring presence of his church and name in the #landscape, the #genealogical memory of his missionary family, and the devotion of local people. Whenever he is remembered #Tecwyn stands among the missionary founders whose labours shaped the #Christian heritage of north-west Wales.
09 August
Dom Augustine Baker
Today I do not disagree with the official #ChurchInWales Calendar at all, as it remembers Dom Augustine Baker (1575–1641). Born David Baker in #Abergavenny, #Monmouthshire, he was a #Welsh #Benedictine #Priest and one of the most influential spiritual writers of the English Catholic exile.
Educated at Christ’s Hospital in London and Broadgates Hall, Oxford, he trained in law at Clifford’s Inn. During this time he drifted from religion, living several years in scepticism, until a serious illness in 1598 prompted a profound spiritual awakening. In 1603 he embraced #Catholicism, marking the beginning of a lifelong devotion to the interior life of #prayer.
In 1605 Baker entered the English Benedictine Congregation at Padua, professing vows in 1607 and receiving priestly ordination in 1613. His early monastic years were spent in the continental houses of the exiled English Benedictines. In 1624 he was sent to Cambrai in Flanders to serve as spiritual director to the English Benedictine nuns. There he developed his distinctive approach: an emphasis on personal, interior #communion with God through mental prayer, attentive presence, and self-knowledge, tailored to each soul’s unique path.
Baker translated and adapted the works of earlier mystics (such as St Teresa of Ávila, John Ruysbroeck, and Harphius) into accessible English. His own writings, including numerous treatises and meditations, were largely unpublished during his lifetime. The most famous, Sancta Sophia (“Holy Wisdom”), was compiled posthumously and published in 1657. While his methods drew some criticism within his order for their perceived quietist tendencies, his followers testified to the depth and fruitfulness of his guidance.
In 1638 Baker returned to Britain to work on the Benedictine mission under the Penal Laws, ministering discreetly yet tirelessly. He died in London on 9 August 1641 during a #Plague outbreak, contracting the disease while caring for the sick.
Today, Augustine Baker is remembered as a master of #ContemplativeSpirituality, bridging medieval #mystical traditions with the needs of 17th-century English Catholics in exile.
08 August
Peter Williams
On the date of his death, I again advocate for an addition to the Celtic Hagiography. For #PeterWilliams (1723–1796) stands as one of the most gifted and influential #LayTheologians in #Welsh Christian history. Born at West Marsh Farm, #Laugharne, he was formed in the faith of the #ChurchOfEngland and educated at #Carmarthen Grammar School. Converted under the preaching of George Whitefield in 1743, he was ordained as an #Anglican deacon two years later, but his evident evangelical zeal and association with the #Methodist revival meant the priesthood was closed to him.
Nevertheless, his Anglican foundations - steeped in Scripture, the Prayer Book, and the doctrinal clarity of the Thirty-Nine Articles, shaped a ministry marked by theological rigour, careful #exegesis, and a #pastoral concern for ordinary believers.
Williams became renowned for his preaching throughout #Wales, bringing the #gospel to towns and remote farmsteads alike. Yet his most enduring legacy lies in the printed page. His 1770 Beibl Peter Williams, the first Welsh #Bible printed in Wales and the first to include a running #commentary, made the #Scriptures both accessible and understandable. The accompanying Mynegeir Ysgrythurol (1773) commentary opened the way for laypeople to explore biblical themes for themselves, while his #Hymn editing and translation (including the first English rendering of “Guide me, O Thou Great Redeemer”) enriched the worship of Welsh congregations for generations.
His theological discipline was matched by a refusal to compromise his #conscience. In 1790, he issued a Welsh edition of John Canne’s “Little Bible,” containing notes he had long published, including a comment on John 1:1. Although fully affirming the #Trinity, his phrasing was seized upon by a small group of opponents determined to discredit him.
At the Llandeilo Association of 1791, despite his protests of #orthodoxy and decades of faithful service, he was expelled from the Methodist connexion - an act many contemporaries and later historians have seen as #persecution rather than a just #doctrinal judgment.
Undaunted, Williams continued to minister, establishing a chapel on his land and remaining a tireless advocate for the gospel until his death in 1796. His life bears witness to the enduring power of Anglican #learning, #EvangelicalPassion, and principled #Integrity, a man who sought, above all, to place God’s Word into the hands and hearts of his people, whatever the personal cost.
07 August
Saint Cadoc
Thirty years ago whilst training for ordination I had the privilege of spending a year’s placement in Llancarfan in the Vale of Glamorgan. It was there I first came across #SaintCadoc (or Cadog, Latin Catocus) was one of the most revered #saints of early medieval #Wales, remembered as a #scholar, #founder, and spiritual father of a widespread monastic movement.
Born in the late 5th century, Cadoc was the son of King Gwynllyw of Gwent and Gwladys, (daughter of the prolific saint-bearing Brychan of Brycheiniog). His early life, as recorded in Vita Cadoci by Lifris of Llancarfan (c. 1086), is filled with legendary #signs of divine favour: a baptismal well flowed with milk and wine, and heavenly light surrounded his birth.
Educated under the Irish missionary #Tathyw (or Tathan) at #Caerwent, Cadoc became a figure of deep Christian learning and holiness. His most important foundation was the monastery of #Llancarfan, in #Glamorgan, which grew into a renowned centre of monastic education and sanctity. It was said to be home to hundreds of monks and to have educated figures such as Gildas and Illtud. Cadoc’s fame extended beyond Wales - he undertook pilgrimages to Ireland, Brittany, and perhaps even Rome. In Breton tradition, he was honoured in places such as Gouesnac’h and Lampaul-Guimiliau.
A key symbol of Cadoc’s spiritual authority was the Jerusalem Bell, a relic said to have been gifted to him from the Holy Land. This bell, (according to his hagiography) was imbued with the power to affirm oaths and grant sanctuary.
Dr Jennifer Bell’s 2022 doctoral research explores the relic’s significance not merely as a legendary object, but as a tool of #ecclesiastical legitimacy. Bell identifies the bell, along with a now-lost altar and a portable shrine, as central relics in Cadoc’s cult. These material links reinforced his monastery’s status in a landscape where saintly lineage and relic possession bolstered authority.
Cadoc’s relationship with secular rulers is marked by tension. In one famous episode, his legend even has him opposing #KingArthur, demanding justice and asserting the Church’s moral authority - an early example of #Church resistance to worldly power in the Celtic hagiography.
Cadoc’s legacy endured through a network of dedications across #Wales and #Brittany. His spiritual “sons” included St Elli, and through them, his influence spread. There are at least three dates attributed to his feast - which of these you pick seems to be a matter of personal preference. What does remain, no matter the date, is a moment of reflection on a man whose life bridged holiness, learning, and bold witness.
06 August
Saint Baglan ab Ithel
Today is a vacant day in the Celtic Calendar. So why not mark it with a saint whose feast date has been lost. Today we ‘translate’ from obscurity #SaintBaglanAbIthel who was a 6th-century Breton-Welsh saint, venerated as a #missionary, #ChurchFounder, and member of one of the most distinguished saintly families of early #Christian #Wales. The son of Ithel Hael of Armorica (Brittany), Baglan was one of numerous siblings (including Saints Tanwg, Twrog, Tegai, Trillo, Flewyn, Gredifael, Llechid, and others) who migrated to #Wales, often under the leadership of #SaintCadfan, to spread the Christian faith.
Educated at the renowned monastic school of #LlantwitMajor (Llanilltud Fawr) under #SaintIlltud, #StBaglan is said to have displayed miraculous signs of #holiness early in life. One legend recounts that he carried fire in his robe without being burned, prompting #StIlltud to grant him a crozier and instruct him to build a church where he would find a tree bearing three signs: a pig’s litter, a beehive, and a crow’s nest. At such a place near the River Afan, he founded a church in what is now the eponymous #Baglan, #NeathPortTalbot.
The site became the focus of a healing devotion. A nearby #HolyWell was famed for curing children with rickets, (particularly on the first three Thursdays in May for some reason!). Though no fixed feast day survives in the broader Church calendar, Saint Baglan’s veneration was deeply rooted in the folk piety of Glamorgan. His original church was later rebuilt, and its ruins still stand as a Grade II listed site, close to the 19th-century St Catharine’s Church.
According to Baring-Gould and Fisher, “He is the reputed founder of Baglan near Briton Ferry, where his chapel, or cell, is said to have stood, and where the old church was dedicated to him.” His life (vita), though preserved in fragmentary tradition, offers a vivid insight into the spiritual ferment of sub-Roman Wales. A time marked by kinship networks, #monastic #discipleship, and #MissionaryZeal.
05 August
Henry Maurice
Another day - another call for the inclusion of a marginalised figure from #Welsh Ecclesial history to be included in our #hagiography!
#ReverendHenryMaurice was born in 1634 at Methlan in the parish of #Aberdaron, Llŷn Peninsula, into a minor gentry family. Educated at Jesus College, Oxford (a cradle of Welsh Anglican formation) he initially conformed to the post-Restoration Church of England, holding livings at #Bromfield, #Mellteyrn, and #ChurchStretton. Yet his early conformity masked a deep spiritual crisis. Confronted by outbreaks of fever and his own moral unease, Maurice underwent a profound #conversion, resigning all benefices by 1671 and embracing the path of an #IndependentEvangelist.
Following a period of debt and imprisonment in Shrewsbury, he relocated to Much Wenlock and entered a life of itinerant, conscience-driven #ministry. Though briefly licensed under the 1672 Declaration of Indulgence, he frequently preached without formal permission. Travelling on foot and horseback across #Montgomeryshire, #Brecknockshire, #Radnorshire, and his native #Llŷn, he addressed large gatherings in barns, fields, churchyards (even under the very pulpits of Anglican churches). His audiences included both Welsh and English speakers, #Anglicans #Congregationalists, #Baptists, and particularly spiritually hungry #rural poor.
Maurice admired earlier Welsh #Puritan pioneers like Walter Cradock, whom he called “the Apostle of Wales,” and modelled his ecclesiology on the “New England pattern,” rooted in #covenantalcommunity and #layparticipation in contrast to the clericalism of the #AnglicanChurch at that time. His personal journal, though unpublished, reveals a life marked by #sacrifice, #hardship, and fierce #joy in the #gospel. He died on in 1682, aged just 48, worn out by the pace of his labours.
Although he became a #Nonconformist, Maurice’s ministry flowed from an Anglican #formation. His commitment to #scripture, #pastoralcare, #bilingualpreaching, and conscience-led #reform embodied the best of the Anglican spirit. He anticipated a Church not bound to privilege but alive to grace at the margins - a vision deeply resonant with the Church in Wales today.
Inclusion of Henry Maurice in our hagiography would honour the legacy of 17th-century conscience, pastoral courage, and #missionalrenewal. His life affirms that holiness is not confined to ecclesiastical office but found in faithful presence and prophetic obedience. His memory challenges the Church to #walkhumbly, #preachboldly, and #serve without fear.
04 August
Saint Elfoddw
Dates were particularly important to today’s Saint … #SaintElfoddw (also known as Elbodugus or Elvod), was a pivotal figure in the 8th-century #Welsh Church, remembered above all for bringing the churches of #Wales into alignment with the wider Western Church in the celebration of #Easter. Serving as #Bishop of #Bangor, and later revered as #Archbishop of Gwynedd, Elfoddw combined deep learning, pastoral wisdom, and ecclesial diplomacy to guide the Church through a time of theological and liturgical divergence.
For centuries, the #WelshChurch had followed an insular tradition of calculating the date of Easter (inherited from early Celtic Christianity). In 768, under Elfoddw’s leadership, the Welsh bishops formally adopted the Roman computus (the method used by most of Christendom) thus ending a long-standing #controversy and uniting Welsh practice with the wider #Christian world. This change was not imposed by force but achieved through #persuasion, #theologicalinsight, and careful #teaching.
#StElfoddw was also a man of letters and a teacher of scholars. The historian Nennius, author of the ‘Historia Brittonum’, calls St Elfoddw his “master and guide”, praising his learning and spiritual authority. It is likely that Elfoddw fostered a school or monastic community of Christian formation, centred at Bangor or another ecclesiastical seat in #Gwynedd.
His legacy is one of #unity, #wisdom, and ecclesial #maturity. He stands as a model of pastoral reform, not for its own sake, but for the sake of communion, truth, and holiness. The ‘Annales Cambriae’ record his death around 809, marking the end of a life that transformed the direction of #WelshChristianity.
Elfoddw remains a saint not only of reform, but of fidelity — a shepherd who led his people deeper into the mystery of the universal Church.
03 August
Saint Germanus of Auxerre
Today is the date in the Orthodox Calendar when #SaintGermanus of Auxerre is remembered, a Gallo-Roman aristocrat turned ascetic #bishop, he played a pivotal role in the #Christian formation of #Wales during the fragile years following Rome’s withdrawal. Educated in law and oratory at Rome, he rose to civil prominence before being chosen as Bishop of Auxerre around 418. Renouncing worldly honours, he embraced a life of simplicity, prayer, and doctrinal clarity.
In 429, Germanus was sent to #Britain by Pope Celestine I, accompanied by Bishop Lupus of Troyes, to counter the spread of Pelagianism - a #Welsh #Heresy denying original sin and divine grace. His mission, remembered for its powerful #preaching and theological triumph, had lasting influence.
One of the most vivid episodes of Germanus’s British mission is the #AlleluiaVictory. Learning that a coalition of enemies (likely Picts and Saxons) was preparing to attack, Germanus assumed leadership not
with weapons but with #faith. He instructed the untrained British forces to ambush the enemy from the hills in the Vale of Clwyd area of #NorthWales (specifically near Maes Garmon (Germanus’s Field) just west of Mold). At his command, they raised a great cry of #Alleluia, echoing threefold through the valley. The sound was so overwhelming that the enemy fled in #panic, convinced they faced a vast army. Not a sword was drawn. Germanus thus preserved Wales not only from heresy but from military #defeat, becoming a symbol of victory through faith.
This story, preserved in the early ‘Vita Germani’ by Constantius of Lyon, powerfully shaped his devotion in Wales. Churches and villages bearing his name (such as Llanarmon) reflect his deep imprint. Later tradition credited him with #ordaining Welsh bishops, mentoring local saints, and laying spiritual foundations for a native church rooted in monasticism, scriptural teaching, and resistance to false doctrine. He is especially linked with the spiritual formation of #SaintIlltud, who would become the father of Welsh monasticism; of #StDubricius, archbishop and missionary of the southeast; and of #StPadarn, whose ministry spanned from Ceredigion to Brittany. Through them, Germanus’s theological clarity and apostolic zeal were planted deeply in Welsh soil.
Germanus died in 448 while interceding on behalf of the oppressed in Ravenna. His body was returned to Auxerre, where a #shrine grew over his tomb. Yet his legacy endured far beyond Gaul. In the collective memory of #Wales, Germanus remains not just a visiting bishop, but a #foundingfigure, guardian of truth, teacher of saints, and a shepherd who overcame darkness with a cry of praise!
02 August
Saint Gwynnen
Today we look at #SaintGwynnen (also known as Gwynnyn, Gwynan, or Gwynion), is listed in multiple early and later medieval Welsh sources as a son of #BrychanBrycheiniog (the semi-legendary fifth-century chieftain and saint-maker of Brycheiniog). His name appears in a variety of manuscript traditions, including the Bonedd y Saint (the “Genealogy of the Saints,” compiled c. 13th–14th century), Peniarth MS 16 and other genealogical tracts (dating from the 13th century onward), Jesus College MS 20 (late 14th century), and later compilations such as Rice Rees’ Welsh Saints (1836) and A. W. Wade-Evans’ The Brychan Documents (1944).
These independent sources, while genealogical in nature, consistently preserve #StGwynnen’s name among the children of Brychan. This suggests he was not a later interpolation but part of the early sanctified tradition surrounding Brychan’s household. His appearance in several variant forms across different manuscripts also points to an enduring oral and written transmission, albeit without embellishment through #hagiographical narrative.
No surviving church, chapel, or locality bears St Gwynnen’s name, and there is no evidence of sustained devotion, feast day, or formal veneration in the medieval calendars. He is certainly not found in the calendars used in the #ChurchinWales today. However, his inclusion across major sources indicates at least a nominal recognition of #sanctity, as was often the case with members of Brychan’s lineage, many of whom are credited with missionary activity, community leadership, or religious foundation work.
While St Gwynnen lacks a personal “Life” (vita) or miracle tradition, his multiple attestations lend him a degree of both #historical and #devotional credibility. He stands as a quiet figure within the tapestry of Welsh #sanctity, part of a sacred genealogy that helped shape the early #Christian identity of #Wales. In this, he joins the ranks of numerous lesser-known saints whose memory endures through faithful record-keeping rather than surviving devotion.
01 August
Saint Cynhafal
Today (01 August) we remember #StCynhafal a little-known yet distinctively #Welsh #Saint, traditionally dated to the 7th century and venerated as the founder of the church at #Llangynhafal, #Denbighshire. Though historical records are sparse, his memory endures through place-name, local tradition, and genealogical sources, which anchor him in the spiritual landscape of north-east #Wales.
According to the medieval Bonedd y Saint (“Genealogy of the Saints”) is counted among the “Three Bull-Chieftains of the Island of Britain” in the #WelshTriads (alongside Elinwy ap Cadegr and Afaon ap Taliesin). This triadic honourific suggests that Cynhafal was viewed not only as a #spiritual figure but as a leader of formidable influence - perhaps both #ecclesiastical and #bardic in nature, given his association with sons of poets.
The church of Llangynhafal )literally “church of Cynhafal”) bears his name and is the only one in Britain so dedicated. While the current structure dates mostly from the 13th to 15th centuries, local tradition attributes its foundation to Cynhafal himself. The churchyard’s circular shape and the nearby Ffynnon Cynhafal (St Cynhafal’s Well) point to earlier #Celtic origins. The well was famed for healing properties, particularly for skin ailments, suggesting a long-standing folk #devotion.
Although his official feast day falls on 05 October his name has also been historically used in Lammas (Loaf-Mass) liturgies on 01 August - perhaps given Cynhafal’s name containing haf (“summer”) and his reputed role as a founder and protector of a rural, agrarian community, his invocation within a harvest-focused day makes sense?
#SaintCynhafal remains a powerful symbol of local sanctity, tied deeply to the land and its memory. His legacy is preserved in church fabric, healing traditions, and enduring agrarian veneration - one of the many quiet witnesses to the rich early #Christian heritage of #Wales.
August
31 July
Saint Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd
Today (31 July) I make yet another argument for a missed opportunity to be righted, by including a new entry into our #celtic #hagiography.
#GruffuddApMareduddApDafydd is a mid-14th century Christian who stands as one of the last and greatest voices of the #gogynfeirdd, the classical Welsh court #poets. Yet his enduring significance lies not only in his poetic skill, but in his profound contribution to the religious #imagination of #Wales during a time of national despair and spiritual endurance. In a century marked by #conquest, #plague, and the erosion of native institutions, Gruffudd’s verse became a sanctuary of #faith, a liturgy in #language, and a quiet act of #resistance.
Gruffudd’s religious poems, especially his Awdl i’r Dioddefaint (Poem on the Passion), reveal a Christology shaped by #suffering and #empathy. His Christ is no distant deity but the Crucified One whose pain is shared with his people. The #Passion is not only remembered - it is relived in every wound of a conquered nation and every cry for mercy. Gruffudd gives theological voice to the belief that even in defeat, God is present, and that through Christ’s #suffering, #HopeEndures.
His hymns to the #VirginMary and various saints exemplify a deep Marian and hagiographical devotion, positioning Mary as a compassionate intercessor and the saints as #active spiritual companions. Gruffudd invites the faithful into the communion of saints not through learned Latin treatises but through the poetic rhythms of the Welsh tongue - rendering sacred truths accessible, beautiful, and incarnate in the language of the people.
In an age where church structures aligned with foreign rule, Gruffudd’s poems carried the living heart of #WelshChristianity. He upheld a native theology of justice, suffering, and divine solidarity, clothed in the strict cadences of cynghanedd. His verse functioned as catechesis, consolation, and worship.
For these reasons, Gruffudd ap Maredudd ap Dafydd deserves recognition within the hagiographical tradition of the #ChurchInWales.
Though not a saint in the traditional sense, he was a #ProphetPoet: a #LayTheologian who sanctified language, sustained the faith of a people, and proclaimed Christ crucified and risen in the mother-tongue of Cymru. His memory is a gift, and his voice still echoes in the depths of the Welsh soul.
30 July
Saint Cwrdaf
Today we reflect on the life of #SaintCwrdaf (also spelled Cawrdaf, Cwrda, or Cowrda). A rather elusive figure from the early #Welsh Christian tradition, known chiefly through place-names, poetic reference, and scattered entries in genealogical and legendary texts. No Latin or vernacular vita (saint’s life) survives, and his #devotion appears to have been localised and modest, yet persistent across centuries.
Churches dedicated to Cwrdaf are found at #Llanwrda in #Carmarthenshire, #Abererch on the Llŷn Peninsula, and #Llangoed in Anglesey (evidence therefore of devotion stretching from south-west to north-west Wales!). The village name Llanwrda itself derives from his name, pointing to a long-standing association. While concrete details of his life are lacking, some #Welsh #genealogies present him as a descendant of Caradog Freichfras, a semi-legendary king of #Gwent or #Brecknockshire. This connection situates him among a number of saintly figures who emerge from the intersection of royal lineage, bardic memory, and early monastic influence.
In Welsh triads, #StCwrdaf is named as one of the “three chief ministers of the Island of Britain,” and in the Dream of Rhonabwy, a medieval #Arthurian tale, he is listed among King Arthur’s counsellors (suggesting a role as a wise and faithful advisor, if not an ecclesiastical figure). However it is the fifteenth-century cywydd by the poet Hywel Rheinallt which is the primary #source for his veneration. One translated stanza reads:
“They have faith in the feasts of his image,
Look at his book and his pure bell!
Look, everyone, at your sustenance,
Go always to the grave, bringing wax!
There is a place to bend coins
On this, for everyone, for all.”
The poem implies the existence of a #shrine with a statue, a relic book, and a bell, where pilgrims would bring votive offerings of wax and coins. The reference to ‘bending coins’ suggests an apotropaic gesture (healing ritual), perhaps performed at a tomb.
Though little else is known, St Cwrdaf’s enduring presence in churches, poems, and place-names attests to a quiet but lasting thread of #sanctity in the fabric of Welsh #SpiritualHeritage.
29 July
Saint Sulien of Llanbadarn Fawr
There are three #StSuliens remembered in the Welsh calendar. Each is distinct. Today we remember #StSulien of #LlanbadarnFawr who was one of the most learned and devout figures in the #WelshChurch of the eleventh century. Born around 1011 in #Ceredigion, he became the abbot of Llanbadarn Fawr, a monastic and scholarly centre founded centuries earlier by #StPadarn. Sulien’s life spanned a time of political turbulence, Viking incursions, and ecclesiastical reform. Amid such challenges, he stood out as a faithful leader, educator, and man of prayer.
Sulien’s early education took him beyond #Wales. He is said to have studied in #Scotland for five years and in #Ireland for thirteen, acquiring learning and insight from the wider Celtic church. On his return to Llanbadarn around 1055, he strengthened the community’s reputation for scholarship and sanctity. Under his leadership, Llanbadarn became one of the most important centres of #religiouslearning in Wales, attracting students and scribes, and producing significant biblical and liturgical manuscripts.
He served twice as #Bishop of #StDavids, from 1073 to 1078 and again from 1080 to 1086, although he likely retained deep ties to Llanbadarn throughout his time in office. The ‘Brut y Tywysogion’, a key #medieval Welsh chronicle, records his death with reverence, calling him “the wisest of the Britons, illustrious for his religious life,” and praising his faithful instruction of his disciples and tireless pastoral work.
Sulien’s influence endured through his #children, several of whom were learned churchmen. His son #Rhygyfarch, also known as Rhigyfarch, authored the Life of Saint David, the principal medieval account of the Welsh patron saint, and helped establish St Davids as a national ecclesiastical centre. Other sons, such as Daniel and Ieuan, held church office and contributed to the #religious and #cultural life of medieval Wales.
Though no formal medieval life (vita) of Sulien survives, his memory was kept alive through tradition and the enduring impact of his family and school. He is commemorated in the #ChurchInWales on 29 July. Although I am not sure why? Despite my best efforts there seems to be no extant #reason for this date (can anyone help clarify?). He died on 31 December so perhaps 29 July is a date chosen to honour his legacy as a faithful bishop, teacher, and father of Christian learning when the calendar was more empty?
28 July
Saint Samson of Dol
Today (26 June) we remember #SaintTwrog who apparently was #stoned in more ways than one! He was a sixth-century Welsh missionary saint, renowned for his evangelical work in north-west Wales and his legendary feats of #strength and #sanctity. He was one of the saintly sons of Ithel Hael of Brittany, a noble family that sent many missionaries to Wales during the Age of Saints (his brothers included Saints Tanwg, Tecwyn, Baglan, and Tegai, all of whom are credited with founding churches across Wales).
Twrog is especially associated with three churches: Maentwrog in #Meirionnydd, Bodwrog in #Anglesey, and Llandwrog near #Caernarfon. Each community still bears his name, a testament to his enduring legacy.
The most famous legend of Twrog is rooted in Maentwrog. Upon encountering a pagan altar, he is said to have #prayed, consumed #sacredmushrooms (!), and hurled a colossal boulder from the summit of Moelwyn mountain to smash the altar below. The Maen Twrog, or Twrog’s Stone, still stands outside the church porch and is believed to bear his handprints (local tradition even links it to the grave of Pryderi, a character from the Mabinogion, blending Christian and mythic lore).
The church at Maentwrog, later rebuilt in the nineteenth century by John Douglas, remains a site of quiet #pilgrimage. It houses ancient yew trees and a pulpit carving of the saint. Bodwrog’s church, late medieval in origin, retains its simple beauty and recently reopened under the care of the #FriendsOfFriendlessChurches. Llandwrog continues active parish life today.
Saint Twrog is remembered as a holy man of #prayer, #power, and #mission. His story embodies the spiritual transformation of Wales from the old ways to the gospel of Christ, where even mountains moved at the command of #faith.
Please #pray for all churches dedicated in his name, their #mission and #ministry.
27 July
Michael Daniel Jones
Today we remember #MichaelDanielJones was born in 1822 in the village of Llanuwchllyn, raised in the shadow of Aran Benllyn and steeped in the rich traditions of #WelshNonconformity. A Congregationalist minister, #theologian, and educator, he became best known as the visionary behind the Welsh settlement in #Patagonia, Y Wladfa, and a tireless defender of the #WelshLanguage, faith, and identity. His life was shaped by a conviction that the #gospel must be proclaimed freely and in the mother tongue of the people.After studying theology in London, Jones was ordained in 1849 and later succeeded his father as Principal of Bala Independent College, where he trained ministers for the growing network of Welsh Congregational churches. His theology was Calvinist, rooted in #Scripture, and deeply committed to the autonomy of the local #church. But more than this, Jones believed that #ChristianFaith and Welsh identity were bound together. The chapel, the language, and the
culture all formed part of God’s calling to the Welsh people.
Distressed by the ‘Anglicisation of Wales’, particularly in the wake of the 1847 “Blue Books” (an Anglican authored report which painted a grim picture of Welsh nonconformity as rural and uninformed, Welsh Speakers as ignorant, and described nonconformist women as ‘wanton’), Jones came to believe that the survival of the Welsh language and nonconformist tradition might depend on planting a community #overseas. The result was Patagonia: a bold, even improbable vision of a Welsh-speaking Christian settlement at the edge of the world. He imagined it not as a retreat but as a new beginning, a place where chapel life could flourish unimpeded and the #gospel be lived out in the language of the #heart.
Though he did not sail with the first settlers aboard the Mimosa in 1865, Jones was the driving force behind the project. He chaired the Emigration Committee, secured support in Wales and in #Argentina, and kept in close contact with the settlers in the years that followed. When he finally visited the colony in 1882, he found churches, schools, and communities singing the same hymns he had known in Meirionnydd. It was a living testimony to the vision he had carried for decades.
On the evening of 27 July 1865, the settlers aboard the Mimosa sighted the Patagonian coast after a long and arduous voyage from #Liverpool. The next morning, 28 July, they disembarked at what is now Puerto Madryn. That night, filled with both tension and hope, marked the realisation of Jones’s prophetic dream. In Welsh cultural memory, 28 July is celebrated as Dydd Glaniad y Mimosa, the symbolic birthday of Y Wladfa, but the eve, 27 July, remains a moment of prayerful anticipation, a threshold between vision and fulfilment, which makes it a fitting date to commemorate Michael D. Jones himself.
Jones was not a #saint in the miraculous sense. But he was a man of profound faith, #prophetic courage, and deep #love for his people. His life calls us to consider what it means to be faithful, not only to God but to the cultural and spiritual inheritance entrusted to us. In that sense, his name deserves a place among the #holy men and women of Wales.
26 July
Saint Gwenafwy
Today we remember #SaintGwenafwy, again one of the lesser-known figures of early #Welsh Christianity, yet her memory endures through local tradition and ecclesiastical history. She is said to have been one of the many saintly children of Caw of Strathclyde, a northern British chieftain who, after being driven from his lands, found refuge in #Wales. Among her siblings were several prominent saints, (including Gildas the Historian, Samson of Dol, and Cawrdaf) whose names are more widely remembered.
Gwenafwy is closely associated with #Guilsfield, near #Welshpool in #Powys. The parish #church there was once dedicated to her (known locally as Sant Gwenafwy or Llanwenafwy) before it was rededicated to All Saints following the #Reformation. This connection firmly situates her within the spiritual landscape of Wales, particularly in the borderlands where ancient loyalties and traditions remained strong.
Although no written life (vita) of Gwenafwy survives, her name appears in early genealogies and in The Lives of the British Saints by Baring-Gould and Fisher, where she is recorded as a daughter of Caw and recognised among the saints of the early church. She is also connected with Cornwall, where a parallel tradition recalls her under the name Wennapa, as patroness of the Parish Church of St Wenappa in Gwennap, suggesting missionary movement or overlapping cults between Wales and Cornwall. The medieval Cornish dedication of ‘Ecclesia Sanctae Weneppae’ is recorded in ecclesiastical registers by the 13th century, attesting to the enduring presence of her influence beyond Wales.
#StGwenafwy is honoured as a virgin and religious, one of the many women whose quiet holiness contributed to the foundations of Christian life in post-Roman Britain. Her life speaks of a deep fidelity to prayer and kinship, rooted in the mission of the early #CelticChurch.
25 July
Saint James the Greater
In one of the Churches in my care - St Mary the Virgin Haverfordwest there is a sepulchre with a gisant (recumbent statue) of an unknown pilgrim, the aforementioned gisant has a prominent pilgrims scallop shell.
Today, on the feast of #SaintJames the Greater, the Church honours one of the earliest apostles and the patron of #pilgrims. While James is more commonly associated with the great shrine at Santiago de Compostela in Spain, his influence reached further than many might suppose, including the shores of #Wales.
Though not a saint of native Welsh tradition, James found a foothold here during the medieval period, largely through the rise of #pilgrimage. Churches bearing his name, such as those at Manorbier, Usk, and Tredegar, stand as quiet witnesses to the reach of his cult. These dedications, often introduced under #Norman influence, reflect the deepening links between #Wales and the wider Catholic world of the Middle Ages.
Pilgrimage routes crisscrossed our land, leading travellers from places like #Holywell, #StDavids, and #StrataFlorida to southern ports such as #Haverfordwest, #Newport, #Tenby, and #MilfordHaven. From there, pilgrims would board ships bound for the coasts of northern #Spain, journeying towards Compostela with #ScallopShells sewn to their cloaks. It was a dangerous and costly undertaking, yet one embraced by clergy and laity alike. Though records are fragmentary, we know that Welsh pilgrims did make the journey, driven by faith and longing.
St James came to represent more than a distant shrine. His image, staff in hand, became a symbol of the Christian life as pilgrimage. Even after the Reformation had quietened the veneration of saints, the idea of life as a sacred journey persisted. In the hymns of #AnnGriffiths and the poetry of #WilliamWilliams (Pantycelyn), the believer’s road to Zion echoes the spirit of Compostela.
Today, as more people rediscover ancient pilgrimage paths, including routes that lead from Wales to the sea, St James reminds us of the holiness of the road. His feast bids us to walk again, not merely to reach a place but to become pilgrims of the #heart, seeking Christ with every step and finding him in the company of fellow travellers.
24 July
Saint Heilin
Today the 24 July we recall one of the quieter names preserved in the shadow of #BrychanBrycheiniog’s vast spiritual legacy, that of #SaintHeilin. A figure little known today, yet honoured in early #WelshTradition as one of Brychan’s many saintly children. Although no written “Life” (Vita) of Heilin survives, his name is consistently included in medieval genealogical texts such as Bonedd y Saint and Peniarth MS 45, where he is listed alongside more familiar figures like Cynog and Dedyw. That inclusion alone secures for Heilin a place within the hallowed ranks of early #WelshSaints.
Heilin’s principal memorial lies in the place-name #Llanheilin (or Llanheilyn), a now-ruined church situated near #Llandegley in present-day #Powys. The dedication of this hilltop site, remote and solitary, speaks eloquently of the life its patron is believed to have lived. Local tradition, passed down well into the early modern period, regarded Heilin not as a bishop or missionary, but as a #HermitConfessor, one who turned from worldly inheritance to seek Christ in prayer and solitude, (such a pattern is not uncommon among Brychan’s children) and in Heilin’s case it evokes that ancient #Welsh instinct for holiness rooted in the land itself.
Confusion with St Elian Geimiad occasionally arises, owing to the similarity of their names. However, the weight of ecclesiastical and antiquarian scholarship (most notably Baring-Gould & Fisher) favour the interpretation that Llanheilin is rightly attributed as ‘Heilin son of Brychan’, rather than to any northern saint of a later period.
In the absence of legend or miracle, it is the steadfastness of #memory that bears witness to Heilin’s #sanctity. That his name endured in the lips of the faithful, in the ruin of a chapel, and in the lineage of families like the Heylyns of Montgomeryshire, is itself a kind of relic. We rightly claim today as his feast, giving thanks for a saint whose quiet #fidelity continues to inspire.
23 July
John Hughes
Today I am calling for #JohnHughes, the composer of the beloved Welsh hymn tune #CwmRhondda to be commemorated in the Welsh Calendar. He was a man whose life was shaped by quiet faithfulness, #musicalservice, and unwavering devotion to Christ. Born in Dowlais and raised in the Rhondda Valley, Hughes spent his working life as a colliery clerk, yet it was in the life of the #chapel that his true vocation flourished.
A committed member of Salem Baptist Chapel, Pontypridd, Hughes served faithfully as #organist for many years. His music was never written for fame or performance but offered as an act of worship. Rooted in the Welsh #Nonconformist tradition, his faith was grounded in Scripture, prayer, and the shared song of the gathered people. Hughes believed in a God who guided His people through the wilderness, who fed them with grace like manna, and who led them home - convictions poured into every bar of Cwm Rhondda.
Composed for a 1905 Cymanfa Ganu during the great Welsh Revival, Cwm Rhondda captures the pilgrim spirit of the Christian journey, resilient, reverent, and full of #hope. Though John Hughes remained largely unknown outside #Wales during his lifetime, his #music became a vessel of faith for generations.
He died on 23rd July 1932, buried beneath the hills where he had lived and worshipped. On his grave is carved a #line from his most famous #tune, a fitting tribute to a man whose deepest offering was not merely music, but a life lived in praise of #God. Through him, millions have sung with conviction: “Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer.”
22 Jul
Saint Gelert
Among the more obscure saints of early medieval #Wales is #SaintGelert, the presumed #founder or #confessor associated with the ecclesiastical site at #Beddgelert in #Gwynedd. This is of course not his fault, as he has been systematically #undermined by a #dog for the last 300 years!
For today the village is more commonly linked with the #sentimental legend of a faithful hound slain by Prince Llywelyn the Great, yet all earlier sources suggest that the name ‘Beddgelert’ – meaning “Gelert’s Grave” – originally honoured a human saint, not a dog.
Baring-Gould & Fisher argue that: “there can be little doubt that the name commemorates a local saint, probably a hermit” (Lives of the British Saints, II.221). The site was home to a #clas (an early Welsh monastic community), implying an original dedication to a saintly figure. Rice Rees similarly notes that the church “must have had its origin in some venerable personage or saint, not a beast” (Essay on the Welsh Saints, p. 289). Although no medieval hagiography survives under the name Gelert (or its #variants Cilert/Celert), the association with an early religious foundation strongly supports the historical presence of a Christian #confessor or #founder whose memory later became obscured.
By the 18th century, as #antiquarian interest revived Welsh folklore, the legend of the heroic hound Gelert emerged, first referenced by Thomas Pennant and embellished by later storytellers. This #legend, though evocative, has no basis in medieval Welsh tradition and most likely overwrote the memory of the saint.
Today, the church at Beddgelert is dedicated to St Mary, but its original #patron may well have been Gelert himself. In restoring his name to the #Welsh #hagiography, we honour not only a lost saint but the quiet holiness of those whose lives shaped early Christian #Wales.
21 July
Howell Harris
Today, the #ChurchInWales commemorates #HowellHarris (Hywel Harris), a figure of profound significance within our national religious history. Born at Trefeca, Breconshire, Harris, though never ordained, was providentially chosen to ignite the 18th-century Methodist Revival, reshaping Wales's spiritual character.
Harris's defining moment came in 1735 during communion at Talgarth parish church – a profound conversion redirecting his path. Forsaking Oxford and Anglican ordination, he embraced an extraordinary #LayPreaching vocation, convinced of a divine mandate. He proclaimed the Gospel tirelessly, on greens, in barns, homes, stirring renewal across communities.
His enduring legacy lies in organisation. He established hundreds of #seiadau (fellowship societies), providing laity with structures for prayer, scripture, and mutual support. These became the vital framework for Calvinistic Methodism (later the #Presbyterian Church of Wales).
Crucially, Harris remained, despite tensions, a communicant of the Church of England. His vision was intrinsic #reformation, not #schism. As his diary attests: “I was not called by man, but by God. I did not seek separation, only reformation.” The Church in Wales officially recognises this prophetic ministry:
“Howell Harris was the key initiator of the Methodist Revival in Wales. Though never ordained, he remained a member of the Church of England and worked tirelessly for the spiritual renewal of the nation. His lay preaching, catechising, and formation of societies laid the foundation for the Calvinistic Methodist movement.”
(Church in Wales Calendar, 2003)
Later, he founded a Christian #community at Trefeca, living communally in prayer, work, and study – a manifestation of his intense spiritual sincerity and burning love for Christ.
Harris stands as a vital witness: a lay theologian, organiser, mystic, and reformer. He embodies the power of the #HolySpirit working through the whole people of God, reminding us that ordained ministry, while essential, is not the sole vessel of divine grace and transformative action within the wider Church Catholic.
20 July
Saint Wilgefortis
While Saint Wilgefortis finds no place in our native Welsh calendars, her core narrative; resisting forced marriage through divine intervention and bodily transformation, echoes powerfully within our own ‘llances sanctaidd’ (holy maidens).
Please read this article by Kitteredge Cherry, founder at Q Spirit:
20 July
Saint Herve
Today 20 July we extend our gaze a bit further than Wales itself. Following Rome’s retreat, Christian sanctity in western Britain and Brittany manifested in localised forms. Urban #episcopal models gave way to ascetics emerging from #landscapes like hills and forests. Their authority stemmed from proximity to God and the land, not imperial structures.
Saint Hervé (c.568), a blind confessor and bard venerated in northern Brittany for over a millennium, exemplifies this shift. While his ‘vita’ (preserved in the ‘Acta Sanctorum’, Jul. V, 784-789) incorporates legend, its core presents a figure of profound prayer, poetic inspiration, and peace – sanctity rooted in #presence, not power.
Crucially, Hervé’s heritage reflects significant #Welsh influence. His father, #Hyvarnion, is explicitly identified in the sources as a court bard originating from Wales. Hyvarnion likely belonged to the early 6th-century Brythonic migrations, carrying #WelshLanguage,
#BardicTraditions, and #ChristianSpirituality into Armorica. As a court bard, he embodied ancestral memory and oral theology.
In Brittany, Hyvarnion married #Rivanone, a devout local woman. Their household was #bilingual (Welsh/Breton), valuing both the secular #harp and sacred #Psalter. Hervé, blind from birth, displayed early spiritual insight. After Hyvarnion’s death, Hervé’s education fell to a kinsman, (traditionally identified as the hermit #StUrfol. It was under Urfol, that Hervé’s gift of music inherited from his bardic father matured). Hervé’s vita recounts him composing hymns “more by inspiration than by hearing,” his voice deeply moving listeners.
Rejecting public office, Hervé founded a small community near #Lanhouarneau, refusing the abbacy. He lived simply as guide and intercessor, marked by #humility, #music, and compassion for people and animals.
#AlbertLeGrand (1636) records enduring tales, like adopting the #wolf which had slain his donkey; symbolic of his #harmony with creation and eschewal of vengeance. While miracles (healings, prophecies) are attributed, Hervé is foremost revered as a #bard serving #Christ. In Léon, he was the holy singer of divine mysteries. His #blindness became emblematic of spiritual vision; seeing clearest with the heart.
Consistently declining authority (claiming blindness made him unfit to govern), Hervé remained on the margins, serving the #poor and creatures, praising God in #simplicity.
#Hervé’s significance for Wales lies not just in his paternal lineage and bardic sanctity. Hyvarnion anchors him firmly within the #WelshSpiritual tradition. Hervé embodies the archetype of the holy, blind seer-bard: akin to #Taliesin, #DallánForgaill, or early saints of #Dyfed or #Ceredigion who fused faith and poetry.
Hervé represents a confluence of Welsh and Breton #Holiness, woven not through hierarchy, but through song, humility, and the quiet persistence of grace. He reminds us that enduring #sanctity is often measured not in mitres, but in lives sung faithfully "close to the land and to God" (‘agosed at yr tir ac at Dduw’).
19 July
Lewis Edwards
Today, I want to offer a fresh plea to the #ChurchInWales as it considers how best to tell its own sacred story, to offer again a call to expand our hagiographical vision. Not only should we recover those early Welsh saints whose memory has been #obscured or #forgotten, but we should also make space for figures of more #recent centuries whose lives, though not marked by miracle or martyrdom, have nonetheless radiated #holiness in their faithful service to Christ and nation.
One such figure is Dr #LewisEdwards (1809–1887). His claim to sanctity lies not in the ascetic withdrawal of a #hermit or the ecstatic visions of a #mystic, but in the sanctification of the Welsh #intellect. Born in rural Cardiganshire and deeply shaped by the Calvinistic Methodist tradition, Edwards held a lifelong conviction that true faith must go hand in hand with rigorous learning. In a Wales still recovering from #EconomicHardship and #CulturalMarginalisation, he gave the nation a generation of preachers who were not only devout but also thoughtful, able to preach with clarity, substance, and grace.
His crowning achievement was the foundation and leadership of #BalaCollege, which he led for half a century. There, he insisted that ministers be formed not only in #Scripture, but in #ChurchHistory, classical languages, and the life of the mind. Under his guidance, the Welsh pulpit became not only a platform for exhortation but a seat of #reflection and #reason.
His literary work was equally vital. As editor of ‘Y Traethodydd’ and ‘Yr Esboniwr’, he helped elevate the #WelshLanguage as a medium for theological and philosophical thought. In particular he helped frame a Welsh response to the doctrine of the #atonement. His writing gave voice to a #theological culture that was proudly national, intellectually serious, and spiritually profound.
Edwards was also a builder of the Church. He worked tirelessly to unify the Calvinistic Methodists of North and South Wales, introducing innovations like settled pastorates and a Sustentation Fund, all to ensure that #ministry could be rooted in the local soil and sustained in the #vernacular.
He died on the 19th of July, 1887. If we are to honour modern saints alongside the ancient ones, then this date would be a fitting day to remember him. For Lewis Edwards was, in every meaningful sense, a teacher-saint, a man who taught Wales to #think with faith, to #preach with depth, and to #love its language, land, and Lord.
18 July
Saint Cynan ab Eudaf
Today 18 July we explore the #legacy of one of the many figures who inhabit the borderlands of history and legend in early medieval Wales. #SaintCynanAbEudaf deserves particular attention. Though not canonised in any formal sense, nor associated with a cult or surviving church dedication, he features prominently in the earliest #genealogical records of the Welsh saints and royal houses. His presence in these texts, and the manner in which he is remembered, suggest a real individual whose life became #refracted through generations of bardic, clerical, and popular memory.
Cynan is best known as a son of Eudaf Hen, a Romano-British figure often equated with ‘Octavius’, and as the brother of Elen Luyddog and Conan Meriadoc. These familial links are preserved in medieval manuscripts (such as Peniarth MS 16, Harley MS 3859, and Jesus College Oxford MS 20), all of which situate Cynan within the semi-legendary ruling class of sub-Roman Britain.
He appears again in the #narrative tale Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig (“The Dream of Macsen Wledig”), found in the White Book of Rhydderch and Red Book of Hergest, where he is depicted as a nobleman of North Wales aiding the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. This tale, though #literary in character, may preserve a distant echo of genuine Romano-British loyalties and alliances during the empire’s final generations in Britain. Cynan is portrayed as loyal, martial, and honourable — perhaps the memory of a local dux (or commander) whose kinship to Elen helped secure political or military alliances.
Some later #Breton sources (such as the Life of St Gurthiern from 1120) reflect a parallel tradition, casting Cynan’s brother Conan as the founder of the British settlement in Armorica. It is not impossible that Cynan himself was part of this remembered migration, an event now deeply embedded in both Breton and #Welsh identity.
Though no shrine or relic remains, the name of Saint Cynan ab Eudaf continues to hold significance as a transitional figure, someone situated at the end of Roman Britain and the beginning of Christian Wales. His story (recovered as it is from fragments of genealogy and legend) offers a glimpse into the memory of a #lostleader, sanctified not by canon law, but by centuries of reverent remembrance.
17 July
Saint Cynllo
Today the 17 July, we celebrate an #Intercessor who is amongst the many holy figures who shaped the spiritual landscape of early Wales, #SaintCynllo remains one of the more quietly enduring. Though the details of his life are obscured by time, the legacy of his holiness is inscribed in the hills, valleys, and churches of #Radnorshire, #Montgomeryshire, and #Ceredigion.
Cynllo is traditionally believed to have lived during the sixth century. Some sources suggest he was of noble descent (possibly the son of Usyllt and kin to other northern saints such as Teilo) yet he is remembered not as a ruler, but as a man of #prayer. He appears to have left behind worldly honours in order to seek #solitude and communion with God, living as a hermit and spiritual guide in the uplands of #CentralWales.
Several churches bear his name: Llangynllo in Ceredigion and again in Radnorshire, Nantcynllo, and Llangoedmor among them. These dedications, often in remote or #ancient locations, suggest Cynllo’s ministry was rooted in silence, simplicity, and the rhythms of #prayer. The medieval church at Llangynllo, Radnorshire, is thought to rest on the site of Cynllo’s original #oratory or cell, preserving a living link to the saint’s own place of #devotion.
In the folk memory of the people, Cynllo became a figure of #intercession. Baring-Gould & Fisher in their ‘The Lives of the British Saints’, (vol. I, 258) state: “A Welsh saying declares, ‘Ni fynn mol Cynllo yn ofer’ (‘The prayer of Cynllo will not be in vain’), which implies that he was regarded as a powerful intercessor.” It is a fitting #tribute to a man whose sanctity lay not in recorded miracles or great journeys, but in the quiet, steadfast offering of a life turned wholly toward God.
16 July
Saint Berwyn
Among the many sons of #BrychanBrycheiniog, the great 5th-century chieftain and father of saints, #StBerwyn is a figure shrouded in mystery. His name is preserved in the old Welsh genealogies, ‘Bonedd y Saint’ and ‘Achau’r Saint’, where he is listed alongside more familiar siblings (such as Cynog and Dwynwen). But unlike many of them, who are remembered through churches, feast days, and tales of miracles, Berwyn has no surviving church dedication and no written vita to recount his deeds.
And yet, his name has endured (not in liturgy!), but in the very landscape of Wales. The #BerwynMountains, stretching across the borderlands of #Denbighshire and #Montgomeryshire, are widely thought to preserve the memory of the saint. While the name ‘Berwyn’ may have older poetic or topographic roots, both Rice Rees, in his 1836 Essay ‘On the Welsh Saints’, and P. B. Williams, in his ‘Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry’, argue for a connection with the saint himself. Rees observes that although no church is dedicated to Berwyn, the name survives “in the mountains that bear it,” while Williams refers to Berwyn as one of the “primitive confessors” whose #memory lives on in that “wild region called Cadair Berwyn.”
There is no record of a monastery or chapel, but it is not hard to imagine a saint like Berwyn drawn to the lonely valleys and windswept ridges of these highlands. In early #WelshChristianity, such remote places were often the chosen home of hermits and ascetics. It is possible that Berwyn lived a life of #prayer and #solitude here, sanctifying the heights not with words but with silence.
Today, no parish bells ring in his honour. His name is largely #absent from calendars and missals. But the mountains remain, vast and unchanging. They speak of a saint whose memory, though unrecorded in books, is written into the land itself. Saint Berwyn may have no altar, but the Berwyns are his #shrine.
15 July
Saint Llar
Among the many half-forgotten saints of Wales, few remain as elusive as #SaintLlar of #Llaneugrad. His name, preserved tenuously through the centuries, is attached to a solitary church on the eastern coast of #Anglesey (#YnysMôn). Today, #Llaneugrad is a quiet rural parish, but its dedication hints at deep Christian roots, perhaps reaching back to the sub-Roman period. The medieval parish church is thought to have been built over an earlier clas foundation, historically described as ‘Capel Llar’ (or in later Latinised form, ‘Ecclesia Sancti Llarii’ - although the latter term appears only in post-medieval sources).
#SaintLlar (also rendered as #Llarius in some later references) has left behind no surviving vita, no miracle tales, and no poetic elegies. He is #absent from the major genealogies of the Welsh saints, such as Bonedd y Saint and Achau’r Saint. Yet his name endures in local tradition and in the writings of early antiquarians. #BaringGould and #Fisher, in ‘The Lives of the British Saints’ (Vol. III, p. 471), observe: “The name is a rare one, and possibly linked to a primitive religious foundation, prior to the better-known #Cybi and #Seiriol settlements.” This suggests that #Llar may have been among the earliest Christian figures on #YnysMôn, rather than part of a later #missionary wave.
In 1723, #HenryRowlands, writing in ‘Mona Antiqua Restaurata’, identified #Llaneugrad as a site of early #ChristianDevotion. #BaringGould and #Fisher further note: “Llar (Llarius). The church of Llaneugrad in Anglesey is believed to derive from a dedication to this obscure saint, though no particulars of his life survive.”
What may be said with some confidence is that #Llar was likely a local #holy man, perhaps a #hermit, whose sanctity was remembered within the community long enough for his name to become permanently associated with the land and its church.
One evocative piece of oral tradition speaks of a ‘stone footstep’ said to have been formed under the saint while #kneeling in #prayer. This detail is briefly recorded in a 19th-century manuscript summary of Anglesey #folklore, now held in the National Library of Wales (#NLW MS 13245B), although the precise origin and context of the story are no longer extant.
Though his story is now largely lost to history, the memory of #SaintLlar continues as part of the #SacredLandscape of #YnysMôn. In recent years, a commemorative feast on 15 July has been proposed as a quiet liturgical remembrance of a man whose life once shaped the spiritual imagination of his people. Even the quietest lives can echo across centuries!
14 July
Saint Trillo
The name of #StTrillo is preserved among the early #Breton missionaries to Wales, appearing in the twelfth-century genealogy ‘Bonedd y Saint’ as one of the sons of Ithel Hael of Brittany, a noble whose children are credited with establishing churches throughout north and mid Wales. The text refers to “Tegei Glassaüc y Maes-Llan a Therillo yn Ros, meibyon Ithael o Lydaŵ” — that is, “Tegai Glasog of Maes-llan and Trillo in Rhos, sons of Ithel from Brittany.” These brothers formed part of a wider wave of Christian settlement across western Britain, often in the company of more senior religious leaders.
According to Baring-Gould & Fisher, Trillo was a “son of Ithel Hael, disciple of St Cadfan”, and is “credited with founding the llan at Llandrillo (Denbighshire) and Llandrillo-yn-Rhos (Rhos-on-Sea).” These twin foundations, both bearing his name, reflect his enduring #spiritualinfluence in northern #Wales. Although no early literary vita of Trillo survives, his association with #StCadfan places him in a well-
attested circle of missionaries active in Gwynedd in the early sixth century.
Later tradition, preserved in a series of stained-glass windows at Llandrillo-yn-Edeirnion, depicts St Cadfan clothing Trillo in the monastic habit. Whether this window is meant to be taken literally or symbolically, the scene suggests a relationship of #discipleship and #mutualpurpose. Cadfan’s monastic project, centred at #Tywyn and later #BardseyIsland, offered young noble converts like Trillo a rule of #prayer, #manualwork, and #hospitality rooted in both desert tradition and the love that the #CelticChurch had for solitude.
St Trillo is remembered for his pastoral humility and his establishment of small centres of worship. At Rhos, he built his oratory over a #naturalspring that continued to flow visibly beneath the altar for centuries. The water was used for #baptisms and, in time, came to be associated with #healing. Such cells were not abbeys in the continental sense, but more likely single dwellings with a chapel and enclosure, sanctified by #simplicity and #dailyprayer.
At the end of his life, Trillo’s #relics were translated to Bardsey Island, the Ynys Enlli of Welsh devotion, where so many saints were laid to rest that it came to be called the ‘island of twenty thousand saints’. His feast is now kept on 14 July, the date of that ‘translatio’, a fitting remembrance of his final journey to join the communion of the holy dead.
Though overshadowed in literary fame by figures like David, Cadog, and Illtud, Trillo remains a figure of quiet #faithfulness. He is remembered not through miracles or writings, but by the places that still bear his #name, the #chapel that shelters his #spring, and the memory of a man who crossed the sea in search of a life shaped by #prayer, #service, and #peace.
13 July
Saint Julitta
#SaintJulitta, honoured in the ancient church of #Llanilid in #Glamorgan, is remembered in #Welsh tradition as an early Christian woman who arrived in Britain from #Gaul. Unlike the better-known Eastern saint martyred under Diocletian - Julitta of Tarsus, ‘our’ Julitta is venerated not for martyrdom but for her role in establishing the faith in post-Roman Wales. To distinguish her from the Tarsus martyr (celebrated on 30th July), Julitta of Llanilid is observed on 13 July.
According to Welsh ecclesiastical tradition, St Julitta arrived from #Armorica (modern Brittany) during the turbulent fifth century, at a time when Roman order was collapsing in Britain. She is said to have travelled with a small band of Christian companions (most likely other #womenreligious), who sought to bring the Gospel to the Brythonic peoples of the western isles. Julitta eventually settled in the region of Glywysing, founding a Christian community near the banks of the #EwennyRiver. The church she established became known as Llanilid, meaning “the church of Ilid” (Rees, An Essay on the Welsh Saints, pp. 183 to 185).
The evolution of her name from Julitta to Ilid or Llid is consistent with broader #linguisticpatterns in the Welsh adaptation of Latin names. As Baring-Gould and Fisher explain, names of foreign origin often underwent #transformation in the early medieval period. “Julitta” would have softened in pronunciation over time, with the Latin “J” becoming an initial “I” or “Y” sound in Welsh, and the diminutive feminine suffix “-itta” dropping away or being assimilated (Baring-Gould and Fisher, Lives of the British Saints, vol. III, pp. 287 to 289). Thus, Julitta became Ilid, and in later centuries sometimes Llid.
The church at Llanilid preserves the memory of this saint (even though no formal hagiography survives). In her 2008 study, Feminine Sanctity and Spirituality in Medieval Wales, Jane Cartwright notes that many early Welsh female saints have left behind little more than place-names and dedications. Yet these remain enduring witnesses to their foundational roles in the religious life of the land.
Saint Julitta of Llanilid stands as one such figure. A Gallic woman of #courage and #holiness, her memory lingers in the sacred landscape of south Wales. Though her story may now be #fragmentary, the enduring dedication of Llanilid testifies to a life that helped shape the Christian identity of the region.
12 July
Saint Gwrddlew
#StGwrddlew, (also known by the name variants Gwrtheliw, Gwrtheli, or Gwrthwl), was an early Welsh confessor saint from the post-Roman period of Christianity. He is remembered especially in the region of #Powys. His name is thought to mean ‘noble lion’ (with gwrdd meaning noble and llew meaning lion), suggesting a character marked by inner strength and quiet authority. He is best known as the patron of #Llanwrthwl, a parish near the upper River Wye, where an ancient church still bears his name.
According to the medieval Welsh genealogical text Bonedd y Saint, Gwrddlew was the son of #StCennydd, the celebrated hermit associated with Gower. This family link places him among one of the significant lineages of saints in early Welsh Christianity, alongside the descendants of Cunedda and Brychan, who were instrumental in spreading the #Christian faith throughout the land. Gwrddlew likely lived during the sixth century and served as a holy man or spiritual teacher in the uplands of Breconshire. His title of #Confessor suggests a life marked by devotion and public witness to the Gospel, though not by martyrdom.
The church at Llanwrthwl is thought to be of very early foundation. Its oval-shaped #churchyard points to its probable origin as a pre-Norman ecclesiastical enclosure. The surrounding features (ancient #yewtrees and a #holywell) lend further weight to the site’s spiritual antiquity and local reverence. Although no detailed life of the saint survives, his memory has endured in the place itself, passed down through generations.
While the cult of St Gwrddlew did not extend far beyond his native region, he remains a striking example of the kind of quiet sanctity that shaped early #WelshChristianity. The restoration of his feast day to 12 July provides an opportunity to honour those faithful witnesses whose holiness was expressed not through fame or dramatic miracles, but through enduring faithfulness to Christ in #rurallife.
11 July
Saint Cynfelyn
#StCynfelyn was a sixth-century Welsh confessor saint connected with the early monastic community of #Llancarfan in Glamorgan, founded by #StCadoc. Although no formal ‘Vita’ (Life) of St Cynfelyn of Llancarfan survives, he is remembered in tradition as one of Cadoc’s disciples and part of the missionary movement that helped sustain and spread the Christian faith in post-Roman Wales. Also spelt Cynfelin (Cymeli - or Cymelinus in Latin) he represents those quiet and faithful monastics whose influence was felt not through royal deeds or dramatic miracles, but through prayer, teaching, and holy living.
The most enduring witness to his veneration is found in the parish of #Llangynfelyn in #Ceredigion. The place-name itself means “church of Cynfelyn,” and indicates an ancient dedication. Located on or near a Roman road and close to an early holy well, the site reflects the pattern by which early Christian communities re-used pre-Christian or Roman sites, turning them into centres of faith. While no church at Llancarfan bears his name today, the title “of Llancarfan” in later sources such as Baring-Gould’s Lives of the British Saints points to his training or ministry there.
The name Cynfelyn is of Welsh origin, combining cyn, meaning “chief” or “first,” with melyn, meaning “fair” or “blond.” Whether it began as a given name or an epithet is unclear. His feast is not recorded in the earliest calendars, but modern sources have sometimes commemorated him on 11 July.
St Cynfelyn stands as a representative of the many early Welsh saints whose memory is preserved in the land itself. His quiet #witness and his association with the school of Llancarfan remind us of the depth and continuity of the Christian faith in Wales, carried not only by great founders, but also by those who lived faithfully and taught others to do the same.
Please #pray for both the people of Llancarfan and the people of Llangynfelyn today.
10 July
Saint Cyfyw
Today 10 July we remember #StCyfyw, Virgin who like yesterday is another little-known early Welsh saint. Traditionally named among the many saintly daughters of Brychan Brycheiniog, (the 5th-century chieftain of Brycheiniog renowned for the Christian missionary legacy of his children). Medieval sources such as Bonedd y Saint and Jesus College MS20 identify her as a virgin and confessor, but unlike some of her more prominent siblings, no miracle stories or written vita (life) have survived.
No surviving church is definitively dedicated to St Cyfyw today, but antiquarian tradition preserves a tantalising #clue to her historical veneration. Scholars in the 19th century proposed that #Llanllowell, a small rural church near #Usk in Monmouthshire, may once have borne her dedication. The Cambrian Archaeological Association Journal notes:
“The Llanllowell church, lying near the Usk, is of early foundation. That
the saintly daughter Cyfyw may have had a chapel there, erased by subsequent practice, is within the bounds of tradition.”
(Cambrian Archaeological Association Journal, vol. XII, 1865, p. 122)
The name Cyfyw is rare and does not appear outside hagiographic genealogies. Its etymology is unclear, but may derive from the Welsh root cyf- meaning “together” or “harmonious,” and possibly yw, “is,” suggesting a meaning such as “she who is in harmony.”
This suggestion fits the known pattern of lost or #overwritten dedications to the daughters of Brychan, particularly in Gwent and south-east Wales where early dedications to women saints were often subsequently ‘overwritten’ by male dedications! Cyfyw thus represents the many #hidden #holywomen whose lives shaped Welsh Christianity but were later obscured by reformation, rededication, or the erosion of oral tradition.
Though seldom commemorated in liturgy, Cyfyw can be honoured on 10 July, offering a space in the calendar for reflection on the quiet #sanctity of those saints who lived faithfully and died in obscurity, known to God, if not to history. Her #legacy invites renewed recognition of those whose #holiness, like hers, was marked not by renown but by #spiritualharmony.
Please pray for the generations of faithful Christian’s women, whose names have been overwritten by the implicit patriarchy of society in times gone by, and behaviours which continue today …
The icon below represents St Cyfyw as a Virgin-Saint in white robe and veil (symbolising virginity and purity), with a Palm (symbolic of sanctity and innocence), and the closed book (denoting wisdom). She is seen standing amongst other named female saints depicting those who have been #cancelled by the church in the past.
09 July
Saint Llofan
Today 09 July we remember #SaintLlofan, a shadowy figure among the early saints of #Wales, known almost entirely through genealogical tradition. He is named as one of the sons of Brychan Brycheiniog, the legendary fifth-century king of Brycheiniog whose children were famed for spreading Christianity across Wales and the surrounding regions. Llofan’s name appears in certain medieval copies of the Bonedd y Saint (the Genealogy of the Saints), which lists the holy offspring of Brychan, but offers no further detail about his life or works.
Unlike some of his brothers and sisters, (such as Saint Cynog or Saint Dwynwen), Llofan is not known to have left behind a church, chapel, or holy well in his name. No surviving Vita (Life) or collection of miracles has come down to us. His #memory survives only in the genealogical lists, (and even there it is uncertainty). In some cases, his name may have been confused with or absorbed into other similar names, (such as Llifan or Llonio), although these connections are speculative and cannot be confirmed.
It is possible that Llofan lived a faithful and devout life known to a local community, perhaps as a #monk, #hermit, or early #evangelist. If so, his story may have faded over time, leaving only the echo of his name among the descendants of Brychan. His presence in the roll of saints, however, suggests that he was remembered with #reverence, even if his deeds are now #forgotten.
To remember a forgotten Celtic saint is an act of #faithfulness, not sentimentality. It reconnects the Church with her #indigenous roots, broadens our vision of #sanctity, and rekindles our imagination for #mission and #holiness today. In a time when Christian identity is often contested or weakened, the recovery of these saints is a #PropheticAct, a reminder that the #Gospel has deep roots in these lands, and that those roots are still alive.
Though no churches bear his name today, and no hymns recall his witness, Saint Llofan remains one of the #HiddenSaints of Wales, a quiet reminder that holiness is not always marked by fame, but sometimes by obscurity, endurance, and the memory of the faithful.
08 July
Saint Ceitho
I haven’t had the chance to check it out but if it’s true then the well dedicated to today’s #CelticSaint would seem to be an ideal holiday destination!
#StCeitho, remembered today (the 8 July) was an early #Welsh saint of the sixth century who lived a life of #prayer and #simplicity in what is now #Ceredigion. He was one of five brothers (Ceitho, Gwynno, Gwynoro, Celynin, and Gwyn) who were the sons of Cynyr of Cynwyl Caio, a nobleman from Carmarthenshire. Their names appear in Bonedd y Saint (the medieval Welsh genealogy of saints), and their tradition as founders and missionaries is supported by later sources such as Baring-Gould’s Lives of the British Saints (vol. 1, 1907), where Ceitho is described as a #hermit and #churchfounder.
Ceitho is most closely associated with the village of #Llangeitho, whose name means ‘the church of Ceitho’. The site is marked by a circular churchyard, a common feature of early Celtic Christian settlements. Baring-Gould states that Ceitho lived a #solitary life near a spring that became known as #FfynnonCeitho. This well, still known today, is said to be warm in winter and cold in summer, and was long a place of pilgrimage (and perhaps an ideal holiday destination with a built in holy hot/cool tub!)
There is no surviving written ‘vita’ (Life of the saint), and no record of dramatic #miracles. His works were marked instead by a quiet #witness: a life given to #prayer, #manualwork, and the #care of a small Christian #community. The church at Llangeitho, which still bears his name, stands as the most visible reminder of his presence.
Writers such as Samuel Lewis in his 1833 Topographical Dictionary of Wales note that both the well and church, and its continued local devotion went on well into the nineteenth century. Though not included in the official #ChurchInWales calendar, the date of 8 July is traditionally associated with St Ceitho and we should perhaps consider restoring it as a commemoration of his gentle faithfulness?
07 July
Saint Lleuddad
#StLleuddad, whom we remember today (07 July), is venerated in #Welsh tradition as a hermit, monastic founder, and spiritual leader of the early Christian Church in Britain. Also known as Lleuddog or Lleudad, he lived during the sixth century and was a son of King Dingad ab Nudd Hael, a noble lineage closely associated with the early #evangelisation of south-east Wales. His family included other saints, such as St Baglan, placing him within a wider community of holy men and women who helped shape the early #WelshChurch.
The Bonedd y Saint (Genealogies of the Saints) and the Vespasian Psalter Genealogy preserve his name and lineage, while Capgrave’s Nova Legenda Angliae and several Peniarth manuscripts also bear witness to his memory and influence. These sources link Lleuddad to the spread of #MonasticChristianity in Wales and establish his role as a spiritual figure of early sanctity.
Lleuddad is especially associated with founding or reforming the religious settlement at Llangadog, and is the patron of Llanllawddog in Carmarthenshire. These communities continue to honour his memory and reflect the scope of his pastoral mission. Though likely trained as a #monk, he eventually embraced the solitary life of a #hermit, following a path of prayer, contemplation, and withdrawal from worldly affairs. This vocation was characteristic of many early #CelticSaints, who sought holiness in simplicity and seclusion.
Tradition tells us that Lleuddad later journeyed to #BardseyIsland (#YnysEnlli), where he lived in solitude. Bardsey, already becoming renowned as a sacred burial place of saints, was further sanctified by his presence and became a centre of #pilgrimage and spiritual retreat.
Although sometimes confused with St Llawddog, (a different saint more widely venerated in north Wales and Cornwall), Lleuddad remains a distinct and cherished figure in the #Carmarthenshire tradition. His legacy endures in the churches that bear his name, in the sacred landscape of Bardsey Island, and in the quiet witness of a life wholly devoted to God.
Please pray today for all churches dedicated to St Lleuddad, and for the Christian communities who #worship and #serve in his name.
06 July
Saint Cylflifer
#SaintCylflifer, (known also as Cyflifer, Cyflefyr, Kyfliuer, or Chybliuer), who we remember today 06 July is a little-known figure from the early Christian tradition of #Wales. His name survives in scattered references across #medievalmanuscripts, preserved in genealogical lists and obscure ecclesiastical records. Though his memory was never honoured in widespread devotion or popular devotion, his place among the sanctified lineage of #BrychanBrycheiniog marks him as part of the Christianisation of Wales in the post-Roman period.
According to a preserved tradition recorded in #Norwegian sources (and seemingly based on the #TrumanManuscript, held in the #NationalLibraryOfWales) Cylflifer was the son of Saint Dingat (founder of the Church community in #Llandovery), making him a grandson of the prolific Welsh patriarch Brychan.
The same Norwegian tradition claims that Cylflifer was #martyred by pagan Saxons in the region of #Ceredigion, and that he was buried
where he fell. The place came to be known as #MerthyrCibliuer, using the Welsh term merthyr (meaning a martyr’s shrine or resting place). This site is briefly mentioned in the Book of Llan Dâv, where it is listed as one of the churches under the authority of Bishop Urban in the early twelfth century. No such site is identifiable today, and its location, though presumably in Ceredigion, has been #lost to history.
Cylflifer’s name does not appear in the surviving liturgical calendars of Wales. No ‘official’ feast day is known. No churches are dedicated to him today, and no miracles or relics are attributed to him. What remains is a single thread of memory woven into the tapestry of early #WelshChristianity: the name of a martyr, preserved through genealogical devotion and the careful work of scribes.
That his memory found its way to a Norwegian catalogue of saints is a #curious reminder of how widely Welsh hagiographical material travelled, even as local devotion faded. His story represents a class of saints who lived in the age of heroic sanctity, yet who passed into obscurity as the ecclesiastical structure of Wales matured and consolidated. In Cylflifer we glimpse the quiet witness of a missionary or confessor whose blood, if indeed he died for the faith, became part of the soil from which Welsh Christianity grew.
Though his shrine has disappeared and his feast was never fixed, the ancient record of Merthyr Cibliuer speaks still of a man once remembered as holy. He remains a #saint known to God, if not to the calendar.
05 July
Saint Cewydd
Today we remember #SaintCewydd, (also known as Cewydd ap Caw or Cewydd Fendigaid a ‘the Blessed’), a sixth-century saint remembered chiefly as the #RainSaint of #Wales. He is traditionally listed among the many saintly children of Caw of Strathclyde, a northern chieftain who migrated into Wales. His brothers include more widely known figures such as Saint Gildas and Saint Samson.
Cewydd’s devotion is most closely associated with central and southern Wales, especially #Montgomeryshire, #Radnorshire, and #Brecknockshire, with traces extending into Shropshire and Herefordshire.
Cewydd became known in Welsh weather lore through the saying, “Os gwlith y Cewydd, bydd glaw am ddeugain niwrnod” (“If it rains on the feast of Cewydd, there will be rain for forty days”). This parallels the legend of #SaintSwithun of Winchester, whose feast falls on 15 July. It is likely that this date was assigned to Cewydd (only later) by association, rather than through any rooted tradition in the Welsh ecclesiastical calendar.
Today we remember #SaintCewydd, (also known as Cewydd ap Caw or Cewydd Fendigaid a ‘the Blessed’), a sixth-century saint remembered chiefly as the #RainSaint of #Wales. He is traditionally listed among the many saintly children of Caw of Strathclyde, a northern chieftain who migrated into Wales. His brothers include more widely known figures such as Saint Gildas and Saint Samson.
Cewydd’s devotion is most closely associated with central and southern Wales, especially #Montgomeryshire, #Radnorshire, and #Brecknockshire, with traces extending into Shropshire and Herefordshire.
Cewydd became known in Welsh weather lore through the saying, “Os gwlith y Cewydd, bydd glaw am ddeugain niwrnod” (“If it rains on the feast of Cewydd, there will be rain for forty days”). This parallels the legend of #SaintSwithun of Winchester, whose feast falls on 15 July. It is likely that this date was assigned to Cewydd (only later) by association, rather than through any rooted tradition in the Welsh ecclesiastical calendar.
04 July
Saint Peblig
Today we remember #StPeblig (known in Latin as Publicius) who is a fourth to fifth-century saint whose life bridges the world of #ImperialRome and the emerging Christian faith in #Wales. He is remembered as the son of the Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus (Macsen Wledig) and Elen of Caernarfon, a noblewoman associated with the spread of Christianity and the building of roads and churches throughout Wales. According to #legend, Macsen dreamt of a maiden in a distant land, journeyed to Snowdonia to find her, and married her. Their union resulted in the birth of Peblig, a child of both Roman destiny and prophetic vision.
After receiving Christian instruction (some traditions suggest in Gaul) Peblig returned to #Segontium, the Roman fortress above #Caernarfon. Around the year 433, he is said to have founded a church on the site of an old Roman cemetery. One version of the story claims that he transformed a #Mithraeum (a pagan temple dedicated to the god Mithras used by Roman soldiers) into a Christian altar. This act marked the triumph of #Christ over #pagan religion and affirmed the Christian future of the region.
This site became #Llanbeblig, now home to St Peblig’s Church. Although the current structure dates from the medieval period, it stands near the original foundation and retains deep historical and spiritual significance. The 14th-century #LlanbebligBookOfHours commemorates Peblig and includes a miniature that may depict him in episcopal vestments, blessing with a crosier.
Local folklore adds further colour to his legacy. Peblig is remembered as a #protector saint, especially in times of danger. It was once believed that no enemy could breach the town’s defences while prayers were being offered at his #tomb. This reputation reflects both his Roman heritage and his role as a Christian guardian of the land.
St Peblig remains a powerful symbol of faith, identity, and transformation in the Welsh Christian tradition. Please #pray today for the Christians of Caernarfon and in particular for those who worship in St Peblig's Church.
03 July
Saint Germanus
Today’s profile is dedicated to a former curate who hails from the #IsleOfMan. Father Robert - this one is for you!
#SaintGermanusOfMan whose feast falls today, the 3 July, was a missionary bishop of the early medieval period, probably active during the fifth or sixth century, and associated particularly with the Isle of Man (though often confused with or overshadowed by Saint Germanus of Auxerre, who famously visited Britain in 429 to oppose the Pelagian heresy and who we will celebrate next month), the tradition concerning St Germanus of Man preserves a distinct identity. He is remembered as a disciple of #SaintPatrick and is said to have been consecrated by him and sent to the Isle of Man as one of its first bishops.While the cult of Germanus of Auxerre spread widely in southern and eastern Britain, the dedications to #SaintGarmon (as both are alternately known) which are found in the far northwest of Wales, especially in #Anglesey and the #LlŷnPeninsula, are more likely to
refer to St Germanus of Man. These regions had strong maritime and cultural links with the Isle of Man, and the memory of a #Celtic #missionary #bishop rooted in the shared life of the Irish Sea would have had more local resonance than that of a continental visitor remembered primarily for theological controversy.
Dedications such as #Llanarmon near Aberdaron and #CapelGarmon suggest an older and more indigenous layer of devotion (distinct from the later Roman or Norman promotion of Germanus of Auxerre). St Germanus of Man fits the familiar pattern of the early Celtic bishop, itinerant and pastoral, whose ministry linked Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the western coasts of Britain.
His feast is kept on 3 July in #Irish and #Manx calendars, and he is listed in later martyrologies such as the #MartyrologyOfDonegal and #UsuardsMartyrology, (with some variations). The Isle of Man holds him as one of its earliest bishops and saints. The #DioceseOfSodorAndMan claims #apostolicsuccession partly through him. The ancient church of Kirk German near Peel preserves his name, and later Manx sources, including the #ChroniconManniae, refer to him explicitly, confirming his place in the Christian heritage of the island.
Germanus of Man stands as a significant, though often #forgotten, figure in the Christian history of the western British Isles. Recovering his memory allows the #CelticCommunities of Wales and Man to reclaim a saint genuinely rooted in the spiritual landscape they share, and to build further bonds in Christian ministry.
Please pray for all churches dedicated to St Germanus of Man, and in particular for the #ManxChristians who worship today and keep his memory alive.
02 July
Saint Euddogwy
Today, 02nd July, we remember #StEuddogwy, (also known by the Latinised name Oudoceus), who was the third bishop of #Llandaff and one of the foundational figures of the #Church in south-east Wales. Though historical details are sparse (and often overlaid with later legend!), Euddogwy’s enduring legacy as a holy #bishop and #confessor has shaped the spiritual landscape of the region for over a millennium.
According to tradition preserved in the historic #BookOfLlandaff, Euddogwy was of noble #Breton birth, the son of Budic II and brother of #SaintIsmael. He is said to have travelled to Wales to study under his kinsman #StTeilo, succeeding him as bishop of Llandaff in the latter part of the 6th century. His episcopate likely spanned into the early 7th century, (though exact dates remain uncertain).
Euddogwy’s ministry was marked by #piety, #pastoral care, and the foundation and consecration of churches across Glywysing and Gwent. A popular legend tells of a #stag fleeing hunters that took refuge beside him. When King Einion, the huntsman, recognised Euddogwy’s sanctity, he spared the animal and gifted land to the Church. This symbolic story echoing the role of bishops as #peacemakers and sanctifiers of the land.
He eventually retired to Llandogo (Llan-Euddogwy), where he died in peace. His body was #translated to Llandaff Cathedral, where he was venerated alongside Saints Dyfrig and Teilo. These three are still honoured as the #HolyHierarchsOfLlandaff, patrons of its cathedral and diocese.
Though some of the charters and accounts associated with him are now considered hagiographical constructs, St Euddogwy remains a symbol of #episcopalholiness, #missionaryzeal, and the rootedness of the Christian faith in Welsh soil.
Please pray today for #LlandaffDiocese in the #ChurchInWales and especially #LlandaffCathedral where his remains are interred.
01 July
Saint Leonorus
Today 01st July we remember #SaintLeonorus who was a 6th-century Welsh missionary bishop whose life bridges the early Christian traditions of #Wales and #Brittany. Born in Wales, possibly of noble descent, Leonorus received a Christian upbringing during the age of the great monastic founders. He is believed to have been trained in the vibrant ecclesiastical communities of southwest Wales, where saints such as Illtud, David, and Teilo shaped a distinctive form of #CelticChristianity, rooted in ascetic discipline, missionary zeal, and deep reverence for the Trinity.
In the spirit of many Welsh saints of the period, Leonorus set sail for #Armorica (modern-day Brittany), joining the great #Breton migration that carried the Gospel across the sea. Like Saint Paul Aurelian and Saint Samson, Leonorus became a key figure in the Christianisation of the region. He founded a monastic community at #Pontual near Ploubalay and is traditionally regarded as a bishop, either of that community or more widely of the coastal region of #Domnonée.
Though sometimes confused with Saint Lunaire, Leonorus retains a distinct identity in Breton tradition as a founder, pastor, and wonder-worker. His name survives in the place names and dedications of northwestern Brittany, and the town of Saint-Lunaire may derive from his devotion. His #vita (life) claimed that he was notable for his many victories over #satan, and his icons often present him treading satan underfoot.
Saint Leonorus represents the outward-facing %mission of the early #WelshChurch: Celtic in form, but international in scope. His life exemplifies the shared spiritual heritage of Wales and Brittany, lands united by the sea and by the memory of saints who crossed it with faith and courage.
Today, he is commemorated locally in Brittany on 1 July, and increasingly remembered in Wales as one of its many sons who bore the Gospel to new lands in a time of deep #transformation and #hope.
July
30 June
Saint Eurgain
Today (30 June) we remember #SaintEurgain (Abbess), sometimes known as Eurgain Wledig (“the Regal”), who stands among the earliest female saints of Wales. She was a noblewoman of the 5th or 6th century whose legacy endures through place, lineage, and tradition. Believed by many to have been the daughter of #MaelgwnGwynedd, king of the powerful Gwynedd dynasty and a descendant of Cunedda Wledig, Eurgain inherited not only royal blood but a deep devotion to Christ. She is remembered as a #virgin, #missionary and #abbess saint, a teacher of the faith, and the founder of Christian community in what is now Northop, Flintshire.The name of Northop in Welsh (Llaneurgain) bears witness to her enduring influence. Though little survives in the form of written #hagiography, her memory is held in the title of the parish church: the Church of Ss Eurgain & Peter, (a #rare joint dedication that honours both #apostolic foundation and local sanctity). Some traditions
associate her with early missionary efforts and monastic foundations in Northeast Wales, and she is said to have played a decisive role in establishing Christian learning among the early Britons.
Her existence is documented in the #BoneddYSaint and other early sources. In art and devotion, she is imagined as a dignified woman clothed in simple beauty, bearing a book of the Gospels or a shepherd’s staff, symbolic of her role as spiritual guide.
Saint Eurgain’s legacy, like many of the early #Welsh #holywomen, is rooted in faithfulness, wisdom, and quiet strength. As interest in the native saints of Wales revives, her example calls the #ChurchInWales today to remember the often-overlooked leadership of women in its earliest foundations, and to honour the sanctity that blooms in hidden corners of the land.
Please #pray for the #Christians of #Flintshire, and in particular for the work and ministry of the parish church of Ss. Eurgain & Peter Northop.
29 June
Saint Pedr
Today I argue that a punnet of strawberries gifted to the Vicar can bring us closer to God …
The 17th-century Anglican Divine Jeremy Taylor said: “The rites and ceremonies of the Church are not bare ornaments or indifferent customs, but have a sacramental efficacy to excite devotion, stir up remembrance, and lead the soul to God.” In the Anglican Tradition (as in the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Traditions) we make frequent use of ‘Sacramentals’ which (as distinct from Sacraments) are “are outward signs of spiritual truths that prepare us to receive grace and respond to God in faith. They differ from sacraments in that they were not directly instituted by Christ, but are received through the Church’s blessing and tradition. Examples of sacramentals include the sign of the cross, holy water, palm crosses, ashes, icons, blessed objects, and liturgical gestures. Used prayerfully and with faith, they draw us deeper into the mystery of Christ.”
Today (29 June) is the Feast of St Peter across the universal calendars of the Church. What is noticeable about its celebration in Wales is the distinctive use of Allweddau Sant Pedr or ‘Peter’s Keys’. Carved from wood, or woven from grass, painted on small paper boats and set afloat. For generations the people of Wales have used Peter’s keys as a sacramental - as a pious form of devotion to bring them closer to the person of this Apostle, and his witness to Christ.
The keys of Saint Peter, given by Christ not merely as authority, but as a sacramental sign, a sacred gesture that connects the Church to the everyday faith of her people, we’re in Welsh tradition, thought to unlock the heavens, releasing sun or storm. Rooted in Matthew 16.19, this image was not just theological; it was a lived experience.
On 29 June, the weather itself was read as prophecy: “Os yw glaw ar ddydd Sant Pedr, bydd haf gwlyb yn dilyn”, literally, “If it rains on St Peter’s Day, a wet summer follows.” In coastal towns like Solva or Aberaeron, fishermen blessed their nets and cast wooden keys into the sea, praying for Peter’s protection. Some boats bore medallions of Peter, and older seafarers from Ceredigion recalled saying, “Pedr a’r allwedd ar y môr” (Peter with the key upon the sea)
Inland, the first hay swath was reverently called Y llafn Pedr (“Peter’s blade”). Seasonal fairs (Ffair Pedr) included processions of children dressed as apostles, blessings of tools and seeds, and feasts of salted fish and early fruits. Today was known as Diwrnod Mefus Sant Pedr” (“St Peter’s Strawberry Day”) as Strawberry picking traditionally ended around 29 June, with the feast serving as a marker for the closing of the early fruit harvest. Pickers would often bring baskets to church for a blessing. Indeed there was a tradition of offering the first or last punnet to the local priest on that day in return for the blessing (something that I am keen to revive!).
These customs were not superstitions. They were sacramental acts, not sacraments themselves, but Church blessed signs that connected everyday life with divine grace. These were acts of folk faith, grounded in the Church’s ancient instinct to make the sacred visible and tangible.
In our modern age, we are invited to recover this wisdom. The Church must reawaken to the richness of sacramentals, in Peter’s keys, in holy water, in Rogationtide blessings, in sacred symbols, used not as ‘magic’, but as means of encounter. In Peter’s key, Wales once found both protection and purpose. Perhaps we might again?
28 June
Saint Irenaeus
Today (28 June) we remember #StIrenaeusOfLyon (c. 130–c. 202) who was fundamental in combating Wales’ #worst export to the wider church, and (I would argue) indeed all the world!
It was R S Thomas who famously said that; “Pelagianism is the enduring Welsh heresy”. #Pelagianism is the perennial teaching from the 5th Century Welsh monk Pelagius who taught that: we are not born sinful, we don’t need God’s help (#grace) to do good, and therefore we can reach heaven by trying hard and living a good life on our own.
Condemned as #heretical by the universal church at the time because it left no room for: the grace of God, no real need for #Jesus’ saving work, and ignored the power of the #HolySpirit to change and help us. In simple terms: Pelagius said, “We can save ourselves.” Whilst our faith says, “Only God can save us.” It is perhaps the most persistent heresy that ANY Christian is exposed to on a regular basis - and it started in Wales!
Irenaeus stands as one of the earliest and most decisive voices in the formation of Christian #orthodoxy. As bishop in Gaul during a time of competing gospels and theological confusion, he composed #AdversusHaereses (“Against Heresies”) to refute the Gnostic movements and defend the faith “once delivered to the saints.” His theology laid deep and enduring foundations for how the Church understood #Scripture, #salvation, the #Incarnation, and the role of #divinegrace.
Central to Irenaeus’ vision was the conviction that God’s plan of #salvation unfolds organically through history, from #creation to #consummation, with Christ as the recapitulation of Adam. Thus healing human nature through his #Incarnation and #Passion. Irenaeus fiercely opposed ANY theology that downplayed the fallenness of humanity or the need for divine grace. So when the Welsh heretic Pelagius started to become popular it was to Irenaeus that the church turned for a foundational and robust response.
Though separated by centuries, Irenaeus’ teachings were the vital ammunition for later defenders of orthodoxy. As Pelagianism spread across Britain in the fifth century (especially in Wales) the Church sent Bishops like #StGermanus armed with Irenaeus’ theology. Germanus’ 429AD mission to the Celtic church was not just #pastoral but #doctrinal, shoring up the Celtic Church’s fidelity to the grace-centred gospel and rejected the Pelagian teachings.
As the #ChurchInWales it is important that we do not forget that Irenaeus of Lyon, must be seen not only as a second-century bishop battling Gnosticism but as a foundational theologian whose vision of redeemed humanity (rooted in grace, history, and incarnation) helped us to combat then, AND still combat now, one of the most common heresies uttered by people on the margins of the church. That is - that fallen humanity is fundamentally good, and that if we do more good than evil in our lives we will automatically go to heaven without any repentance or belief in Christ.
27 June
Cranogwen
Today (27 June) is one of those days when I actively campaign for an addition to #Welsh #Hagiography on behalf of someone who I think has been omitted and deserves consideration.
In this case it is Sarah Jane Rees (1839 to 1916), known across Wales by her bardic name #Cranogwen, Sarah Jane Rees was a pioneering #poet (indeed a national Eisteddfod winner), #preacher, and public figure whose life blended #Christian conviction with #queer authenticity, a remarkable harmony of faith and love in an era that permitted neither easily for women.
Born in 1839 in #Llangrannog, she defied convention early, earning a master mariner’s certificate and establishing her own navigation school. Yet her deepest vocation lay not only in teaching but in ministering as a Calvinistic Methodist lay preacher, Sunday school teacher, and moral reformer. Profoundly influenced by the 1859 #WelshRevival, she travelled widely (including to the USA) to preach, drawing on scripture, hymnody, and a passion for social justice.
Cranogwen was a founding figure of the South Wales Women’s Temperance Union, where #faith underpinned her #activism. She used lecture funds to clear chapel debts and built a vestry in Llangrannog, a woman who not only spoke of Christ but embodied his call to serve. Her Christian #vision shaped the pages of Y Frythones, the Welsh-language magazine she edited for over a decade, encouraging #women toward education, faithfulness, and self-worth.
What makes her legacy especially profound today is how her queer identity found expression within this faith. Cranogwen shared two deep relationships with women. The first, with Fanny Rees, ended in tragedy when Fanny died of tuberculosis. Cranogwen’s memorial essay reflects a love steeped in spirituality:
“Love is strong as death… and love for God and Christ was the strong element of her most inner and spiritual life.”
In her elegy Fy Ffrynd she wrote tenderly:
“The purest passion of my heart
Will forever with you be.”
Later, her long companionship with Jane Thomas, lived openly and lovingly, was a quiet but #radical act of integrity.
Cranogwen’s life was not one of compromise but of #integration. Her spirituality and her love were not at odds; they were part of the same truth. She died on 27 June 1916, leaving behind a witness of #devotion, #courage, and #truth.
Today, Cranogwen is honoured as a #WelshCulturalIcon, but her lived Christian faith has often been downplayed. This is slowly changing however, and she is also increasingly recognised as a saint for those at the #margins: a #trailblazer, a #preacher, and a #HolyWitness to the #LiberatingLove of God.
Please pray for all of our #LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters in the faith, that they will be inspired by those like Sarah Jane Rees who have gone before.
26 June
Saint Twrog
Today (26 June) we remember #SaintTwrog who apparently was #stoned in more ways than one! He was a sixth-century Welsh missionary saint, renowned for his evangelical work in north-west Wales and his legendary feats of #strength and #sanctity. He was one of the saintly sons of Ithel Hael of Brittany, a noble family that sent many missionaries to Wales during the Age of Saints (his brothers included Saints Tanwg, Tecwyn, Baglan, and Tegai, all of whom are credited with founding churches across Wales).
Twrog is especially associated with three churches: Maentwrog in #Meirionnydd, Bodwrog in #Anglesey, and Llandwrog near #Caernarfon. Each community still bears his name, a testament to his enduring legacy.
The most famous legend of Twrog is rooted in Maentwrog. Upon encountering a pagan altar, he is said to have #prayed, consumed #sacredmushrooms (!), and hurled a colossal boulder from the summit of Moelwyn mountain to smash the altar below. The Maen Twrog, or Twrog’s Stone, still stands outside the church porch and is believed to bear his handprints (local tradition even links it to the grave of Pryderi, a character from the Mabinogion, blending Christian and mythic lore).
The church at Maentwrog, later rebuilt in the nineteenth century by John Douglas, remains a site of quiet #pilgrimage. It houses ancient yew trees and a pulpit carving of the saint. Bodwrog’s church, late medieval in origin, retains its simple beauty and recently reopened under the care of the #FriendsOfFriendlessChurches. Llandwrog continues active parish life today.
Saint Twrog is remembered as a holy man of #prayer, #power, and #mission. His story embodies the spiritual transformation of Wales from the old ways to the gospel of Christ, where even mountains moved at the command of #faith.
Please #pray for all churches dedicated in his name, their #mission and #ministry.
25 June
Saint Dyfodwg
Today we remember #SaintDyfodwg (also spelled Tyfodwg, Duvadoc, or Dymog) a 6th-century #Welsh saint remembered as a disciple of #SaintIlltyd and an early Christian founder in #Glamorgan. Though little is known of his life in detail, his enduring legacy is preserved in the parishes that bear his name, most notably Llandyfodwg (now Glynogwr) and Ystradyfodwg, now forming part of the Rhondda Valley.
Dyfodwg’s connection to Illtyd places him within a generation of saints formed by the great monastic school at #LlanilltudFawr, where scripture, learning, and asceticism flourished. Likely trained there, Dyfodwg became a missionary and founder, establishing churches in the hill country of Glamorgan.
Parish registers and 18th and 19th century antiquarian works, particularly those of #TheophilusJones and #RiceRees, refer to Dyfodwg as the titular saint of Glynogwr, and suggest that his feast was locally celebrated on 25 June, though the observance eventually faded. He is occasionally referenced among those local saints whose cults were absorbed into more general commemorations such as All Saints’ Day.
Historically, Ystradyfodwg encompassed a broad valley area in #RhonddaFawr, within the modern County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales. It originally included several hamlets and townships, among them Treherbert, Pentre, Tonypandy, and Ferndale. As industrialisation took hold, the area evolved dramatically into the #RhonddaValley coalfield in the 19th century.
The ancient parish of Ystradyfodwg became the basis for the Ystradyfodwg Local Government District in 1877, later renamed the Urban District of Rhondda in 1897.
Saint Dyfodwg is a classic example of an early Welsh founder saint whose memory endures through place, tradition, and the quiet holiness of hidden foundations.
Please #pray for all those Christians who still live, work and worship in what used to be called Ystradyfodwg and is now known as the Rhondda Valley.
24 June
Gŵyl Iwan Fendigaid
The Feast of Blessed John
Today in common with the Universal Church, the #ChurchInWales celebrates Gŵyl Iwan Fendigaid (’The Feast of Blessed John’), which is the Welsh celebration of the #NativityOfJohnTheBaptist, observed each year on 24 June.
It is one of the few Christian feasts dedicated to a saint’s #birth rather than their #death, underlining John’s unique role as Prophwyd yr Holltddŵr, the Prophet of the Jordan, forerunner of #Christ, and herald of the Kingdom.
As Trevelyan (1909), Rhys & Brynmor-Jones (1909), Bowen (1977) and Hutton (1996) all attest, in the #WelshChristianTradition, Gŵyl Iwan held both spiritual and cultural prominence. John’s feast aligned with Midsummer and was long associated with the turning of the year, purification, and light. Ancient hilltop #bonfires known as tan Gŵyl Ifan were lit across the countryside, not just as symbols of festal joy but as acts of blessing, warding off evil, and invoking protection on crops, herds, and homes.
#FolkCustoms flourished around the feast. Herbs gathered on the eve were believed to carry heightened healing powers. Dew from Saint John’s morning was collected for beauty and wellness. In many rural areas, Gŵyl Iwan was a time for courtship, music, and open-air dancing, which were twin expressions of devotion and delight.
Ecclesiastically, it was a day marked with High Mass, processions, and readings proclaiming John’s prophetic voice and his leap in the womb of Elizabeth. Churches and holy wells dedicated to him, such as Ffynnon Ifan and Ysbyty Ifan, were sites of pilgrimage and prayer.
Although these activities diminished during the #Reformation often condemned as signs of #syncretism, echoes of Gŵyl Iwan endured in folk memory, and recent years have seen renewed interest in its celebration as part of Welsh spiritual heritage. Today, it remains a luminous feast, calling the faithful to turn, prepare, and rejoice in the coming light, just as John once proclaimed in the wilderness: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”
Please pray today, for all churches and institutions dedicated in the name of #JohnTheBaptist - their ministry and mission.
23 June
Saint Wenlo
Today we remember #SaintWenlo, whose obscurity is created because of the shadow cast by her much more famous daughter and brother. Nonetheless she is a crucial figure in the sanctified lineage of the Church in Wales. Known to us as the mother of #SaintWinifrede and sister to #SaintBeuno, Wenlo’s name is preserved in the two earliest hagiographies of her daughter: the Vita Prima (circa 1130), attributed to a monk of Gwytherin, and the Vita Secunda (circa 1140) by Prior Robert of Shrewsbury. These sources present her not merely as a noblewoman but as one who bore, raised, and stood beside a saint.
The Vita Prima names Wenlo explicitly as Winifrede’s mother and Beuno’s sister, establishing her both within a noble family of Tegeingl and in the orbit of sanctity. The Vita Secunda, composed around the time of the 1138 translation of Winifrede’s relics to Shrewsbury, reaffirms her role and places her directly within the narrative of Winifrede’s decapitation and miraculous restoration. Wenlo is portrayed as a #devout and #faithful #mother who not only nurtured her daughter’s #vocation but witnessed the defining moment of her #martyrdom.
Because of this unique witness, it is fitting that Wenlo’s commemoration directly follows the feast of the #DecollationOfSaintWinifrede, (observed yesterday on the 22 June). Just as Mary stood at the foot of the Cross, so Wenlo stood at the moment of her daughter’s passion. Her steadfast presence in the face of violence and her faithful support of Winifrede’s monastic calling afterwards reflect a sanctity born of co-operation with divine grace. This is an expression of the theology of #synergia, by which human will and maternal love become channels of God’s purpose.
Although not normally celebrated outside of the devotional sphere of her daughter (in the same way that #StNon is kept as an adjunct #DewiSant), Saint Wenlo belongs to the #CloudOfWitnesses whose faith shaped the holiness of #Wales. Her commemoration on 23 June honours the one who stood beside the saint at the #well of miracles.
The #icon below shows Wenlo gesturing towards her daughter indicating both #maternal and #spiritual support.
22 June
The Decollation of
Saint Winifrede
Today is the #DecollationOfSaintWinifrede, commemorated every 22 June, and which finds its origin in the twelfth century #hagiography of Robert of Shrewsbury, whose ‘Vita Sanctae Wenefredae’ established the fullest surviving account of her life and devotion. While #SaintWinifrede’s principal feast is kept on 3 November, marking either her death (or the translation of her relics to Shrewsbury Abbey), this earlier summer observance focuses on the pivotal moment of her #beheading and #miraculous #restoration to life.
According to Robert’s account, Winifrede was a noblewoman of Tegeingl (modern-day Flintshire) who had devoted herself to the religious life. When she rejected the advances of #Caradog, a local prince, he pursued her in fury and struck off her head outside the church where her uncle, #StBeuno, was celebrating Mass. Where her head fell, a spring of clear water burst forth (now known as #StWinifredesWell in #Holywell), which has become a major pilgrimage site for centuries. St Beuno, through prayer, restored her to life, and she later served as abbess at #Gwytherin.
The recognition of a second feast in June, distinct from her main November commemoration, reflects the exceptional #importance of Saint Winifrede in Welsh hagiography. Few native saints are honoured with multiple liturgical dates, and even fewer possess a shrine of such enduring significance. The well at Holywell became so renowned for healing that it earned the title “The Lourdes of Wales” (The Tablet, 5 July 1873).
This day recalls not only her suffering and miraculous revival, but the deep devotional power of her devotional significance, which continued to draw pilgrims (even through the Reformation!). Her decollation bears witness to a sanctity that flows, quite literally, like living water from the ground of martyrdom.
Please pray for the Shrine at Holywell, its staff and pilgrims, and all churches and institutions dedicated in the name of St Winifrede.
21 June
Saint Rhawin
Saint Rhawin of Llanrhaiadr-yng-Nghinmeirch (Guardian of the Hidden Spring) is one of the silent saints of early Christian Wales, his life unrecorded, his deeds unsung, yet his presence marked indelibly on the land. Though no vita or church dedication survives, his memory endures through centuries of maps and local tradition that record a #holywell of St Rhawin near the waterfall at Llanrhaiadr-yng-Nghinmeirch, #Denbighshire.
Unlike many obscure saints known primarily through place-names, Rhawin’s legacy is rooted in this sacred spring, repeatedly noted by antiquarians and cartographers over centuries. Situated near the waterfall (rhaiadr) that gives the village its name, the #well speaks to an enduring, if modest, devotional site. Its repeated identification as belonging to “St Rhawin” suggests a local devotion, focused on #healing, #baptism, and #contemplativeretreat, that lingered long after the saint’s name faded from wider memory.
T.D. Breverton, in The Book of Welsh Saints, briefly references Rhawin under the date 21 June, describing him as a possible early #Celtic #hermit or #ecclesiasticalfounder whose veneration did not persist beyond the early medieval period. His absence from, most, if not all genealogical sources and formal #martyrologies points to a saint whose holiness was honoured quietly and locally, rather than institutionally.
It is likely that Rhawin lived in the sixth century and, like many early #Welsh #ascetics, settled by a spring, offering healing and prayer to those who sought him. His name (possibly derived from rhaw, meaning tool or spade) may hint at humble, earthy labours sanctified by grace.
Though the parish is now dedicated to St Dyfnog, a better-attested regional saint, the well of St Rhawin remains on the maps (although apparently it is not accessible to the public anymore): a quiet #witness to a sanctity rooted not in texts or triumphs, but in water, landscape, and the enduring memory of place. A saint known through #maps, if not through #men.
20 June
Saints Julius, Aaron and Alban
Today 20th June, the #ChurchInWales rightly honours Saints Julius and Aaron as its own native #protomartyrs, two early Welsh Christians who bore faithful witness to Christ unto death during the Roman persecutions. Martyred in the city of Caerleon (Isca Augusta), then one of the most significant military and administrative centres in Britain, Julius and Aaron were likely Romanised Britons (possibly soldiers or civic officials), who refused to sacrifice to the imperial cult. Their courageous stand and #death mark the earliest known Christian martyrdoms in Wales.
Though little detail survives about their lives, #Bede (writing in the early 8th century) records their names and location alongside that of Alban, firmly situating #Caerleon as a site of Christian sacrifice and testimony. In the centuries since, their memory endured in #Welsh Christian consciousness even when neglected elsewhere.
By contrast, Saint Alban, martyred at Verulamium (modern-day St Albans in Hertfordshire), has enjoyed a more prominent place in the religious imagination of the English Church. His shrine grew into a major pilgrimage centre, and he was long styled ‘protomartyr of Britain’, despite Bede’s equal treatment of Julius and Aaron. While the Church of England celebrates Alban alone, it is in the Church in Wales that a fuller remembrance of all three has been restored.
By commemorating Julius, Aaron, and Alban together on 20 June, the Church in Wales gently honours the English martyr while reclaiming the rightful dignity of its own native saints. This #inclusive feast witnesses to the ancient holiness of Welsh soil and the courage of its earliest believers. Julius and Aaron, though largely forgotten in English ecclesiastical memory, remain honoured in their homeland, as shining examples of steadfastness, local identity, and Christian unity across time.
19 June
Saint Arianwen
Today 19 June we recall the Welsh virgin #SaintArianwen, identified as one of the many holy daughters of #BrychanBrycheiniog. Her name, meaning ‘blessed silver’ (arian = silver, gwen = fair/blessed), has led some later commentators to confuse her with the mythological #Arianrhod of the Mabinogi believing that she was a later Christian attempt to #syncretise this earlier mythic figure.
However, such associations are linguistically superficial and theologically unfounded. Arianwen belongs firmly within the #Christian hagiographical tradition, not the mythological pantheon.
Her name appears in various genealogical lists of Brychan’s children, such as Bonedd y Saint, (although she is not one of the most frequently attested daughters). Nevertheless, her inclusion is consistent across several late-medieval manuscript traditions, identifying her as part of the sanctified family whose children evangelised Wales and the western British Isles.
Arianwen was particularly associated with #Anglesey, where tradition maintains there was once a church or chapel known as #Llanarianwen, likely located near #Llanerchymedd. While the precise site has been lost, it was known to 19th-century antiquarians such as Baring-Gould and Longueville Jones, who noted the now-vanished dedication. The loss of this church, combined with the absence of miracle stories or a formal written vita, has contributed to her obscurity.
Unlike the mythic goddess Arianrhod associated with fate, stars, and sovereignty. St Arianwen stands as a Christian virgin and ecclesial founder, part of the missionary expansion of early Celtic Christianity.
18 June
Understanding
Church Festivals
BONUS CONTENT- A post about Understanding Church Festivals - Title, Patronal, Dedication, Restoration, and Commemoratio (parts i and ii).For those of you not familiar with my postings over the last month - I have let my inner hagio-nerd come out and play whilst I have been unwell. Each day I’ve posted an image and article about a #relatively obscure Welsh saint. Partly as a means to keep my mind active during the pain / narcotics fuelled anxiety of the last three weeks of #acutecholecystitis (including eight days hospitalisation), and partly because it’s a topic I enjoy! I’ve not offered a #defence or argument as to why we should be rediscovering these saints (although perhaps I will in the future). Although
all clerics have to be liturgists of some sort or another, I know my limitations and I’m not an expert in the #ranking of church festivals.
But I have had a DM from someone who attends one of the churches I covered a while ago with a Saint that is suitably ‘obscure’. There questions was: ‘What were their’ options going forward …
Not withstanding communicating the history of the saint in a magazine, blog, social media or church handout, I suggested either preferably a regular or at the very least a one off liturgical celebration (‘cos that’s my jam!). They could equally hold a big party on the theme - but one of the things that our churches do well is institutionalise foundational memories, and a yearly celebration seems to be more appropriate for hagiographical matters. It provides us with the liturgical space to celebrate, reflect, intercede and sustain each other as those saints of old did before.
The #liturgicalcalendar of the Church provides a profound rhythm for honouring sacred space, the saints of God, and the living worship of Christian communities. So my suggestion was to pick-up the fallen baton and re-start what had happened previously. Not withstanding their own particular context, if you were thinking along the same lines (and let’s face it you probably weren’t but still) … identify your obscure saint and then decide how you as a community are going to celebrate them.
Among the many forms of observance, there are generally six #commemorativecategories that shape the way churches relate to their patrons and histories. These are not just for the hagio-nerds (like me) but can be truly used to drive #mission, #inclusion and #evangelisation into a local community by offering up opportunities for #discipleship.
The six categories are: the Feast of Title, Patronal Festival, Feast of Dedication, Feast of Restoration, Commemoration in the Litany of Saints, and the Transferral to the General Commemoration of All Saints. Each holds a unique place within the life of the Church, reflecting different stages of devotion, memory, and theological insight.
i. Feast of Title
A #FeastOfTitle is the principal liturgical celebration of the church’s patron saint or titular mystery (for example, Holy Trinity, St Mary the Virgin, or Christ the King), observed ONLY on its appointed calendar day. As a Principal Feast in the local context, it takes precedence over ordinary Sundays and minor observances. However, it is not immune to the wider liturgical hierarchy. If a Feast of Title coincides with a feast of higher rank in the national or diocesan calendar, (such as Ascension, Easter, or Corpus Christi), it may be displaced or celebrated in reduced form, subject to episcopal direction. Whilst the ‘strictest’ and most traditional form of observation, it doesn’t necessarily blend flexibility with outreach (after all who wants to come out from the community to celebrate a local saint on a wet Tuesday evening in February?).
ii. Patronal Festival
A Patronal Festival commemorates the same saint or title but is usually transferred to the nearest Sunday to allow fuller congregational participation. While it does not carry specific liturgical rank, it remains one of the most #visible and #joyful celebrations in the parish year. These festivals often include #processions, #guestpreachers, decorated churches, and community gatherings that reaffirm the parish’s identity. It’s an amazing opportunity to get local organisations involved, to build on the churches status as one of the foundational institutions in our communities.
iii. Feast of Dedication
A #FeastOfDedication marks the consecration or setting apart of the church #building itself, distinct from its patron. It may commemorate the laying of a foundation stone, or a formal opening event, or consecration by the Bishop. It is useful if you want a yearly celebration of your church and its patron but whilst the original liturgical date is unknown (or completely inappropriate!) you DO have historical records marking when the church was constructed/ began / completed. Even if those are lost the Church of England and Church in Wales recommend observing the festival on the Sunday nearest 9 October (a practice rooted in the medieval Sarum tradition). This feast focuses on the #sacredness of the #worshipspace and its role as a house of #prayer and #sacrament. The role of the Patron Saint(s) can be a focal or significant part of this service is often titled the ‘Feast of the Dedication of St X. Church in the parish of Y.’.
iv. Feast of Restoration
Technically an ‘Anniversary of the #FeastOfRestoration. This is a local act of thanksgiving marking the reopening or renewal of a church that had fallen into disuse, disrepair, or spiritual dormancy. It became popular in the #Victorian Era when previously dilapidated churches were brought back to life. Although it is not formally recognised in the Prayer Book or national calendars, it is widely practised. Such services often include rededication prayers, blessing of the space, and the recommissioning of the church’s ministry and mission. Theologically, it reflects a #renewal of the church’s vocation and presence within the wider community. Much like ‘a feast of dedication’, the role of the Patron Saint(s) can be a focal or significant part of this service often titled the ‘Feast of the Restoration of St X. Church in the parish of Y.’.
v. Commemoration (i - ‘Commemoratio in Litania Sanctorum’)
Some saints, although no longer publicly venerated or commemorated with a feast, may still remembered #innomine (name only) in the #LitanyOfTheSaints. They may be named during the Eucharists, Daily Offices, Easter Vigil, baptisms, or at the very least on All Saints’ Day (1 November). This ‘Commemoratio in Litania Sanctorum’ ensures that saints whose cults have faded from common usage are still remembered as saintly forerunners. Their names are spoken throughout the year in the church(es) dedicated to their name, preserving their place in the Church’s intercessory life even when active liturgical devotion has ceased. If nothing else it would be appropriate to name a saint whose name has fallen into dis-use in the place of their dedication at least once a year on the Feast of All Saints, normally by inserting ‘Saint X, Patron of this church - pray for us’, into the litany of the saints.
But finally there are those times when we find that through all best efforts we move to the sixth and final commemorative category.
vi. Commemoration (ii- Ad Commemoration em Omnium Sanctorum translatus est) or ‘Feast Transferred to the General Commemoration of All Saints.
In official calendars, when a local saint’s cultus #dies out entirely due to lost documentation, or mostly vanished oral tradition, or absence of local observance, their feast is often considered to be #subsumed into the Solemnity of All Saints on 1 November. This includes saints once venerated at ancient chapels or wells, now unrecorded in modern registers.
Liturgically, these saints are #forgotten, are no longer named or assigned a date. There are no public celebrations, no collects, no buildings, and no relics venerated. However, theologically, such saints remain fully part of the Church Triumphant. They are remembered collectively in the phrase ‘all the saints’, which appears in the Eucharist, the daily offices, and the Church’s prayers. On All Saints’ Day, the Church deliberately includes all those saints whose names are known only to God, especially those lost to history or remembered only locally and anonymously.
Together, these six observances offer a layered framework for Christian memory. Whether a saint’s name is celebrated with full liturgical solemnity, remembered in procession, or whispered only once a year in the Church’s litany, the communion of saints remains whole and indivisible. These patterns of remembrance help the Church honour its sacred heritage, renew its witness, and recognise the hidden holiness of those whom God has called and redeemed.
Perhaps you’ll feel inspired to do something with your local obscure saint? Perhaps you’ll feel inspired like to share some research you’ve done? Or even ask for help uncovering a ‘saintly mystery’ … why not DM me?
Further Notes:
For disambiguation, the church of St Clydwyn, Llanglydwen in North Pembrokeshire is a different dedication. St Clydwyn (note the feminine Y as the third letter) is a mutation of St Cledffai a female daughter of St Brychan Brycheiniog who also influenced to toponomic naming of the nearby area Clydey / Clydau. St Clydaï is a much more major Saint with substantial historic medieval genealogies. She was known as St Clydaï Clotfaith (the latter meaning ‘of long reknown’). The Demetian Calendar (Calendr Dewi) lists her alongside many others whose exact date of ‘feast of title has been lost’ as part of the ‘Rotuli Omnium Sanctorum’ list of saints read out on All Saints Day.
18 June
Saint Cledwyn of Anglesey
Now I’ve never watched #LoveIsland but today’s (18 June) saint has something of an air of this dating show about it. In the crowded #love scene of early Welsh sanctity, #StCledwynOfAnglesey entered the game hoping to be matched with a congregation and status. But unfortunately struggled to stay the course.
Known locally around #Penmynydd, Cledwyn was likely a 6th-century monastic founder, earnest and devout, tending his flock and his chapel on the windswept slopes of #YnysMôn. But unlike his contemporaries Cybi (with his continental connections), Seiriol (with his solar miracles), or Illtud (with his saintly academy) Cledwyn never quite made it out of the minor leagues.
As the cults of other saints spread, some enterprising hagiographers attempted a late-career rebrand. Cledwyn, they suggested, was possibly a son of #BrychanBrycheiniog (the go-to genealogy for up-and-coming saints looking to boost their status). The idea was clear: link him to the dynastic saint-making machine of Brychan, and maybe his name would catch on. But the gatekeepers weren’t convinced. #BoneddYSaint doesn’t list him, he is nowhere to be found in the four volumes of Baring-Gould, and Fisher stands quiet on the subject. With no major monastery claimed him as founder or patron, his chances looked slim, until …
The final blow: his own church dedication at Penmynydd was quietly overwritten. Whether through declining local devotion or ecclesiastical reorganisation, the church was rededicated to St #Gredifael, a more connected saint with ties to Seiriol and Bangor. In the popularity contest of sanctity, Gredifael had the better lineage, the bigger backing, and, ultimately, Cledwyn’s shrine. In fact the only reason we know that he existed is because of the annals recording that the foundation stones from his earlier church building were torn down and re-used to build the first shrine church to St Gredifael (ouch!).
Today, St Cledwyn survives only in a handful of remote archeological corners, half-remembered, occasionally conflated with other ‘Cled’ saints, and entirely bypassed by liturgical calendars.
But perhaps he stands for something quietly heroic: the unsuccessful saint, faithful in obscurity, who didn’t win the fame game but still showed up, tended his altar, and loved his land. I have no doubt that he was in it for any other than the glory of the Lord. There is a certain humility in obscurity. And in a way, that’s a holiness worth remembering.
17 June
Saint Neffei
Today 17 June we remember #SaintNeffei, also rendered #Neffeu or #Neffey, who is an early Welsh saint named in the genealogical rolls of #BrychanBrycheiniog’s descendants, where he appears as a #grandson of Brychan rather than a direct son. Though little is known of his life or ministry, his name represents one of the earliest strands in the lineage of saintly missionaries that flowed from Brychan’s house. Over time, however, the name Neffei gradually evolved in spelling and pronunciation. In the traditions of North Wales, it became known as #Nefydd.
In this profile, I retain the older form Neffei specifically to distinguish him from #SaintNefyn, who was a female saint and daughter of Brychan (which makes her Neffei’s aunt!), associated with the Llŷn Peninsula and the town of Nefyn in Gwynedd. The similarity between the later male form ‘Nefydd’and the female ‘Nefyn’ has led to some confusion and conflation in modern sources. By preserving the older variant Neffei, as it appears in the Brycheiniog Scrolls and early genealogical manuscripts, I seek to maintain historical clarity and a clear distinction between two quite separate figures in the Brychan tradition.
Saint Neffei, understood here as the original form (of the later Saint Nefydd of Llannefydd in Conwy), was likely active in the late fifth or early sixth century, during the foundational era of Welsh Christianity. Though no surviving legend or miracle account is recorded, the church of Saint Nefydd and Saint Mary at Llannefydd preserve his legacy. Honouring Neffei allows us to recall the earliest memory of this saint before later textual layers altered his name. It affirms his place among the quiet but vital witnesses of the Christian faith who helped shape the spiritual landscape of early Wales. Please #pray for all who worship in the Parish Church of Ss. Nefydd & Mary Llanynefydd and for the community that they serve.
15 June
Saint Ismael
I have the pleasure of having two dedications to today’s rather obscure #Bishop #Saint in my Local Ministry Area. #StIsmael (also known as Isfael or Ishmael), was a 6th-century #Welsh bishop and holy man associated with the early flowering of Christianity in southwest Wales. He is traditionally said to be the son of Budic II, a Breton king, linking him to both the noble houses of Brittany and the Welsh Christian tradition. Ismael appears in all the standard #Hagiographies of the late Middle Ages including the #BoneddYSaint as well as more modern works like Baring-Gould and Fisher. His existence is without question, however more details of his life are elusive.
A disciple of the great Welsh saints, said to have been a pupil of #DewiSant. Ismael was consecrated bishop by #StTeilo and is named among the early bishops of the region. He is remembered not as a traditional bishop (a diocesan prelate) but as a #MissionaryBishop (referred to as a ‘chorepiscopus’) travelling among rural communities to offer teaching, sacraments, and pastoral care.
Churches bearing his name can still be found in #Camrose and #Uzmaston (in my LMA) #Rosemarket, and #Ferryside. These foundations attest to his enduring local influence and the deep roots of his cult in the life of the Welsh #StDavidsDiocese.
Though lacking a detailed hagiography, Ismael’s legacy lives on in quiet devotion, rural parish life, and the ancient stones of his churches. Please pray for those who worship in the churches dedicated in his name. In him, we see the faithful shepherd of scattered flocks, one who bore the light of Christ into the far reaches of #Rural #Wales.
15 June
Saint Ceneu
OK, who has lost a Bishop? Is he down the back of the sofa?
Today we remember the ‘lost’ #SaintCeneu, son of Corun and grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, and possibly a successor to #DewiSant himself!
Ceneu is a curious case. He does not appear in the Bonedd y Saint (the genealogical roll of early Welsh saints). He is absent from medieval Welsh martyrologies and from the later monumental scholarship of Baring-Gould and Fisher. It is only in one variant list recorded by the scholar-archdeacon historian #GeraldusCambrensis that Ceneu appears, as the third #Bishop of #Menevia (the then name for what is now the Diocese of St Davids) with a commemorative date of 15 June, his name is inserted in Gerald of Wales original list of Bishops of Menevia, and then quietly lost again in subsequent listings.
As we mark his elusive commemoration from that single, flickering record. He may have been real, or remembered, or misremembered. He may have been bishop, monk, missionary, or simply legend. But in a Church that has been built as much on fragments as on firm foundations, even the shadow of a bishop is worth recalling.
And so we remember St Ceneu, not for what we know, but for what he stands for. As part of that line of #Bishops who, as #pastors and #shepherds, have lead the Christians in #WestWales over a millennia and a half.
Saint Ceneu, whoever you were, we ask you to join your intercession with ours for Dorrien, the 130th Bishop of St David’s, and for all who now bear the weight of apostolic care.
14 June
Saint Dogmael
Today we remember St Dogmael to whom there is a dedication in my own #LocalMinistryArea. Also known as Dogfael, Dogmail, or Dogmeel he’s venerated as both a #Welsh and #Breton saint of the early sixth century. Born into a holy lineage, he was a grandson of St Brychan Brycheiniog, the legendary Welsh chieftain and progenitor of many saints, through one of Brychan’s daughters who married Ithel Hael of #Brittany. This cross-Channel heritage makes Dogmael a symbol of the spiritual kinship between the Celtic Christian communities of #Wales and Brittany.
Raised in a culture of deep Christian devotion, Dogmael became a #monk and #missionary during a formative time for the Church in western Britain. His life was marked by #prayer, #pastoral ministry, and the founding of religious communities. He is best known for his association with Pembrokeshire, where the village and abbey of St Dogmaels (Llandudoch) preserve his memory. The later Benedictine abbey was built on or near his original monastic site, attesting to the enduring reverence for his sanctity.
Dogmael’s cult extended across the sea to Brittany, where churches and chapels bearing his name testify to his Breton roots. His feast day is celebrated on 14 June, as recorded in Welsh calendars and the ‘Bonedd y Saint’.
As a saint of both Cymru and Brittany, Dogmael represents the shared faith, kinship, and missionary spirit that bound the early Christian Celtic world. Though little is recorded of his deeds, his legacy endures in place-names, church dedications, and the ruins of sacred spaces where prayer once rose under his care.
13 June
Saint Maelgwn
The noted ancient Welsh historian #Gildas calls the saint we explore for 13 June — a youthful #tyrant who, despite his power and potential for good, was almost certainly guilty of #pride, the #murder of his own uncle, and #LustfulFlings with many. Some hagiographies deliberately exclude him because of this. In some lists he appears as #King, in others #Hermit, in yet others #Penitent - rarely #Saint. The damning portrait, found in Gildas’ #DeExcidioBritanniae, painted Maelgwn as the very image of a corrupt post-Roman king; brilliant, dangerous, and yet in every sense spiritually lost.
But, Maelgwn’s legacy did not end in infamy. As King of Gwynedd in the sixth century, he ruled from the coastal stronghold of Deganwy, exerting influence over much of western Britain. History continued to post attention to him., and fill in his life’s details and evaluate them. Thus his name appears two hundred years later (and with the benefit of hindsight that Gildas did not) in the #AnnalesCambriae and #HistoriaBrittonum.
In these sources he is depicted as a patron of learning and church-building, notably at Bangor and Caerhun and provided strong yet compassionate leadership during #YFadFelen (the yellow plague) during which 1 in 4 occupants of Wales died. Whilst Gildas wrote first to rebuke him, later tradition remembers a different man: a ruler struck by a plague on his people (and from which died himself) and his personal conscience, who exchanged his throne for repentance.
According to the later accounts, Maelgwn retreated to #YnysSeiriol (now Puffin Island), where he placed himself under the spiritual care of #SaintSeiriol. There he lived out his final days barefoot and clothed in #sackcloth, dedicating himself to #prayer and #penance.
His life raises uncomfortable questions for us today: Can a violent person be sanctified? Can power be purified by penitence? Maelgwn’s transformation suggests that even the most flawed may find the path to grace. His image: crowned with a humble circlet, wearing sackcloth, barefoot and bearing both bloodied sword and crucifix, reminds us that redemption is not clean or easy, but real.
Maelgwn stands as a figure of #contestedsanctity, a sinner saint, whose feast is less a celebration of virtue than as a witness to the mercy God shows us all.
Further Notes: This icon of St Llecheu, son of Brychan Brycheiniog, draws upon traditional Byzantine iconographic style while integrating subtle theological symbolism to reflect his obscurity and genealogical sanctity.
• Youthful Figure: St Llecheu is depicted as a young man with soft features and a composed gaze. This reflects both his unrecorded life and the timeless sanctity of those known only to God.
• Simple Garments: His olive-green tunic and reddish-brown cloak are modest and unadorned, symbolising humility and the absence of known ecclesiastical rank or cult.
• Golden Halo: The fully radiant halo affirms his sainthood, despite the lack of formal veneration, expressing the Church’s recognition of hidden holiness.
• Closed Book and Unfurling Scroll: The closed book signifies an unwritten life, while the scroll hints at a story that existed but was never recorded—his sanctity remains, even without text.
• Blessing Hand: His raised right hand gives a traditional gesture of blessing, affirming participation in the sanctity of Christ.
• Faint Figure and Tree in Background: The veiled figure of Brychan and a solitary tree suggest genealogical rootedness and memory—Llecheu’s sainthood is inherited, remembered, and still growing.
• Inscription: The Latin phrase “Etsi non scriptus, tamen memoratus” (“Although not written, yet remembered”) encapsulates the icon’s theological intent: to honour forgotten holiness.
12 June
Saint Llecheu
When is a ‘saint’ fictitious, but then not really? We must not mistake lack of surviving evidence for lack of personhood or sanctity. Today we are exploring #StLlechau who is listed in the histories as one of the #saintlyfamily born to #StBrychan via one of his three wives,
#StLlecheuApBrychan (also spelled Llechau or Lecanius) appears in the ‘Bonedd y Saint’ (Official rolls of the Welsh Saints) for the month of June for many centuries. Although always seen as obscure, when a single word in Peniarth MS 127, an early version of Plant Brychan, with the comment:
“LLECHEU (ap Brychan) (Fictitious) is found, then everything else mentioned before becomes more complicated. Suddenly there is a temptation to throw out the baby with the bath-water. To expect predominantly #oral or #toponymic histories to provide us with the definitive evidence that we need, and if not to just excise that figure. Whilst this may have some historical justification (?) but certainly not a devotional one.
Though no feast day, church dedication, or miracle tradition survives in his name, Llecheu’s presence in the genealogical lists of Brychan’s saintly children tells its own story. In early medieval Wales, local communities often sought spiritual and social prestige by aligning themselves with recognised saintly lineages. Brychan’s children were not only remembered for their personal holiness, but became symbols of sacred ancestry. To claim descent or patronage from such a family was to claim authority, legitimacy, and to claim a link to the Welsh faith of the past (and not necessarily that currently being offered). It becomes something about identity - reference to saints that sit in liminal spaces could have acted like a #shibboleth then, and the rediscovery of for example influential #theologicallyiconoclastic, #genderqueer, #women or #LGBTQIA saints can act as a shibboleth for us too!
Some names, like that of Llecheu, may have entered our traditions with little more than a whisper, yet somewhere their memory carried sacred weight. Whether he had a cult or not, Llecheu represents the rich interplay of memory, devotion, and communal storytelling that shaped the sacred landscape of early Wales. (For a detailed analysis of today’s icon when we have no information to draw from - see Further Notes.
11 June
Saint Gastyn
Today we remember Saint Gastyn who stands among the early spiritual elders of Wales, remembered not for royal lineage or miraculous deeds, but for his quiet, steadfast vocation as a #teacher of saints and discipler of #families. Active in the mid-fifth century, he lived as a hermit on the southern shore of Llyn Syfaddan (#LlangorseLake), at the site now called Llangasty Tal-y-llyn, whose name (Llan-Gastyn) bears witness to his legacy.According to tradition, Gastyn played a vital role in nurturing the Christian faith among the #young, especially #children including that of Brychan Brycheiniog, the great patriarch of early Welsh saints. It was to Gastyn, it is said, that Brychan entrusted his children for spiritual formation. In a time of political upheaval and religious flux, Gastyn offered a place of prayer, study, and discipline. He did not found monasteries or engage in missionary travels, but his pupils did.
His most notable disciples likely included Saint Cynog, a martyr and one of Brychan’s sons, whose faith and courage were shaped in Gastyn’s care. In this way, Gastyn became a quiet architect of Welsh sanctity, forming those who would go on to evangelize Wales, Cornwall, and Brittany.
The present-day church of Llangasty, built in the 19th century on this ancient holy site, remains the only known church dedicated to him. If like me you were ordained in the #DioceseOfSwanseaAndBrecon then part of your ordination retreat at #LlangastyRetreatHouse was a Eucharist in the local parish church of #StGastyns. Please pray for those who attend the church and those who use the retreat house.
Visitors to Llangasty still report a deep sense of peace and holiness in the land where he taught- indeed the great welsh #Reformer #HowellHarris was reported to have had a #SpiritualExperience on the spot of the decayed (since restored) church. Saint Gastyn is honoured not for worldly glory, but as a faithful teacher who sowed the seeds of sainthood in the hearts of the young.
10 June
Gerald of Wales
Today I am arguing that we aren’t but SHOULD BE remembering Gerald ‘of Wales’. As Minor Canon of #BreconCathedral in the mid-1990s, I was entrusted with pastoral care of St David’s Church, Llanddew, in the very village where Gerald once lived and worked. Now, years later, I find myself serving in the Diocese of #StDavids, the place with the strongest historic claim to the memory and stewardship of this remarkable #reformer (especially #StDavidsCathedral)
Born around 1146 at #ManorbierCastle, #GeraldOfWales, also known as #GiraldusCambrensis, was one of the most extraordinary figures of the medieval Church. A Royal Clerk, Archdeacon of Brecon, chronicler, canon lawyer, and tireless advocate for an independent Welsh Province, Gerald’s life was shaped by a deep love of his native land and a vision for #ecclesiasticalreform rooted in #justice and #autonomy.
He travelled widely and wrote prolifically. His #IntinerariumCambrae (Journey Through Wales) and #DescriptioCambrae (Description of Wales) remain irreplaceable sources for medieval Welsh culture, geography, and faith. Yet despite his towering intellect and spiritual insight, Gerald has never been recognised in any official, semi-official, academic or even local diocesan calendar of saints, whether Catholic or Anglican that I can find.
Gerald was also a significant #canonist and #churchlawyer. He studied #canonlaw at the University of Paris and brought that learning to bear on his tireless critique of ecclesiastical abuses. His writings, including ‘Gemma Ecclesiastica’ and ‘De Rebus a Se Gestis’, show a theologian deeply concerned with the moral integrity and administrative faithfulness of the Church. He advocated for #reform not just in structure but in spirit, insisting on #pastoralcare, #clericalaccountability, and the proper role of #bishops. His vision for an independent and reformed Welsh Province placed him ahead of his time; and perhaps, too far outside the political mainstream which is why he was never to be officially celebrated
On this day, 10 June, traditionally regarded as the date of his death in 1223, we might well ask: is it time to remember Gerald of Wales as a #confessor of the faith? A saint not canonised, perhaps, but not forgotten. His voice still calls us to honour, integrity, identity, and justice in the life of the Church - he holds clergy of all ranks to a high standard - particularly in #Wales. Perhaps this is too much of a #political point for me to make (so see my first comment where I mention which of colleagues you should read!)
09 June
Saint Columba
Today June 09 we celebrate a not so obscure saint. #SaintColumba (Colum Cille - the ‘Dove of the Church’) was born in 521 in Gartan, Ireland, into a noble family of the Uí Néill. Baptised Crimthann, he chose the monastic life early and was formed by the great #Irish schools of Movilla and Clonard. A gifted preacher, scholar, and leader, #Columba went on to found several monastic communities in Ireland, including Derry and Durrow.In 563, Columba sailed with twelve companions across the Irish Sea in self-imposed exile, landing on the Hebridean island of #Iona. There he founded a monastery that would become a beacon of learning, artistry, and missionary zeal. From Iona, Columba evangelised the Pictish peoples of northern Scotland and influenced kings and commoners alike.
His life, filled with visions, miracles, and wise counsel, was recorded by Adomnán, his successor, in the #VitaColumbae’ a HUGELY influential document in the formation of the churches across all the Celtic communities (including Wales).
Whilst the #artistic influence of Iona reached Wales, and influenced its manuscript culture (as evidenced in the #BangorAntiphonary) which reveals stylistic affinities with the illuminated traditions of Iona. Interlace patterns, zoomorphic initials, and insular script styles connect these monastic cultures across the sea. It is as not in this artistic arena that Columba was to make his largest influence.
Although Columba never visited Wales, his spiritual legacy hugely shaped the Welsh early church well into the middle ages, and (it can be argued) up until today! The ascetic and communal ethos of the ‘Columban Rule’ described in the Vita Columbae bore strong similarities to the monastic practices of Saint Dewi Sant, in that both stressed prayer, manual labour, fasting, and humility in leadership. These two documents in particular fused to create what scholars have called a #PanCelticAestheticSpirituality distinct from the Benedictine Spirituality of Europe (see first comment for the list of sources) and contributes to the continuing belief that the #ChurchInWales has at its heart a distinct set of traditions and values that set it apart (first from the #RomanChurch) and latterly from the #ChurchOfEngland. This uniqueness goes back to the origins of the Christian faith in the Celtic nations.
#PatrickOfIreland who was born in the mid-fourth century is the pioneering figure who grafted Christian faith onto the native Celtic soul while David and Columba represent the flowering of pan-Celtic monastic and aesthetic spirituality into a worked out set of principles and rule of life. This why I have chosen to represent todays #icon with Colomba alongside the two other towering figures who formed a sustained #celtic #ecclesiastical #spiritual and #historical #spirituality.
Columba died peacefully in prayer on 9 June 597. His memory endures not only in Scotland and Ireland, but in every corner of the Celtic Church where lives were shaped by his rule, his example, and the artistic flowering of his monastery. Saint Columba remains a towering figure of Celtic sanctity, gentle, bold, wise, and ever devoted to Christ.
Footnotes:
Chadwick, Nora. The Age of the Saints in the Early Celtic Church. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.
Davies, John R. “The Ecclesiastical Context.” In A Companion to the Early Middle Ages: Britain and Ireland c. 500–c. 1100, edited by Pauline Stafford, 95–113. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.
Hughes, Kathleen. The Church in Early Irish Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1966.
Jones, G. R. J. “The Celtic Church and Monasticism.” In St David of Wales: Cult, Church and Nation, edited by J. Wyn Evans and Jonathan M. Wooding, 31–45. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2007.
O’Loughlin, Thomas. Journeys on the Edges: The Celtic Tradition. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000.
08 June
Saint Elias
Today we honour the extraordinary legacy of John Elias, one of the most powerful voices in the rise of 19th century Welsh Christianity who died on this day in 1841. Born near Abererch in 1774, Elias rose from humble rural beginnings to become a towering figure in the Calvinistic Methodist movement, helping to shape a uniquely Welsh expression of faith that transformed the spiritual life of a nation.
Ordained in 1811, Elias became renowned for his thunderous, passionate preaching, often addressing crowds of thousands in open-air revival meetings. His sermons stirred hearts, convicted consciences, and brought many to a living faith in Christ. He was especially known for his clarity, moral seriousness, and commanding presence. This earned him the nickname “Y Pab Methodistaidd,” meaning “the Methodist Pope.”
But Elias was more than a preacher. He was a defender of Reformed doctrine, a champion of the Welsh language, and a builder of Nonconformist identity at a time when the Church of England still held social and legal dominance. His leadership helped solidify Calvinistic Methodism as a distinct and influential denomination, rooted in both scripture and cultural identity.
Elias’s moral voice spoke clearly to his generation. It was a call to repentance, discipline, and holiness. Yet he also embodied a deep pastoral concern for the spiritual well-being of ordinary people. He challenged sin not to condemn, but to draw souls closer to the grace of God.
His funeral in 1841 drew an estimated 10,000 mourners, a powerful testament to his spiritual impact across Wales. Today, we remember him not just as a preacher, but as a national prophet who helped awaken a people to the power of the gospel.
07 June
Our Lady of Penrhys
Today, we celebrate one of the uniquely Welsh dedications to the Blessed Virgin Mary: Our Lady of Penrhys. This feast is deeply rooted in Christian devotion and reaches into the sacred memory of the land, drawing from pre-Christian flowering festivals that marked early to mid-June as a time of spiritual vitality and natural abundance.
In ancient Celtic cultures, trees were revered as dwellings of divine presence, especially of female spirits or land goddesses. The blossoming of oak, elder, and linden trees in early June signaled a season of fertility, healing, and sacred encounters. These flowering festivals often centered around sacred groves and springs, natural sanctuaries where communities gathered to honor transitions and seek blessings (see Hutton’s ‘The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles’).
At Penrhys, this tradition endures in the legend of a miraculous apparition of Mary in an oak tree, beside a holy well known for its healing properties. This is a clear example of Christian tradition embracing and transforming older reverence for the sacred feminine in nature (an excellent treatment of this is ‘Land, People and Power in Early Medieval Wales: The Cantref of Cemais in Comparative Perspective’ by Rhiannon Comeau). The groves surrounding Penrhys, still present today, support the idea that this was a place of longstanding spiritual significance.
During the early Christian period, the Church integrated these ancient sites, bringing them into the Christian narrative without severing their ties to the land. The original feast, likely observed in early June when the trees are in full bloom, was later replaced by the Roman Catholic observance of the Feast of the Visitation on 2 July, which also coincided with the erection of the modern statue in 1953.
Yet, the land remembers, and so do we. Please pray for all the pilgrims that will attend the annual pilgrimage next month.
06 June
Y Tri Saint
Today we explore a #modern #ecumenical festival, albeit with Celtic #roots. The Feast of ‘Y Tri Saint’, honours St David, St Teilo, and St Padarn, and commemorates three pivotal figures of the early Welsh Church and their relationship as a way of modelling our own need to #cooperate with other Christian communities. Though their collective veneration is rooted in medieval hagiography, the idea of a shared feast day traces its liturgical expression to the early 20th century, particularly within the Welsh-speaking Calvinistic Methodist community in Swansea.
Founded in the early 1900s,#EglwysYTriSant (Church of the Three Saints) in Uplands, Swansea, was consciously dedicated to David, Teilo, and Padarn as a theological, relational and cultural triad. This #united the spiritual legacy of three native bishops who shaped the ecclesial, monastic, and missionary life of Wales. The dedication was an intentional act of ecumenical symbolism, expressing a vision of unity across traditions and rooted in the shared inheritance of the early Celtic Church. Services at the church often included a joint commemoration of all the three saints in early June. This timing, positioned between their individual feast days, affirmed their collective role in shaping Welsh Christianity.
The literary foundation for their association lies of course in Rhygyfarch’s #BucheddDewi (Life of David), composed around 1090. In this work, David is consecrated alongside Padarn and Teilo, and the three make journey alongside each other to Jerusalem, where they receive divine affirmation of their mission. Later sources, such as the #VitaSanctiTeliaui and #VitaSanctiPaternini, echo their collaboration and shared ministry. Although no medieval calendar records a unified feast, the spiritual fraternity of these saints has long been honoured in local traditions, iconography, and pilgrimage routes, especially in Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire.
Which is why I find it so interesting that it is the contemporary observance of the Feast of Y Tri Saint in early June, (rooted in the Swansea based non-conformity practice of Eglwys y Tri Sant), that chose to employ and apply a broader ecumenical rediscovery of the lives and witness of the early saints of Wales. Originally a #CalvinisticMethodist Chapel, then #Presbyterian, the church now serves an #ecumenical congregation including the United Reformed Church (#URC). It offers to all Christians a living example of how ancient sanctity can inspire renewed Christian unity, shared memory, and theological imagination across traditions. Please do pray for them today.
05 June
Saint Tudno
In the icon, below we see high above the sea on the #GreatOrme a cowled pilgrim. This is St Tudno whose solemnity falls today June 5, standing holding his mythical whetstone and a small church (the latter as symbol of his status as a church founder), all representing his legacy as a 6th-century Welsh hermit-saint and missionary. It is he whose name gave rise to the town of #Llandudno ‘Llan-Tudno’ (or Church of Tudno). A son of King Seithenyn (legendary ruler of the drowned land Cantref y Gwaelod), Tudno turned to God in penance for his father’s folly.
Named in hagiographical genealogies like the #BoneddYSaint, #Achau’rSaint, and #PeniarthMS45, Tudno is believed to have studied at #BangorIscoed under #StDunawd. He later withdrew to the windswept Great Orme, living in solitude first in Ogof Llech, a coastal cave, before establishing a chapel that became the foundation of Christian life in the area.
His memory continues to be honoured at St Tudno’s Church, a 12th-century building on the #SacredSite of his original hermitage. The site remains a place of pilgrimage and worship today.
Tudno is also associated with a mythical whetstone, one of the #ThirteenTreasures of Britain (it sharpened only the weapons of the brave and dulled those of cowards), and whilst it may seem strange to have something so martial associated with a saint it is traditionally interpreted as symbolising #holydiscernment.
His feast day, June 5, is a deeply rooted tradition. The Cambrian Traveller’s Guide (1813) records the celebration of Y Gwylmabsant (the patronal festival of St Tudno) on June 5, attesting to centuries of faithful observance. This local tradition is still honoured in open-air summer services on the Great Orme. Please #pray for the Congregation of St Tudno’s and the community of Llandudno.
04 June
Saint Hychan
Today (June 4), we remember Hychan, one of the lesser-known children of #BrychanBrycheiniog, the legendary 5th-century chieftain and saint-maker of Wales. A pilgrim and missionary, Hychan is traditionally credited with bringing the Christian faith to parts of what is now Denbighshire, in the north-east of Wales.
He is the reputed founder of the small church at #Llanhychan, near #Ruthin, where the place-name (“Church of Hychan”) bears enduring testimony to his legacy. Though the present church building was rebuilt in later centuries, the dedication suggests a much older cult and community presence. No surviving hagiography gives detail of his deeds, but his memory survives in the landscape and local devotion - this what is known as #toponymic evidence for his existence.
He does nonetheless appear in #BoneddYSaint (The Descent of the Saints), #Achau’rSaint (Genealogies of the Saints), and other manuscript sources such as #PeniarthMS45 and the #HarleianGenealogies. These genealogical records place him within the spiritual dynasty of Brychan’s saintly offspring, many of whom became missionaries, founders, and hermits throughout Wales and the West of Britain.
His feast of 4 June, is assigned in honour of the earliest surviving record of the church at Llanhychan (the #EcclesiaDeLaneban’ (Norwich Taxation) of 1254), and was continued in historical memory through the later works of Edward Lhuyd and Rice Rees.
In prayer and in pilgrimage, St Hychan represents the quiet, faithful witness of those whose legacy is not found in books, but in the continued heartbeat of a local church and its enduring name.
Today we commemorate him with thanksgiving and pray for all at St Hychan’s, Llanhychan.
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03 June
Feria
Weekday
02 June
Saint Bodfan
Today in our meanderings through the Welsh hagiography instead of reflecting on Justin Martyr, we remember Saint #Bodfan and a #ghost, someone who could have ended up a tragic figure but instead became an object lesson to us all of perseverance and #faith in the face of adversity.
Bodfan was said to have been the son of Helig ap Glanawg, prince of the rich coastal kingdom of Tyno Helig. His father’s capital, called ‘Llys Helig’, could be found on the coast near what is now Conwy Bay. But legend tells how, (during a great feast held for Helig’s daughter) the ghost a murdered noble appeared. This ghost pronounced a curse of Bodfan’s father and all his family. Soon after, the sea started to rise, and completely submerged the entire kingdom. Now the chances of a ghost causing the #flooding of the kingdoms capital are ‘vanishingly’ (- geddit ‘cos it’s a ghost!) small. It’s much more likely to be a massive storm or some such.
Whatever the cause it’s out of this tale of loss, that a story of faith emerges. Bodfan, (along with his brothers Brothen, Celynin, and Rhychwyn), didn’t collapse into depression. Instead of mourning the loss of their inheritance they gave their lives to Christ. Where once there was ruin, they found a new beginning!
Bodfan himself is said to have journeyed to Ynys Enlli (Bardsey Island), known as the ‘Island of Saints’, and later founded the church at Llanaber, near Barmouth. His brothers became saints too, establishing churches across Gwynedd and the Conwy valley. Together, these four brothers helped lay the foundations of Christian life in North Wales.
At #Llanaber today stands the Church of St Mary and St Bodfan, a living place of worship where Bodfan’s memory endures. Nearby lie two ancient Christian stones (the Calixtus Stone and the Dervacus Stone) which bear Latin inscriptions from the 6th century. Whilst these stones don’t speak of Bodfan himself, they do speak of kings and martyrs and of the deep roots of the faith in that place, long before medieval builders raised their church above them.
As we reflect today on the loss of homes and lands to flooding, both ancient and present, especially in this age of this age of #climatechange bringing coastal flooding, Bodfan’s story invites us to hold fast to hope. When waters rise and all seems lost, we remember the saints who turned grief into faith, and who chose the kingdom of heaven over worldly splendour.
So today, we light a candle. We pray for those affected by floods across the world. And we give thanks for Saint Bodfan, someone who stood firm in faith when the sea took all else.
(Today's icon is of Bodfan, Brothen, Celynin, and Rhychwyn … I’ve no clue which is which but in my mind I read them in that order L-R which means Celynin had the longest beard).
Further Notes:
I’ve been asked to clarify the statement that Rhun was never “formally canonised”, which is true.
In fact the canonisation of the early Celtic saints is done through ‘Sanctitas per acclamationem fidelium agnoscebatur’ or the fact that “Holiness was recognised through the acclamation of the faithful.”
This phrase describes how sainthood was understood in the early Church, especially in Celtic Christianity. Before formal canonisation processes were established by Rome (in the late twelfth century), individuals were honoured as saints through local veneration, known as a #cultus.
The faithful would commemorate their holiness through liturgical feasts, pilgrimages, reverence at relics or tombs, and oral tradition.
In this context, sanctity was not declared by central authority, but acknowledged by the living memory and devotion of the Christian community … a recognition rooted in love, reverence, and experience of the saint’s enduring spiritual presence.
The Church has NEVER required retroactive canonisation for those venerated in good faith and with longstanding tradition - a position established in canon law (RC, Orthodox and Anglican). At the heart of this tradition lies the doctrine of the #sensusfidelium—the ‘sense of the faithful’ - a key theological principle that the Holy Spirit guides the whole Church in truth, not only through magisterial authority but also through the lived witness and spiritual intuition of the People of God.
01 June
Saint Rhun
St Rhun: From Crown and Sword to Saint and Shepherd
Today we remember #StRhun who stands at the quiet threshold between war and peace, sovereignty and sanctity. The son of the formidable Maelgwn Gwynedd, who died around 547, Rhun inherited a turbulent kingdom, and initially pursued bloodshed but in the end chose a path of #peace which was to be his spiritual legacy.
Known to early sources as #RhunHir (Rhun the Tall) he appears in the #HistoriaBrittonum and despite the fact that the #WelshTriads name him as a just and faithful leader, he famously led a bloody campaign to avenge his cousin Elidyr Mwynfawr, This conflict is recorded in the #AnnalesCambriae and later identified by John of Fordun as the Battle of Arthuret, fought near modern-day Longtown in Cumbria around the year 573. Far from a fleeting clash, this was a prolonged and horrific engagement. The Triads recall that Gwenddoleu’s men, opponents in the same conflict, fought for “a fortnight and a month” after their lord was slain, a six-week stand of loyalty and loss.
Tradition places this forty-two day battle in late spring or early summer, a timing supported not only by historical inference but also by literary resonance. The Welsh prophetic poem Afallenau (‘Apple Trees’) which is found in the #BlackBookOfCarmarthen, depicts the legendary Myrddin (Merlin) in the aftermath of the battle, grieving among blooming apple trees. This image of lamentation amid blossom suggests itself the late spring or early summer date, a time when the natural world holds both beauty and sorrow in tension. Perhaps this is why (beyond an early June commemoration) we cannot be sure of an exact date for the feast of St Rhun.
This seasonal memory shaped more than poetry, it has shaped devotion. In some hagiographical traditions, the feast of St Rhun is kept in June, not to glorify that battle, but to remember the moment when, following the battle, Rhun is believed to have laid down his weapons and turned to a life of prayer.
In Caernarfonshire, the village of Llanrhûn bears his name (although the nearest Church is dedicated to Our Lady, as it seems the original site of Rhun’s foundation has been lost). Local tradition reveres him not as a prince or warrior, but as the founder of a church, having withdrawn from both warfare and the throne to live out his years as a confessor or holy man. Though never formally canonised, his quiet sanctity was honoured in the land he once ruled and in the dedication of the Church he founded.
Today, St Rhun is remembered as a figure who bridges the realms of power and peace. The timing of his remembrance, amid apple blossom, on the cusp of summer, echoes the spiritual flowering that followed his martial past. Please pray for the Church and people of Llanrhun today.
June
Further Notes:
The “1566 document” referring to Llanllyr-yn-Rhos is the ‘Liber Valorum et Decimarum’, a record associated with church taxation, benefices, and parish inventories compiled during or shortly after the Elizabethan Visitations of the Diocese of St David’s. Also known as the King’s Book (though later editions were based on earlier sources), it listed the names of parishes and their dedications as part of the ecclesiastical structure. In Wales, such records were reinforced by commissarial visitations aimed at enforcing conformity to the Church of England.
31 May
Saint Llyr
St Llyr the Virgin: The Gender-Bending Saint of Radnor
One of the first times I became entranced with obscure hagiographies was when in 1999 I was appointed as Vicar of #Llanyre in Radnorshire. For in the rolling green heart of that county lies a saintly mystery that blends mythology, mistaken gender identity, and centuries of local devotion. The name of #StLlyr lives on today in the village of Llanyre - historically Llanllyr-yn-Rhos, whose ancient church bears this rare dedication. But who was Llyr? The answer, it turns out, depends on which century you ask the question …
In the pre-Christian era the name Llŷr instantly calls to mind the mythological #Welsh sea-god (father of Brân and Branwen, and a central figure in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi). This #Llŷr was no Christian saint, but a pre-Christian deity of the deep, shrouded in tide and story. So when a saint by that name appears in medieval #Radnorshire, confusion begins to seep in!
By the sixteenth century all is clear. A 1566 record gives us clarity (see further notes for details). In this document, the church and parish are referred to as ‘The Church of St Llyr the Virgin, Llanllyr-yn-Rhos’ (The village name meaning ‘the church of Llyr in the moor’). The use of ‘Llan’ is decisive: this prefix is reserved in Welsh tradition only for Christian saints, never pagan figures. This points not to a mythic sea God but to an early local #saint - a #male ascetic, rooted in the native church of Wales.
And then three hundred years later comes the twist.
At Holy Trinity Church, #LlandrindodWells (just two miles away from Llanyre) a vivid 19th-century stained glass window presents ‘St Llyr the Virgin’ as a robed and haloed female figure in red and blue. The title ‘Virgin’ and the iconography suggest a #female saint! What is going on?
In all likelihood this is almost certainly a Victorian misunderstanding. The 1566 record gives no hint of femininity, and the use of ‘Virgin’ for a male saint (while unusual) is not without precedent. In early Christian tradition, particularly in Celtic contexts, the term could also be applied to male hermits who had consecrated themselves to celibate purity. However, Victorian piety and aesthetics tended to read the word ‘virgin’ through a #gendered lens. It’s likely that the window’s design reflected a cultural assumption rather than historical truth, reimagining a male ascetic as a female saint.
Yet even Victorian art offers a counterpoint. At St Llyr’s Church in Llanyre, the original and ancient site of the saint’s veneration, the renewed 19th-century building (constructed atop its medieval foundations) includes a late nineteenth century representation of St Llyr as a male figure, robed in the style of a Celtic hermit or monk. Created in the same general period as the Llandrindod window, this image preserves the older understanding of the saint’s identity, suggesting that local tradition remembered him not as a sea-god or maiden, but as a holy man of early Wales.
So who was St Llyr? A male Christian hermit mistakenly feminised in stained glass? A local holy man whose memory intertwined with that of a sea-god? A spiritual presence remembered more in symbol than in biography?
The truth may remain as elusive as the mist on the Radnor hills. But perhaps that is fitting. The feast of St Llyr the Virgin, kept on 31 May, honours not just a person but a mystery: a figure who challenges our categories, saint or god, man or woman, and invites us into deeper wonder. Please remember the people and congregations of Llanyre and Llandrindod Wells. Also remember that in the end, what matters is not the saint’s #gender, but the #holiness that endures.
30 May
Saint Derfel
Why does today’s Saint have a ‘secret’ secondary feast which falls on this day but is not mentioned in official hagiographies (where he is properly remembered on 04 April), and why is this connected with the state sponsored murder of a Franciscan Friar over a millennium later?
St Derfel, known in Welsh as Derfel Gadarn (“the Mighty”), was a 6th-century Welsh saint whose story bridges the worlds of legend, warfare, and deep Christian devotion. Once a warrior reputed to have fought at the mythical Battle of Camlan alongside King Arthur, Derfel laid down his sword and embraced the monastic life, dedicating himself to peace, prayer, and healing.
He is most closely associated with Llandderfel Church near Bala in
Gwynedd, which became a major pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages
(if it is your custom please do pray for the people of Llandderfel today). From those Middle Ages onwards pilgrims came from far and wide to see a remarkable wooden effigy of Saint Derfel in full armour on horseback, and to receive miracles through the intercession of the But the story takes a darker turn during the English Reformation.
On 22 May 1538, the wooden statue of St Derfel having been removed by order of Henry VIII’s government and sent to Smithfield in London, was used to fuel the execution pyre of Blessed John Forest, a Franciscan friar and Catholic martyr. The Grey Friars Chronicle recounts the event as simultaneously a condemnation of the Roman Catholic Faith, the Veneration of Images and the Welsh. The image of Derfel, once a symbol of faith, was hijacked to enact violence against another faithful Christian. This did not go over well, as you can imagine, and thus a secondary celebration of St Derfel began to be kept on 30 May (the last day of the octave of the martyrdom of Blessed John Forest) as a not so subtle way of offering criticism of the act of vandalism without provoking persecution from the authorities! (See the first comment for academic details if you’re interested!).
Further Notes:
Post-Dissolution Welsh recusant devotional practices in the 16th and 17th centuries offer tantalising hints that a variant feast of St Derfel may have been observed quietly to avoid state suppression. Surviving letters, glosses, and marginalia—particularly those later noted or preserved by antiquarians such as Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt and Edward Lhuyd—suggest the persistence of folk religious customs beneath the surface of conformity. Vaughan, whose Hengwrt Manuscripts preserve a wide range of genealogical and hagiographical material, is known to have annotated ecclesiastical calendars and collected local lore, including traditions surrounding Welsh saints.(1) Lhuyd, in his 1707 Archaeologia Britannica, records a number of popular religious customs, many of which were already considered antiquated or suppressed by his time, and comments explicitly on the survival of “vulgar” observances tied to places associated with saints.(2) It is within such devotional shadows that a secondary commemoration of St Derfel on 30 May persisted: a quiet act of resistance disguised as local piety, remembered not in official calendars but in the guarded scribal margins of a people preserving their sacred history under pressure.
Footnotes:
1 See Robert Vaughan, Hengwrt Manuscripts, National Library of Wales MSS Hengwrt 1–459. Vaughan’s interest in saints’ genealogies and calendars is evident in his transcriptions and annotations, especially in relation to Bonedd y Saint and Achau’r Saint.
2 Edward Lhuyd, Archaeologia Britannica, vol. 1: Glossography (Oxford: Theatre Press, 1707), esp. pp. 228–265, where Lhuyd discusses lingering ecclesiastical customs in Wales and the continued veneration of local saints “among the vulgar” despite official discouragement.
29 May
Saint Sulien of Luxulyan
On 29 May, the Church in parts of Wales and Cornwall quietly remembers St Sulien of Luxulyan (to be distinguished from St Sulien of Llanbadarn Fawr or St Sulien of Bardsey), a bishop and abbot whose legacy links the monastic heritage of South Wales with the Christian roots of Cornwall. Though little known today, Sulien’s story shines a light on the early Celtic Church, a time when spiritual authority flowed from learning, holiness, and mission.
St Sulien (sometimes called Sullianus), is honoured in Luxulyan, a small Cornish village that may once have hosted a chapel in his name. Yet his formation and training in Llanilltud Fawr (Llantwit Major - one of Wales’ most important early Christian centres founded by St Illtud) marks him as part of the monastic and missionary revival of the 5th and 6th centuries, when the faith was being renewed across western Britain in the wake of Rome’s departure.
He is remembered as both bishop and abbot, an unusual (but not unheard of combination) in early Britain, where spiritual leaders often held overlapping pastoral and monastic responsibilities.
Though there are few church dedications to him - only one in Wales of St Silin in Llansilin remain, his memory mostly lives on in local calendars and martyrologies (notably those recorded by Nicholas Roscarrock and Sabine Baring-Gould’s The Lives of the British Saints). His veneration was never widespread, but it survived through devotion in both Wales and Cornwall, offering a glimpse into the shared spiritual landscape of these regions.
In an age rediscovering forgotten saints and the deep roots of faith in our land, St Sulien of Luxulyan reminds us of the humble lights who helped shape the Church through prayer, learning, and quiet perseverance.
[Today's icon reflects St Sulien’s dual status as Bishop with a Mitre and Cugela (Cowl) of an Abbot, with a crosier as a symbol of his episcopal office and book as a symbol of his monastic learning].
28 May
Translation of the Relics of Saint Dyfrig
Today in the older calendars of the #ChurchInWales we remember the ‘Translation of the Relics of St Dyfrig’
On 29 May 1120, the relics of #Dyfrig (also known as Dubricius), one of Wales’s most revered early saints, were solemnly translated from Bardsey Island to #LlandaffCathedral. This moment marked more than a physical relocation. It was a powerful act of spiritual and ecclesiastical affirmation.
Dyfrig was a 6th-century bishop and monastic founder, renowned for his holiness and learning. According to tradition, he founded churches in south-east Wales
Further Notes:
Reading from the Life of St Dyfrig, as recorded in the Book of Llandaff (Liber Landavensis)
“On the honourable translation of the most blessed bishop Dyfrig from the Isle of Bardsey to Llandaff
In those days, when Bishop Urban ruled the church of Llandaff, there arose within him a holy desire to honour the saints of old, that the people might know the foundations of the faith laid in these lands. And so, with prayer and devotion, he sought to bring forth the relics of the most blessed Dubricius, who had long rested upon the isle of Bardsey, that hallowed place of many saints.
With solemn rite and holy procession, the bones of the saint were lifted from that sacred ground, and borne with incense and chanting across the land. The faithful came forth to witness the miracle, and many were moved to tears. As they approached the walls of Llandaff, the air was filled with singing, and the ground itself seemed to rejoice.
And the holy bishop was laid in honour behind the high altar, beside Saints Teilo and Euddogwy, his fellow shepherds of the flock. Thus was his name restored to remembrance, and his relics became a fountain of grace to the church.
Therefore let all the people give thanks to God, who is wonderful in his saints, and remember Saint Dyfrig, bishop and confessor, whose glory endures in heaven and whose witness shall never fade from the earth”.
and taught many future saints, including St Teilo and St Samson of Dol (he was even said to have crowned King Arthur in the legends recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth!).After his death, Dyfrig was buried on Bardsey Island, also known as Ynys Enlli, the ‘Island of 20,000 saints’. There his remains lay for centuries. Then, Bishop Urban of Llandaff, seeking to assert the ancient authority of his see in the face of Norman restructuring, arranged their translation to Llandaff. There, the relics were enshrined with honour behind the high altar, alongside St Teilo and St Euddogwy.This act was part of a wider medieval tradition of translating saints’ relics to cathedral centres. It deepened local devotion and strengthened ecclesiastical prestige. Dyfrig’s translation reaffirmed his status not only as a confessor and bishop, but as a symbol of Welsh Christian heritage.Today, Dyfrig is commemorated in our hagiography on 14 November, BUT the 29 May translation remains a powerful reminder of the enduring legacy of our Welsh saints. His life, his teaching, and the sacred journey of his relics still speak to a Church called to honour the past while proclaiming a living faith.(I love the fact that in the icon one of the bearers' heads is missing!). (For those interested the account from the Twelfth Century ‘Liber Landavensis’ from which we get this information can be found in Further Notes).
27 May
Saint Melangell
Saint Melangell is one of Wales’ most beloved female saints, known for her deep compassion, quiet strength, and gentle holiness. A 7th-century Irish princess, Melangell fled to Wales to escape an arranged marriage, seeking instead a life of prayer, solitude, and closeness with God. She settled in the secluded valley of Pennant Melangell, in what is now Powys, where she lived as a hermit.
Her most famous story tells of the local prince, Brochwel Ysgithrog, who was hunting hares when one sought refuge under Melangell’s cloak. His hounds stopped, unable to approach, and his hunting horn fell silent. So moved was the prince by this miracle and the saint’s holiness that he granted her the land to found a Christian community. Melangell became abbess of a small religious house, which offered welcome and sanctuary to all – especially those in need of healing, protection, or peace.
She is particularly remembered as the patron saint of hares and small animals, and in Welsh folklore, hares are still known as Melangell’s little lambs. Her feast is celebrated on May 27th in many Welsh calendars.
Today, the beautiful church and shrine of St Melangell still stand in the remote valley where she lived and is a place of prayer, pilgrimage, and peace. The 12th-century church contains one of the oldest surviving shrine structures in Britain, lovingly restored and open to all. Please pray for its ministry (and perhaps even visit?).
St Melangell’s legacy speaks powerfully to our world: a witness to gentleness, non-violence, and sanctuary. She reminds us that holiness flourishes not in grandeur but in stillness and care for the vulnerable.
For those so inclined an office hymn to her is below:
O Melangell, of Quiet Grace
(To the tune: “St Stephen” - CM)
1. O Melangell, of quiet grace,
Who heard the wild hare’s cry,
And in the stillness of the vale
Found peace the world passed by;
2. Not crown nor court could hold your heart,
Nor bride-bed win your hand;
You sought the path the Saviour walked,
And chose the pilgrim’s land.
3. The hounds stood still, the horn fell mute,
As prayer your cloak did spread;
And in that place, a church arose
Where saints and beasts are fed.
4. Now teach us how to serve in love,
To guard what God has made,
To shelter all the weak and small,
And walk the woodland glade.
5. All praise to God, Creator-Lord,
And Christ, the gentle King,
The Spirit’s breath be in our hearts
As through this world we sing.
26 May
Saint Augustine of Canterbury
St Augustine of Canterbury (d. c. 604) whom we remember today was the monk chosen by Pope Gregory the Great to bring the Christian faith to the Anglo-Saxons. Arriving in Kent in 597, Augustine baptised King Æthelberht and established his episcopal seat at Canterbury, laying the foundations of what would become the English Church. His efforts earned him the title “Apostle to the English” and his feast is kept on 26 May, including in the Church in Wales.
Yet Augustine’s mission was not merely to the pagan English, as we learnt yesterday when we explored the legacy of the Venerable Bede, it also brought him into contention with the ancient British Church, rooted in Wales and beyond. Pope Gregory’s hope was for a single unified church in Britain, with Augustine as metropolitan. But the Welsh bishops and monastic leaders resisted this Roman reordering.
The pivotal confrontation came around 602–603, when seven bishops and monks from Bangor-is-y-Coed met Augustine (possibly near the River Severn). According to Bede, Augustine demanded they adopt the Roman calculation of Easter, conform their monastic practices, and submit to his authority. Their refusal was rooted in a distinct ecclesial identity shaped by centuries of autonomy, mission, and martyrdom, an identity Augustine could not grasp.
Bede reports Augustine’s harsh prediction that the British Church would suffer divine judgement for its disobedience. Ironically, as we surmised yesterday, it was Bede’s own writing that later preserved detailed knowledge of the independence, structure, and sanctity of the Welsh Church, including its many saints and foundations.
Thus, while Augustine succeeded in planting the Roman Church in England, his encounter with the Welsh Church revealed a deeper complexity in British Christianity. It is telling that the first Archbishop of Canterbury and one of the harshest early critics of Welsh Christianity would also be remembered, through Bede’s pen, as a witness to the rich distinctiveness of the Church in Wales.
25 May
The Venerable Bede
Why do Welsh hagiographies remember such a trenchant critic of the Welsh church?
Today (25 May) we remember The Venerable Bede (c. 673–735), Doctor of the Church and monk of Jarrow, who remains one of the most influential figures in early medieval Christianity. His most enduring work, Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People), not only chronicles the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons but also offers one of the earliest sustained critiques of the Welsh Church from a Roman Christian perspective.
Bede’s theological commitment to Roman orthodoxy was unwavering. He championed the Roman method of calculating Easter and saw in it a symbol of ecclesial unity. By contrast, Bede viewed the Welsh Church as isolated, outdated, and defiant. He lamented their adherence to an 84-year Easter cycle and their refusal to align with the Dionysian computation adopted by Rome. For Bede, this divergence was not merely a calendrical quirk but a sign of spiritual stubbornness and ecclesiastical disobedience.
His criticism deepened when assessing the Welsh bishops’ reluctance to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons. Bede condemned their inward-looking stance, writing that they ‘never preached the faith to the English people, nor did they communicate with those who did’. He portrays the famous meeting between Augustine of Canterbury and the Welsh bishops as a moment of missed opportunity, one where ethnic pride and ecclesiastical independence trumped Christian mission and unity.
Bede’s harshest tone emerges when recounting the massacre of monks at Bangor Iscoed. Though he acknowledges their piety, he frames the event as a divine judgment, linking their refusal to accept Augustine’s authority with their slaughter by Æthelfrith of Northumbria. In this, Bede exhibits a theological worldview in which ecclesial submission to Rome is intimately tied to divine favour and protection.
It is ironic then that one of the earliest and harshest critics of the Welsh Church should also provide the historic basis for detailed records of the distinct identity of the Welsh Church, including its independence, monastic structure, and saintly traditions. While Bede judged the Welsh Church against Roman norms, his work ultimately contributed to our understanding of Christianity in Wales having a diverse and rich ‘Celtic’ identity separate from that of the rest of British Christianity. This in turn is being rediscovered and the rich heritage of Welsh saints and institutions is increasingly coming to the fore during what is at the moment a time of significant transition in the Churches in Wales.
24 May
John & Charles Wesley
Today the ‘official’ calendar of the #ChurchInWales remembers John and Charles #Wesley the founders of #Methodism. Nobody can deny their importance - theologically and musically to the faith, and it is for this reason that they are included in our yearly cycle.
They had a significant (though at times complex) relationship with Wales. Their evangelical mission intersected with a time of deep spiritual ferment in the Welsh religious landscape during the 18th century. While Methodism took root more firmly in England, its Welsh expression became closely aligned with indigenous revivalist movements, often separate in tone and language from the Wesleys’ Anglican reformist vision.
John Wesley made more than 30 visits to Wales between 1739 and 1789, focusing primarily on the border regions and South Wales. He preached in towns like Cardiff, Brecon, and Llanidloes, often to large crowds. However, his lack of Welsh fluency limited his deeper influence, and he acknowledged publicly the language barrier.
He maintained cordial but cautious relations with Welsh Calvinistic Methodists such as Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland. While Wesley supported their zeal, he was concerned about theological divergences, particularly their predestinarian leanings, which clashed with his Arminian views.
Charles Wesley’s engagement with Wales was less extensive but deeply formative. He visited Wales in 1739, preaching in areas like Cardiff and Bristol’s Welsh-speaking outskirts. His poetic sensibility resonated with Welsh hymnody, and though most of his hymns were in English, they influenced Welsh Methodists’ hymn-writing traditions, helping shape the rich hymn-singing culture that came to define Welsh nonconformity.
Ultimately, while the Wesley brothers laid important groundwork in Wales, Welsh Methodism developed a distinct identity. Their efforts encouraged revival, literacy, and spiritual renewal, but the movement in Wales became more associated with Calvinistic leadership and later independent denominations. Nonetheless, the Wesleys’ legacy lives on in Welsh Methodism, especially in its early structure, its lay preaching model, and its emphasis on personal holiness and conversion … elements deeply valued across Welsh spiritual traditions to this day.
23 May
Saint Ffraid
St Ffraid, known more widely as St Brigid of Kildare, is among the most cherished saints of the Celtic Christian tradition. In Wales, she is venerated under the name Ffraid Sant, and her cult took deep root particularly in the north-east, across the Clwydian hills, the Vale of Dyffryn Clwyd, and in places like Llansantffraid Glyn Ceiriog and Llansantffraid Dyffryn Clwyd.
Though Brigid herself never set foot in Wales, early ecclesiastical ties between Irish and Welsh monastic communities carried her name and legacy to Welsh soil. Her reputation as a healer, abbess, and protector of animals quickly led to her being honoured as the Welsh Patron Saint of Livestock. Cattle, sheep, dairy herds, and all who tended them found in Ffraid a spiritual protector, and countless Welsh rural communities prayed for her intercession.
Her principal feast day, 1 February, aligns with Imbolc, the pre-Christian festival marking the start of spring. In Ireland, this connection was embraced, but in later Victorian volumes on Welsh hagiography and church reform, efforts were made to disassociate Christian festivals from pagan seasonal rites. In the case of St Ffraid, some 19th-century ecclesiastical writers proposed relocating her Welsh celebration to 23 May, to align instead with Rogationtide, a season of prayer for the land and agricultural labour (for a more technical explnanation of this see the first comment!).
Rogationtide, falling just before Ascension Day, had long been a time for processions through fields, blessings of livestock, and petitions for fruitful harvests. Associating St Ffraid with these rites allowed the Church in Wales to emphasise her role as guardian of flocks and land within a wholly Christian framework.
Today, many communities still mark 1 February with prayers and devotions to St Ffraid. But in some areas, especially where rural traditions endure, a secondary observance on 23 May has been revived, echoing those Victorian attempts to place Ffraid firmly within the context of Christian creation care and rural spirituality. Whether in winter’s thaw or spring’s full bloom, St Ffraid remains a beloved figure whose legacy unites prayer, pasture, and the blessings of the land.
Further Notes: In the nineteenth century, several Welsh ecclesiastical writers and reformers expressed concern about the lingering associations between Christian festivals and earlier pagan traditions. The feast of Saint Ffraid (Brigid), long observed on 1 February and widely associated with the pre-Christian festival of Imbolc that marked the beginning of spring, came under particular scrutiny. While early Welsh Christianity had comfortably aligned saints’ days with seasonal rhythms, Victorian commentators were more hesitant. The Reverend Peter Roberts, writing in Cambrian Popular Antiquities (1815), acknowledged the traditional links between Candlemas customs and older fire rites, but urged that such practices be interpreted through a more explicitly Christian lens. He warned against the survival of superstitions which, in his view, blurred the line between faith and folklore (Roberts, pp. 74–80). The Reverend Elias Owen, in Welsh Folk-Lore (1896), offered detailed accounts of rural customs associated with seasonal feasts, yet consistently lamented their pagan origins and recommended their purification through sound Christian teaching (Owen, pp. 60–65). John Williams, better known by his bardic name Ab Ithel, sought to distinguish genuine liturgical observance from later popular accretions in his work Ecclesiastical Antiquities of the Cymry (1844). He argued that the feast days of Welsh saints had often been corrupted by unhistorical customs, and called for a return to the practices of the early British Church (Williams, pp. 101–109). Within this context, there arose some interest in revising the dates of saints’ commemorations in Wales. In the case of Saint Ffraid, it was occasionally suggested that her Welsh festival might be more appropriately kept during Rogationtide, a season of prayer for the land and agricultural labour. This would not only distance her commemoration from associations with Imbolc, but also emphasise her traditional role as the patroness of livestock and the rural household.
Further Notes: St Elen is sometimes called ‘Elen of the Hosts’ (or Elen Luyddog in Welsh), because she’s traditionally linked with the Roman army and the roads they built across Wales. The name comes from the old Welsh word lluydd (or luoedd), meaning ‘hosts’ or ‘armies’, so Elen Luyddog literally means ‘Elen of the Hosts’ (or ‘Elen of the Armies’). The idea being that despite the roads being for the benefit of the Welsh populace, it actually facilitated the rapid movement of ‘hosts’ of Roman Soldiers across Cymru.
22 May
Saint Elen
Today we recall Saint #Elen who is a remarkable figure from Welsh tradition. She is remembered as part saint, part queen, and a key figure in the story of early British Christianity. Though latterly confused /conflated with St Helena (the mother of Constantine), Elen is a different person entirely, known for her faith, leadership, and the legendary #roads linked to her name.
Tradition says she was the daughter of Eudaf Hen, a Romano-British ruler, and the wife of Magnus Maximus (Macsen Wledig), a Roman general who ruled Britain and parts of Europe in the fourth century. Together, they had several children. Elen and her sons are credited with bringing early monastic life from Gaul into Wales.
She is often called Saint Elen of Caernarfon, a title that connects her to the ancient Roman fort where she is said to have lived. A lasting example of her legacy is St Elen’s Church in #Penisarwaun, a Church in Wales parish church dedicated to this saintly woman. Located around five miles southeast of Caernarfon, the church honours Elen as the fourth-century Welsh saint she truly was. Please pray for the congregation and clergy who serve that church. It is likely that its dedication reflects the strong local tradition that credits her with introducing Celtic monasticism to Wales and associating her with the building of Roman roads like #SarnHelen.
Her most famous story appears in ‘The Dream of Macsen Wledig’ (part of the #Mabinogion). In this tale, the Roman general Macsen dreams of a beautiful woman and travels across land and sea to find her, arriving at Elen of Caernarfon. When they marry, she asks him to build roads throughout Wales. These roads, (including the well-known Sarn Helen), became part of her enduring legacy.
While many of these roads existed before her time, their connection to Elen shows how people remembered her: a wise and practical leader who cared about unity and protection. She is now honoured as the patron saint of roadbuilders and travellers. Her feast day is celebrated on either May 21 or 22, (although these dates are likely only because of her later confusion with Saint Helena who is often celebrated at this time - it is likely that her original date of veneration has been lost).
Elen’s story reminds us that faith is not only spiritual, it is lived out in action, service, and care for the communities around us.
21 May
Saint Collen
Saint #Collen was a 6th- or 7th-century British Christian figure remembered for his missionary work and monastic witness in the Welsh borderlands. Though much of his story has been layered with legend, particularly in connection with the fairy king Gwyn ap Nudd, the core of his legacy points to a real historical person whose influence shaped the spiritual landscape of early medieval Wales.
Collen is believed to have been a monk of Celtic Christian formation, possibly trained in the Irish or Welsh tradition, and later served as a hermit and abbot. He may have travelled from the west of Britain, some sources suggest Cornwall or even Brittany, before settling in what is now Llangollen, a town in North East Wales named after him (Llan-gollen meaning “church of Collen”). There he established a monastic community and became a revered spiritual figure in the region.
His presence in Llangollen likely predates the arrival of more centralised ecclesiastical structures in Wales, indicating that he was part of the wave of early missionary monks who brought the Christian faith to scattered communities. His influence was such that the local church has preserved his name for over a millennium, and the town itself remains a testament to his legacy.
Although later medieval sources attribute miraculous acts and confrontations with mythical beings to Collen, the historical significance lies in his embodiment of Celtic monastic values, prayerful solitude, community formation, and local pastoral care. The pattern of his life fits well with the other early Welsh saints who lived in cells, founded small Christian settlements, and became patrons of the places they evangelised.
Saint Collen’s feast day is celebrated on 21 May, and he remains an enduring symbol of quiet holiness, rooted in place, and committed to the gospel in the borderlands of early Britain. Please pray for the people of #Llangollen as they celebrate today.
20 May
Saint Chad
Saint Chad (Latin: Ceadda) was a 7th-century bishop and monk who played a key role in spreading Christianity across central Britain. A student of St Aidan of Lindisfarne, Chad was deeply shaped by the Celtic Christian tradition, with its emphasis on simplicity, prayer, and walking the land to share the gospel, an approach rooted in the monastic practices of Iona. Although remembered in English hagiographies on 02 March older Welsh sources move the feast to today (20 May) perhaps to avoid a direct conflict with the celebrations around Dewi Sant (01 March) and his mother Non (03 March),
Although Chad briefly served as bishop of Northumbria, Chad is best known for his time as bishop of Mercia and Lindsey, a vast diocese that included not only the Midlands but also the borderlands extending over England and Wales. His episcopal ministry extended into what we now know as Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Powys, areas where Mercian and Welsh cultures met and mingled. These regions were part of Chad’s regular missionary route, and he is remembered for travelling on foot from place to place, preaching, healing, and caring for rural communities with great humility.
By establishing his base at Lichfield, Chad helped anchor the Christian faith across these contested and diverse lands, leaving a legacy that touched both Anglo-Saxon and Welsh Christian traditions.
19 May
Saint Dunstan
Today in the Calendar is the Feast of St Dunstan - why do we keep this Archbishop of Canterbury in the Welsh lectionary?
Dunstan was one of the most influential church leaders in Anglo-Saxon England, remembered as a reformer, scholar, and skilled metalworker. Born near Glastonbury, Dunstan became Abbot of Glastonbury, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London, and ultimately Archbishop of Canterbury in 960 under King Edgar the Peaceful. He played a central role in the monastic reform movement, reviving Benedictine practices and restoring discipline and learning to English monasteries.
Although popularly linked with the English Church, Dunstan’s connections with Wales are both historical and important. During a period of political exile under King Eadwig (circa 956), Dunstan is believed to have taken refuge in the Welsh court, most likely under the protection of King Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good), one of Wales’s most renowned and enlightened rulers. This period exposed Dunstan to the spiritual traditions and hospitality of the Welsh Church, which maintained a rich and distinctive Christian heritage. Some scholars suggest that his time in Wales influenced his later reforms, blending elements of Celtic Christian piety with the Benedictine revival.
18 May
Saint Gwynnws
Today we remember St Gwynnws who is listed in the ‘Cognacio Brychan’, ‘De Situ Brecheniauc’ and Jesus College MS20 as one of the many saintly offspring of #BrychanBrycheiniog and journeyed north to #Ceredigion where he founded the church at #Llanwnnws which still bears his name. Please pray for the community that still worships there and for their priest, the Revd Canon Julian Smith.
Almighty God, who called your servant Gwynnws to journey in faith and to bear witness to Christ in the land of Ceredigion: Grant that we, following his example, may set out with courage wherever you lead, proclaiming your love by word and deed, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
17 May
Saint Dogfan
Today is the feast of #StDogfan who was martyred in Pembrokeshire and lies in an unknown grave. However what I love is that it is a tradition that “on Dogfan’s feast day, parishioners could be forgiven a year’s worth of tithes by bringing the parson a quart of ripe cloudberries” … any parishioner that can bring me a quart of fresh cloudberries today (which no longer grow in Wales and can now only be found in Scandinavia, Russia and Canada) can absolutely be forgiven their contribution to this years ministry share! The only church with a dedication to Dogfan is in Denbighshire as the location of Pembrokeshire grave and the associated shrine have been lost …
