Renata Steffens
When one is asked to think of an Irish saint, there is a high chance they would think of St Patrick or St Brigid, however, there is another saint who deserves as much devotion. St Kilian left Mullagh in Co. Cavan in the 7th Century to spread Christianity in mainland Europe.
The saint was born in Mullagh around the year 640. Early details of Kilian’s life are often conflicting depending on the source. But all agree he received his religious education at the monastery in Rosscarberry, Co. Cork founded by St Fachtna in the 4th Century.
Later, St Kilian founded his own monastery near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, where he trained other monks. Being a missionary at heart, Kilian decided to leave Ireland and spread the Word in Europe.
Kilian joined by eleven or twelve monks, the numbers vary depending on the source, left the Kilmakilloge harbour on their way to Rome. There, they met Pope Conon and were redirected to the province of Franconia, part of what is Bavaria today.
The original group separated to bring their missionary work to more places, and Kilian (a bishop) stayed in the town of Würzburg with two of his companions, the priest Kolonat and the deacon Totnan. At the time, most people there, including the Duke Gosbert, were pagans. Kilian was the person responsible in the duke’s conversion to christianity, and following the ruler, his people also became Christians.
The three Irish missionaries were in Würzburg for only three years when rumours of the duke’s affair with his brother’s wife, Geilana, reached Kilian’s ears, who quickly denounced the scandal, as that goes against Christian law. Because of that, Geilana hired two assassins to kill the missionaries when the duke was away. It is believed the three Irishmen were praying when the assassins arrived. Their heads were cut off and their bodies were secretly buried. The saints’ bodies were only found years later.
The diocese is ‘hoping to bring the joy of celebrating our faith without focusing upon the actual fact of his death’”
When St Boniface and Burchard of Wessex arrived to Würzburg on a missionary expedition they saw the influence of St Kilian and his monks on the area. The saint and his companions were being venerated for many cures of illnesses. In 752 Burchard transferred their relics into the cathedral and dedicated it to St Kilian.
It was only in the 9th century that St Kilian’s death was recorded in Ireland. The Irish saints were entered in the Martyrology of Tallaght, which is the earliest Irish compilation list of Roman Catholic saints.
St Kilian and his companions had been revered throughout that part of Europe since the first moment their relics were enshrined. St Kilian had not yet come back to Ireland since he left in the 7th Century.
In the past 37 years many pilgrims visited Mullagh from Germany. The first official pilgrimage happened in 1987, starting the strong bond between St Kilian’s place of birth and the place of his death.
This October, for the first time ever St Kilian’s relics will come back home. The theme for this visit’s celebration is ‘Community of Hope, Pilgrimage of Joy’, and Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes said the diocese is “hoping to bring the joy of celebrating our faith without focusing upon the actual fact of his death. We want to celebrate him and celebrate his martyrdom.”
The visit will happen from Wednesday, October 2 to Sunday, October 6. The relics will arrive in the country on Wednesday and visit St Patrick’s College in Maynooth, and arrive in Kilian’s home county the next day.
Celebration
The first celebration will be at St Kilian’s Well in Mullagh, nearby to where it’s believed his monastery was. Over the weekend, some activities will be “involving children from the neighbouring parishes and the schools, and they’re involving in a dramatic reenactment of the story of St Killian,” explained Bishop Hayes.
Another important moment happening during the weekend is the release of a new hymn in honour of St Kilian. It “is going be sung for the first time by our very own parish choir”, explained Fr Paul Prior, parish priest of Mullagh. The hymn called St Kilian Prayer was composed by Fr Liam Lawton, based on a prayer “that we have in the parish, which was written by a former native of this parish called Prof. Ronan Drury, who was the professor of homiletics in St Patrick’s College Maynooth.”
Bishop Hayes expects that this weekend of hope, joy and prayer will help the community to appreciate and learn from the faith and mission displayed in St Kilian’s history. The bishop said during a press conference last February that he hopes “the people of Kilmore Diocese will gather to venerate, pray with the relics of St Kilian and companions.
Mr O’Reilly believes the visit will increase awareness of the saint’s story throughout the diocese and the State”
“It will be an opportunity to reflect upon our Christian faith. We live in a time of questioning of our faith, which is the opportunity to reflect on the relevance of our faith in this technological post-modern age.”
Shane P. O’Reilly, chair for the Relics Visit Committee, said the relics visiting home after over 1300 years is “a massive…impact. It’s an absolutely fantastic thing.” Mr O’Reilly believes the visit will increase awareness of the saint’s story throughout the diocese and the State.
Impact
Fr Paul Prior told The Irish Catholic that “outside the Parish of Mullagh, he [St Kilian] is not hugely known.” The priest lamented: “Even within our diocese, people are aware of him but might not be familiar with the story.”
Madeleine Uí Mhéalóid, a volunteer with the St Kilian’s Heritage Centre said the saint “is much more revered in Germany.” She explained that in Ireland, his importance has only been recognised in the recent years. The reason St Kilian is venerated in Germany, and his name is so cherished there is because “they look on St Kilian and they look on Mullagh as the source of their religion,” Ms Uí Mhéalóid explained.
Agreeing with Fr Prior, Ms Uí Mhéalóid said “the devotion is not throughout the State. It’s more locally.” She hopes the visit will increase awareness of the impact of St Kilian in spreading Christianity in Europe. “We’re very proud of them [St Kilian and his companions] here in Mullagh,” she concluded.
Bishop Hayes said the reason why the saint is not well-known over the Diocese, is because “Mullagh is situated on the east side of our diocese, and our diocese stretches over to just South of Bundoran in Co. Donegal. So he wouldn’t be as well-known over in North Leitrim or South Fermanagh, or that area.”
The spirit of the man who left here to listen, to hear God’s words, to follow His call and to go to the heartlands of Europe where he celebrated so much”
Fr Prior explained the visit, the saint’s “homecoming” is something the Mullagh community has been waiting for a long time. The return, he said, is much more than merely his relics, but his spirit. “The spirit of the man who left here to listen, to hear God’s words, to follow His call and to go to the heartlands of Europe where he celebrated so much.” This visit will also have an impact on the living faith of the community, the priest believes.
Eoin Doyle, Chief Executive of Cavan County Council also agrees “Killian was well known in Mullagh…and in Cavan, [but] his broader legacy is underappreciated around the country, and we would hope through the publicity that we can generate for the return of the relics that we would increase awareness of the legacy of St Killian.”
Legacy
Mullagh had been receiving German and mainland-Europeans since the 1980s, so in 2014 Mr O’Reilly went to Germany and had a conversation with the local diocese. He went to Würzburg every year since.
“It was me that made the initial inquiries to bring the relics home,” he explained. Würzburg Diocese has a committee responsible to decide everything related to the relics, Mr O’Reilly told this paper.
The Diocese of Kilmore and Cavan County Council have a close relationship with the Diocese of Würzburg and local authorities. Mr Doyle explained that the formal connection between the County Council and the Diocese of Würzburg focused on the legacy of St Kilian has existed for around ten years.
The chief executive explained that the friendship between Co. Cavan and Würzburg has been built since St Kilian left “to spread the Good News”, and that this friendship is based on three pillars.
The first one is based on the civic connections between the local authorities of Co. Cavan and Würzburg, “recognising a shared historical figure which is of great importance to both.”
The second pillar is community. Mr Doyle said “there is a genuine connection between the people of Mullagh, Co. Cavan…and the people of Würzburg.” He mentioned that a local electoral representative native from Ballyhaise, Colette Duggan, is behind the connections between Würzburg and Mullagh.
The third pillar is faith. It is the recognition and faithful connection between the dioceses led by Bishop of Kilmore Martin Hayes and Bishop of Würzburg Franz Jung, and their shared local heritage.
In Bavaria, the annual festival ‘Kiliani’ happens every July to celebrate St Kilian and his influence on German history. In Cavan, they also have an annual celebration to honour the Irish saint, it usually happens around the bank holiday in May.
Fr Prior mentioned the Ireland the relics are coming back to is a very different place to the time when Kilian left. “It is no longer just a rural community, but a rural community with a heart that’s opened itself to other people, it is a community that’s “quite diverse.”
St Kilian can possibly be considered one of the first Irish migrants. Fr Prior said the saint might “inspire the migrants to trust in the journey, to trust in God,” trust that God is with us, “protecting us, God [is] guiding us.”
Commenting if St Kilian could be considered an unofficial Patron of Migrants, Bishop Hayes said: “People who leave their home, they need an anchor. They need a rock…and I think Killian represents that.”
Bishop Hayes mentioned that in the saint’s time, 1,300 years ago, people did not have the same sense of migration we have today, but “now we know the whole world, and we know there’s lots of migration happening very often due to war, persecution and poverty.”
There are reasons why people are moving, leaving certainty behind and searching for better opportunities elsewhere. Not necessarily only immigrants but all migrants, even Irish people leaving the State for better opportunities overseas.
Independent of the reason for moving, Bishop Hayes believes this migration is also an “opportunity for different peoples to meet…and to have an influence upon each other… To bring their faith as well and without imposing it on anyone else, bring the example of their faith in coping with their difficulties… To bring that example of faith and endurance and resilience to others.”
Pope Francis himself called people to be missionaries, not only clergy but every single person of faith. Bishop Hayes said: “in acknowledging the life of a saint we see it as an example of God’s love and mercy for us. A relic reveals God’s love for us and helps us to worship God.
“Pope Francis himself in praying with relics in Lima, Peru, said that they’re a sign of God’s love and mercy in the world. I would hope…that people will be impacted upon the fact that an Irishman…left these shores to be missionary and that would instil in people the importance of being missionaries themselves and indeed being missionaries in our own country.”
Community of Hope, Pilgrimage of Joy
A Kilmore diocesan celebration
The Parish of Mullagh & Cross welcomes St Kilian home
October 2 – 6, 2024
Schedule:
Wednesday, October 2
6.00pm Evening Prayer in the presence of the sacred relics of Ss Kilian, Totnan and Kolonat. The College Chapel, St Patrick’s College Maynooth, Co Kildare
Thursday, October 3
8.00pm The people of the parish of Mullagh receive the sacred relics of St Kilian at St Kilian’s Well and welcome pilgrims from the diocese of Wurzburg
Procession of relics to St Kilian’s Church, Mullagh for a liturgy of the official welcome of the relics and the commencement of an all-night vigil of the townlands of St Kilian’s home parish.
Friday, October 4
7.00am Mass at Dawn St Kilian’s Church, Mullagh
10.30am The children of Mullagh tell the story of St Kilian. A day’s activity for national school children from the St Kilian Pastoral Area.
10.00am The Legacy of St Kilian today. Pilgrim Path starts at St Kilian’s Well. An activity for secondary schools.
8.00pm An evening concert and official launch of the new hymn for St Kilian. St Kilian’s Church.
Saturday, October 5
Cherishing our ancestors
Commemorating St. Kilian’s homecoming to his native parish
10.45am Community procession. The sacred relics of St Kilian and his companions will be processed from Edwin Carolan Park to St Kilian’s Church by the clubs, groups and organisations of the parish.
12.00 noon Commemorative Mass.
Mass hosted by the parish of Mullagh for invited guests and pilgrims from the diocese of Wurzburg in St Kilian’s Church Mullagh. This Mass will be livestreamed to a number of locations in the parish to enable everybody’s participation.
1.30pm Lunch and hospitality.
3.30pm Veneration of St Kilian’s relic in St Mary’s Church, Cross. The reliquary will make its way to Cavan via Virginia, Lavey, & Killygarry.
5.30pm The sacred relics of Ss Kilian and his companions are officially welcomed by the people of Cavan Town and the Diocese of Kilmore at the Cathedral of Ss Patrick & Felim Cavan.
7.30pm Set Sail with St Kilian. A diocesan celebration of Mass to commemorate the visit of St Kilian’s relics to the diocese of Kilmore. The cathedral will remain open for the veneration of the sacred relics until 10.00pm.
Sunday, October 6
10.00am Mass of Thanksgiving at the conclusion of the visit of the sacred relics of Ss Kilian, Totnan and Kolonat and the safe return of pilgrims to Wurzbur.