Papal tribute to St. Columban, early Irish monks
June 26, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: In a message to the International Meeting of Columban Communities, Pope Francis paid tribute to St. Columban (c. 543-615) and other early Irish monks who preached the Gospel in parts of Europe.
St. Columban’s message is “especially provocative and indeed attractive to us, immersed as we are in practical materialism and a type of neo-paganism,” the Pope wrote. “The Irish monks of those days became pilgrims and missionaries precisely in order to re-evangelize large areas of a continent where the first fruits of Christianity were at risk of being lost.”
“In our own time, then, we need to draw nourishment from the vital ‘lymph’ of the Gospel, lest the continent’s ecclesial and civil communities lose their identity and sink into a bland globalization, constantly at the mercy of the prevailing powers, but instead discover ways to express their faith and culture with creative fidelity to their rich traditions,” Pope Francis added.
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