New Advent
 Home   Encyclopedia   Summa   Fathers   Bible   Library 
 A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z 
New Advent
Home > Catholic Encyclopedia > A > St. Aedan of Ferns

St. Aedan of Ferns

Please help support the mission of New Advent and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more — all for only $19.99...

('Aedh-og or Mo-Aedh-og).

Bishop and patron of Ferns, in Ireland, b. at Inisbrefny, near Templeport, County Cavan, about 550; d. at Ferns, 31 January, 632. When a youth he was a hostage in the hands of Aedh Ainmire, High-King of Ireland. He studied at the great school of Kilmuine, in Wales, under St. David, and returned to Ireland in 580, landing on the coast of Wexford. In thanksgiving for the victory of Dunbolg, County Wicklow, 10 January 598, in which King Aedh was slain, Bran Dubh, King of Leinster, convened a synod at which, having represented the great services rendered to the kingdom of Leinster by St. Aedan, notably the remission of the Boromha tribute, it was agreed that Ferns be made an episcopal see, with Aedan as first bishop. He was also given a nominal supremacy over the other Leinster bishops by the title of Ard-Escop or Chief Bishop. King Bran Dubh was slain in Ferns in 605. St. Aedan, popularly known as Mogue (Mo-Aedh-og = my dear Aedh) founded thirty churches in the County Wexford. The episcopal seat of Ferns is now at Enniscorthy, where there is a beautiful cathedral dedicated to St. Aedan, whose patronal feast is observed 31 January.

Sources

Acta SS. (1867), Jan.III, 727 sqq.; COLGAN, Acta SS. Hiberniae (1645), I, 637; BOASE in Dict. Christ. Biog., s.v. Maidoc; DE SMEDT, Acta SS. Hiberniae (Edinburgh, 1888), 463.

About this page

APA citation. Grattan-Flood, W. (1907). St. Aedan of Ferns. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01170b.htm

MLA citation. Grattan-Flood, William. "St. Aedan of Ferns." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01170b.htm>.

Transcription. This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joseph and Marie Gallagher. With gratitude for the kind assistance of the Central Catholic Library, Merrion Square, Dublin, Ireland.

Ecclesiastical approbation. Nihil Obstat. March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster at newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.

Copyright © 2023 by New Advent LLC. Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

CONTACT US | ADVERTISE WITH NEW ADVENT