Lives of the Scottish Saints Celebrated in January
1 — St. Ernan:
St. Ernan, a disciple and likely the nephew of St. Columba, is remembered for his holiness and his connection to the great monastic traditions of Ireland and Scotland. Although his exact work in Scotland is unclear, he may have served there for a time under St. Columba. He later became Abbot of Drumhome in Donegal. On the night St. Columba died, Ernan received a vision revealing the saint’s passing. He died at Drumhome in 640 at an advanced age. Churches in Ross-shire and Mull preserve his name.
4 — St. Chroman:
Very little survives about St. Chroman because so many church records were destroyed during the Reformation. What is known is that he lived in Cunningham, Ayrshire, where he was respected during life and honored after death for his great holiness. As he lay dying, he repeatedly prayed the words of Psalm 83: «My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.»
7 — St. Kentigerna:
St. Kentigerna was of Irish noble birth. Her brother, St. Comgan, ruled their father’s territory in Leinster with fairness, but political hostility forced him into exile. Kentigerna, widowed, fled with him to Scotland. Comgan entered monastic life, while Kentigerna embraced the life of a solitary anchoress on an island in Loch Lomond — now known as Innis na Caillich («Nun’s Island»). There she lived many years in prayer and austerity. The island became the site of the old parish church of Buchanan, dedicated to her. She died in 733, and her feast appears in the Aberdeen Breviary.
11 — St. Suibhne (Sweeney):
St. Suibhne was an abbot of Iona who led the monastery for about three years. He died in great holiness in 656.
14 — St. Kentigern (St. Mungo):
St. Kentigern — more widely known by the affectionate name «Mungo,» meaning «dear one» — was born around 518 of royal blood. Educated by a hermit named Serf at Culross, he later settled at Cathures (now Glasgow), gathering disciples who lived under a monastic rule. Though reluctant, he was made bishop and governed his flock with great zeal. He lived simply, practiced severe self-denial, and remained deeply prayerful.
Driven into exile by an unjust king, he took refuge with St. David in Wales and later founded a monastery at what became St. Asaph’s, where hundreds lived under his discipline. Eventually recalled to Glasgow, he spent the rest of his life preaching, teaching, and strengthening the Christian faith. He died on January 14 in extreme old age, having received the sacraments and urged his followers to charity, peace, and obedience to the Church. His body rests in what is now the crypt of St. Mungo’s Cathedral in Glasgow.
Dedications to St. Mungo are numerous across Scotland and northern England, and several holy wells bear his name. His feast, long kept locally, was extended to all of Scotland by Pope Leo XIII in 1898.
19 — St. Blaithmaic:
St. Blaithmaic, an Irish noble by birth, entered monastic life at a young age and eventually served as abbot. Longing for martyrdom, he repeatedly sought permission to preach to pagan peoples, but was refused. After resigning his abbacy, he joined the community at Iona.
One day he warned the monks — by prophetic insight — of an impending raid by pagan Danes. He urged those unable to face martyrdom to flee. The shrine of St. Columba was hidden, and many monks escaped to safety. The next morning, after Blaithmaic had finished offering Mass, the invaders burst in. They killed the monks but spared him temporarily, demanding he reveal the location of St. Columba’s shrine. He refused, and they killed him at the altar. The monks later returned to bury him. His martyrdom likely occurred around 828.
20 — St. Vigean (St. Fechin):
St. Vigean, whose name survives in the parish of St. Vigean’s in Forfarshire, is the same as the Irish abbot St. Fechin of Fore. He ruled a community of three hundred monks in Westmeath. Though his precise connection to Scotland is uncertain, local traditions and ruins indicate that he lived as a hermit near Arbroath, where the foundations of a small chapel and a sacred well still remain. A fair in his honor was held in Arbroath until the 18th century. The town of Ecclefechan also preserves his name. St. Fechin was buried at Fore.
25 — St. Euchadius:
St. Euchadius was one of the twelve companions who accompanied St. Columba from Ireland to settle on Iona. He helped in converting the Northern Picts and is traditionally credited with writing the Acts of St. Columba. He may have spent time in Galloway, where he received special devotion — perhaps due to relics preserved there.
26 — St. Conan:
St. Conan, born in Ireland, joined the community on Iona, where he became known for purity of life and devotion to the Virgin Mary. He served as tutor to the three sons of King Eugenius IV of Scotland and was eventually made a bishop. His memory is preserved in place-names such as Kilconan in Perthshire and St. Conan’s Well near Dalmally. January 26 was his traditional feast day.
28 — St. Nathalan (Nauchlan):
Born into a noble family at Tullich in Aberdeenshire, St. Nathalan was known from youth for prayer, humility, and voluntary manual labor. Many miracles are attributed to him. During a famine he gave away all his corn, then sowed sand in the fields, which yielded a miraculous harvest. After once giving in to impatience, he imposed a severe penance on himself — walking to Rome with a chain locked around his leg. According to tradition, he later found the key inside a fish purchased in Rome, which he took as a sign his penance was complete.
Ordained a bishop, he returned to Scotland and founded several churches, including one at Tullich, where a carved granite slab believed to be part of his tomb still survives. He also visited Ireland and founded a monastery at Dungiven. He died at Tullich on January 8, 678, at an advanced age. His feast was restored by Pope Leo XIII. Many local sayings, wells, fairs, and place-names preserve his memory.
29 — St. Voloc (Macwoloc):
Probably of Irish orig
