St. Samson of CALDEY

Caldey - winding wall from monastery
leading to St. Davids Church

Saint of the Day: 28th July ICN News 28 July 2009 -Saint Samson Saint Samson Welsh abbot and bishop. The life of this 5th century saint was written within 50 years of his death and is believed to be the earliest biography in existence of a British Celtic saint. According to the ancient text, Samson was educated and ordained at St Illtyd's school in Glamorgan. He then went to another monastery on Caldey Island where he became abbot. He also spent some time in Ireland and as a hermit on the banks of the River Severn. He lived in Cornwall, and Brittany where he established a monastery at Dol. He also seems to have been in Jersey and Guernsey and the Scilly Isles. He interceded with the Frankish king Childbert I on behalf of the dispossessed Breton ruler Judual. Many miracles were attributed to Samson. There are ancient churches dedicated to him in Cornwall, Brittany and elsewhere . Recent research indicates that he must have been an important evangelizer in Cornwall and the Channel Islands.