No More Learning

=
rilis iv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 319-
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Reeves, pp. 94, 95.
" See the County of Wexford Irish Ord-
nanceSurveyRecords,nowpreserved,inthe Library of the Royal Irish Academy, voL ii.
" God
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 35
Jfi'ftl) 33ap of aprtl.
ARTICLE I. - -ST. BEGAN, AT IMLECH-FIAICH, IN FERA-CUL-BREAGH, NOW EMLAGH, COUNTY OF MEATH.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ']
THE present holy man was distinguished, among the Saints of Ireland.
The his at this calls him MartyrologyofTallagh,' recording festival, date,
St. BegainmicCule; and,aswearetold,thenameisthusderived,fromhis mother. Referring to tlie same authority, the Bollandists briefly enter, on the sth of April, Beccanus filius Culje. " The same paternity is assigned to him, in the "Feilire" of St. . ^Engus. He descended from the race of Eoghan Mor, son of Oilioll Oluim, according to the O'Clerys' Calen- dar. St. Becan, or Began, is said to have lived contemporaneously with St. Columkille. 3 He founded a monastery, about the close of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century, at Kilbeggan,4 a town, situated on the River Brosna. s According to one account, when St. Colum-CiUe ^ and the King of Erinn, Diarmait, son of Fergus Cearbheoil, after killing Bresal, -his son, came to where Becan was, they found him erecting a fort, with a wet cloak about him, and he praying. ? The saint felt highly incensed against the monarch, whom he humbled in a miraculous manner ; but, afterwards, he re- lented, owing to the prayers of Columba. ' However, we cannot find these statements, in the proper Acts of the latter saint. That locality with which Becan was connected, Imleach Fia, or Imleach Fise, was also denominated Imleach-Becain,9 from this saint. His old church, at Emlagh,'° gave name to a parish, so called, and lying in the barony of Lower Kells, towards the north-eastofthetownofKells,inthecountyofMeath. " AftertheAnglo-
Article I. —' Edited by Rev Dr.
Kelly, p. XX. The Franciscan copy has
See ActaSanctorum,"tomusi. ,Apri- lis V. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 396. 3 See Rev. Anthony Cogan's " Ecclesias-
" Hand on a stone, hand lifted up,
Knee bent to set a rock.
Eye shedding tears, other lamentation.
Andmouthpraying. "
becjAin mac Culise. '"
of
dem," vol. iii. , chap. Ixxiv. . p. 576.
* The parish so called is situated, in the barony of Moycashel, and, it isshown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Westmeath," sheets 32, 37, 38. The to^vn, and townland, in its separate divi- sions, north and south, are noted, on sheet 38.
5 Its after history seems lost, but a Cister-
tical
History
Meath,
Ancient and Mrf-
cian
Abbey
was
founded
See Archdall's "Monas-
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , at A. i). 990, pp. 726,
727.
'"> It is on the "Ordnance noticed, Survey
for the ofMeath," County
about A. D. 1200.
subsequently
here,
from the dead. '
ticon Hibemicum," pp. 717 10720.
'
His Life will be found, at the 9th of June.
» See Dr. O'Donovan's
"
' It was —
said, by
an old
poet, regarding
this saint
"Makinga wall, praying.
Kneeling, pure prayer,
Townland
:
Maps sheets II, 17.
His tears flowing without unwillingness. Were the virtues of Becan without fault.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. n. (y), p. 329.
^
occurrence in that dramatic form of narra- tive, which was so peculiar a usage among
The O'Clerys' Calendar thus states the
old Irish writers
:
—
"Becan looked aside, and he saw Diar- njaid. 'Into the earth, thou murderer,' said he. Diarmaid sunk into the earth and
'
to his knees.
has come to thee,' said Colum Cille, *to resuscitate his son for him. ' Becan, after- wards, resuscitated Bresal this king's son,
Under my protection, he
36 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 5.
Norman invasion, Emlagh became a parish church. " By some writers, the
present holy man is represented as the patron of Kilbeggan,'3 a town ofsome importance,intheCountyofVVestmeath. '< Herethereweretwochurches,here, theabbeyandparochialchurch. Thesiteofoneisoccupied,byaProtestant
"
the Church of the Relic," marks the other spot. The site of the Cistercian Abbey is now a green field ; every stone of that fine and once-frequented structure having been removed. Only the cross, on the modern tombstones of the faithful, remains, to afford a trace of former Catholicity. 's TheMartyrology of Donegal,"* on this day, re- cords a festival, in honour of Becan, son of Cula,"? at Imlech Fiaich, in Fera- Cul-Breagh. The Rev. Alban Burler,"' and the " Circle of the Seasons,"'? com- memorate St. Beacon, Abbot, at the 5th of April. He is noticed, likewise, in theKalendar of Drummond. ^° At the Nones, corresponding with the present
date, the obiit of this holy man being there is recorded.
Article II. —St. Vincent Ferrer, Confessor, and a Missionary IN Ireland. Fourteenth andFifteenth Centuries. '] This illustrious saint, so distinguished for his missionary zeal and virtues, deigned to honour our
Island, by his living presence. To God, he gained many souls abroad, by the force of example and precept ; while in Ireland, it is to be hoped, his short stay had been productive of incalculably good results. The Acts of this saint are recorded, by many writers. Among the earliest composed may be mentioned the Life of St. Vincent Ferrier, by Pedro Ranzano, in 1455,' and another account, which vyas drawn up, by Francis Castilione, in 1470. Both of these Acts are to be found, in the Bollandists' great collection,^ while they are edited and annotated, by Father Godefrid Henschenn. s The first of these Lives is the most complete narrative of his saintly morals, learning, labours,miracles,prophecies,andzeal,whichhasbeendiscovered; whilethe latter account is chiefly a narrative of miracles, wrought after his death, in Armoric Britain. The Bull of this Saint's canonization has an account of various miracles, wrought by him during life, and through his intercession, when called out of this world. St. Antoninus treated about St. Vincent
"
Ferrer's virtues and miracles, in the fifteenth century. * In Hispania Biblio-
theca, seu De Academiis," &c. ,s the reader will find an account of this holy man. An anonymous Spaniard, belonging to the Convent of Placentia, Surius, Joannes Antonius Flaminius, and Leander Albertus, wrote Lives of
house of worship, while a green mound, called
"See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap. xxiii. , p. 136.
3 According to some, the Anglicised ren- dering of this denomination should be "the Church of the Small Stream. "
'* See the "
Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 363, 364.
^Thereweread:"ApudHiberniamSanc- tus Confessor Becan hoc die ad Christum migravit. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 9.
Parliamentary
Gazetteer of
publish it,
from a Utrecht
Manuscript.
It
's See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xix. , pp. 520, 521.
has Four Prologues, and it is contained in
Four Books, comprising Fourteen Chapters.
°
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Ap- rilisv. DeS. VincentioFerrerioOrdinis Prx- dicatorum Veneti in Armoricis, pp. 477 to 529-
94. 95-
' Archdall makes the present saint the son
of Murchade, of the blood royal of Munster.
See "Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 717.
'* See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and
other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v. "At p. 96.
. ,
3 He has prefixed a commentary, in four different sections, comprising seventeen para-
— became Bishop of Lucera.
Article ii.
'
Afterwards, the author The Bollandists
graphs.
* In"Historiarmn,"pars. iii. ,titulus xxiii. ,
cap. 8.
5 See tomus ii. , pp. 187, 188.
April 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 37
St. Vincent Ferrer. * The Annals of the Cistercian Monks contain notices of this celebrated saint. 7 Also, Surius,* Touron,' Du Pin,'° Adrien Baillet," Godescard,"the Rev. Alban Butler,'3 L'Abb^ Rohrbacher,'^ Rev. S. Baring- Gould,'5 and Bishop Forbes,'* relate the particulars of St. Vincent Ferrer's life. In " Les Petits BoUandistes,"'? there is a long biographical notice of this renowned Saint ; and, the chief events of his life are there narrated. From several of these various sources, the following incidents are chiefly gleaned and succinctly arranged. The pious parents of this illustrious saint were William Ferrier and Constance Mignell. He was bom at Valentia, in Spain, on the 23rd of January, a. d. 1357. '^ From his earliest years, St. Vin- cent was remarkable for his precocity of intellect and for his deep spirit of piety. His personal appearance was most attractive, his features were beau- tiful, and his body was distinguished for form and grace. He received a very excellent education, and he improved it, by habits of close and of constant study. Yet, he took care, that devotion should direct it, and his chief maxim was, that it ought conduce more to sanctification than to mental adornments. '9 He had a very retentive memory, and especially was he able to bear in mind the good sermons he had heard preached in the churches. Such instructions he was accustomed to repeat, afterwards, to those little companions with whom he associated. "^ When he had grown to be a young man, the Saint's
father proposed to him, that he might accept of three diflferent conditions.
Itwassuggested,thatheshouldmarry,andsettleinhisnativetown; oragain,
it was permitted him, to cultivate his talents, especially in elocution, by re-
moving to the Universities, at Paris or at Rome ; or, in fine, that he might chose the religious state, and become a friar of the Dominican Order. The
latter state of life was most congenial to his wishes, and, accordingly, he ap- plied for admission, to the monastery of St. Dominic. This he entered, in the year 1374. " Among this fraternity of preachers, very soon he became one of the most distinguished pulpit orators. On a certain occasion, taking great pains to frame his discourse, on the approved rules of Rhetoric, having to preach before a great noble, his sermon proved to be a failure, and it made
little impression, on those who were present. Next day, being also required to preach, he took care to kneel before the crucifix, and to fix his mind in meditation, on the wounds of our Divine Redeemer.
Afterwards, he preached with great fervour andjpathos, so that his hearers felt, as it were, spell-bound, by his eloquence. The prince happened to be present, and when speaking to the preacher, afterwards, he asked how there happened to be such a rc-
' See the BolUndists' "Acta Sanctorum,"
other principal . Saints," vol, iv. April v.
V. De S. Vincentio Fer- rerio, Commentarius Praevius, sec. i. , pp.
477 to 479-
' See vol. iv. , at 5th of April, pp. 428 to
433.
" See "De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis," &c. ,
"• See "Vies des Saints tous les pour
tomus i. ,
Aprilis
jours de I'annce," tome ii. , S Avril, pp. 309 to
tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , pp. 64 to 82, Edition p. 458.
Colonise Agippinae, A. D. cb lac xviii. fol. 'In"HommeslUustre*deI'ordredeSt.
Dominique," tome iii.
' See tome iv. , Avril 5, pp. 215 to 243.
'•See"LesPetitsBollandistes, tomeiv,
5 Avril, p. 215.
' See M. L'Abb^ Rohrbacher's "Viesdes
Saints pour tous les jours de I'annee," tome
ii. , Avril 5, pp. 309, 310.
"See his Life in Surius, "De Probatis
Sanctorum Vitis," tomus ii. , Aprilis v. , lib. i. , cap. iv. , p. 66.
"See L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Vies des Saints," Avril S, p. 310.
" See "Nouvelle BibliothequedesAuteurs "
Ecclesiastiques, 86, 87.
&c. , tomexii. , cap. iv. ,pp.
" See "Les Vies des Saints," tome i. , pp. 68 to 78, or tome iv. , Avril v. , pp. 134 to 153. Paris edition of 1701, 8vo.
"In " Vies des Saints de Bretagne," at
the 5th of April.
" See " Lives ofthe Fathers, Martyrs, and
3>5-
'' See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April
5, pp. 87, 88.
" . See " Kalendars of the Scottish Saints,"
38 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIMTS. [April 5. markable difference, between both his sermons. The saint immediately
" It was
replied,
preached yesterday,
•"See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of theSaints,"vol. iv. Aprilv. ,p. 87.
°3 See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chronology of
202.
History," p.
"* He died at
444.
=5 See anaccount of him, in Alfonsus Cia-
conius' "Vitoe et Gesta Summorum Pontiti- cum a Christo Domino usque ad Clementem vill. necnon S. R. E. Cardinaliura cum eorundem Insignibus," lib. ii. , pp. 664 to 679. Romse, 1601, fol.
"* He reigned, from August 7th, 1316, to
702.
=' His term lasted, from December 20th,
1334, to April 25th, 1342. According to Ciaconius,heis noticedas"Benedictusxi.
*> He sat, from 1362 to 19th of December, 1370. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 203.
Perugia, July See Matthew of Westminster,
"
Flores Historiarum," at Anno Gratije MCCCllli. , p.
December 4th, 1334.
34 gee Dean Milman's " of Latin
to Cia- conius, he is called "Joannes xxi. dictus XXII. P. cxcvill. " See iiui. , pp. 6S0 to
dictus XII. P. cic. " See ibiJ. , pp. 703 to 709.
" He ruled, from May 7th, 1342, to De- cember 6th, 1352. See L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tome xx. , liv. xcvi. , sec. xiii. , pp. 125, 126.
"9 He from to presided, 1352 1362.
Vincent Ferrier that
but it to-day
only
wasJesusChrist,speakingthroughhim. """ Atthistime,thePopesliadleft Rome, and they resided at Avignon, in France ; as dreadful schisms had greatly distracted the peace of the Church. After the death of Pope Boniface
VIII. , October nth, a. d. i303,"3 and of his successor. Pope Benedict XI. ,"* who was obliged to quit Rome, owing to dissensions then prevailing, espe- cially the quarrels of the Guelfs and Giiibellines disturbing Italy ; Bertrand de Got, Archbishop of Bordeaux, was elected to the dignity, and taking the name of Pope Clement V. , established himself at Avignon, in France. 's French influence now prevailed, and a Cardinal-Bishop of Porto was elected tothePapacy,insuccession,hetakingfortitleJohnXXII. "* PopesBene- dict XII. ,"? Clement VI. ,"^ Innocent VI. ,"9 Urban V. ,3» and Gregory XI. ,3' allresidedatAvignon. 3" OnthedeathofthislatterPontiff,theelectionof Urban VI. ,33 as Pope, ensued at Rome,3« while the French Cardinals elected Cardinal Robert, Count of Geneva, who took the tide of Clement VII. ,35and hechosetoremainatAvignoas* HispapalLegate,thenreceivedinSpain, wasPeterdeLuna. TorewardVincent'slearningandtalents,thedegreeof
Doctor \vas conferred, by the Pope's representative in 1384, while he was at
Lerida,themostcelebratedUniversityintheprovinceofCatalonia. Atthis
time, our saint was in his twenty-eighth year. 37 Afterwards, he was recalled to
Valencia, and there, with extraordinary zeal, Vincent preached God's word
to the people. \Vhile here, he was obliged to sustain and overcome danger-
ous temptations of the devil ; and even his virtue was exposed to various
external assaults, which were ineffectual, however, but which taught him still
more the necessity for prayer, penance and vigilance, to avoid all occasions
of sin. He lived for six years, at Valencia ; and, in 1390, the Cardinal Legate
induced him to visit France, as he had a mission to the Court of its King,
Charles VI. While the Legate was chiefly engaged on political affairs, St. Vincent occupied himself with the work of God, at Paris. In 1394, refusing
7th, a. d. 1304.
According
History Christianity, vol. v. , book xiii. , chap. i. ii. ,
-s' He from ruled,
3" For
foregoii^ Sovereign Pontiffs, who were French, the reader is referred to L'Abbe Rohrbacher's "Histoire Universelle de I'Eglise Catholi-
que," tome xx. , liv. Ixiix. , Ixxx. , pp. 65 to 493.
33 His reign dates, from 1378 to 13S9. See Rev. Joseph Reeve's "Short View of the
History of the Christian Church," vol. ii. , cent, xiv. , sec. vi. , pp. 402 to 409. Exeter, 1S02, 1S03, i2mo.
pp. 396 to 423.
^3 He ruled, from 137S to 1394. See
L'Abbe Fleury's "Histoire Ecclesiastique," tomexx. , liv. xcvii. , sec. xlvii. toIxiii. ,and liv. xcviii. , sec. i. to Ixvi. , and liv. xcix. , sec. i. , ii. , pp. 271 to 40S.
36 See Albertus Cmntzius, "Saxonia," lib. x. , cap. iiii. , pp. 711, 712.
37 See the X-iev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April v.