Naomh An Lae - Saint Of The Day

St Aidan of Lindisfarne (7th century) monk and missionary

Aidan
was of Irish descent and a monk of Iona. He had a reputation of being a
gentle but effective missionary in the English kingdom of Northumbria.
He founded the monastery of Lindisfarne.  

From Iona

Aidan was of Irish descent and a monk
of Iona. During the struggles for the kingship of Northumbria, two sons
of the king found refuge in Iona. When the younger of these Oswald
eventually became king in 634, he invited the monks of Iona to send a
mission to evangelise Northumbria.

A simple message

The first monk from Iona who
came, Colmán, was combative in temperament. He dismissed the local
people as "obstinate and barbarous" and in less than a year went back to
Iona. Aidan, who was sent on a second mission the following year, felt
Colmán had been too harsh, and decided on simpler approach. He became
firm friends with King Oswald, whom he had known in Iona. Aidan also
used Oswald, who had become bilingual during his time on Iona, as his
interpreter and soon became bilingual himself, bringing the gospel
everywhere he went, to rich and poor alike. He had the great missionary
virtues of patience and openness to everyone he met.

Monastery and school 

Aidan founded a monastery
and school for twelve young boys on the island of Lindisfarne. It was
within sight of the King's castle at Bamburgh. Two of his disciples,
Cedd and Chad, later became missionaries and brought Celtic Christianity
into Mercia, the Midlands area of present-day England. When Oswald died
in 642, Aidan received continued support from King Oswin of Deira and
the two became close friends.

Encouraged St Hilda of Whitby

Aidan also
encouraged women in the religious life and was friend and spiritual
director to the abbess Hilda at Whitby. This was a monastery in the
Celtic style, with men and women living separately in small houses, but
worshipping together in church.

Death and burial

Strongly opposed to slavery,
Aidan spent much time and effort in ransoming slaves and sending them
home. When he died at Bamburgh Castle in 651, his body was taken back to
Iona for burial. Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People  portrays
him with the virtues that were also his own: a teacher with a
passionate love of goodness, tempered with humility, warmth and
gentleness.