Children's Web Magazine

Saint Brendan

It is the feast day of Saint Brendan on the 16th May.
Saint Brendan was an Irish saint who is known as the navigator or voyager. This is because he was a great traveller.
He was born in Tralee County Kerry Ireland in 484 and died in 577. He was educated by the bishop of Kerry Erc who would later ordain him. He became a monk and was eventually made an abbot. He set up monasteries in Ireland. He is considered to have had a powerful effect on the church in Ireland and is viewed as a significant Saint there.
He travelled around the coast in Brittany, France as well as the British Isles. For this reason he became known as Brendan the voyager or navigator.
Saint Brendan is said to have set out on a voyage looking for a place of promise or paradise. It was believed to be far away across the ocean. He took with him a number of his fellow monks. They set sail in a boat that Saint Brendan had especially built. In those days everything was handmade. So Saint Brendan being an experienced traveller would have known he needed a good strong boat. It would have had to stand up to storms be able to carry everyone including a supply of food and water. It would have been a huge task to take on. During the journey they saw various places. After which they returned to Ireland travelling back mostly the way they had come. The adventure lasted 7 years and is said to have taken them to America.
Saint Brendan has had many places named after him but the most known about is probably Mount Brandon in the Dingle Peninsula. It is from here he is said to have stood and looked out into the distance towards America. It was thought it would have been impossible for him to sail in a small boat to America. However in the 1970s Tim Severin proved this could have been possible after broad research into the subject. He built a boat using the same type of materials as Saint Brendan would have used and in it they managed to sail to Newfoundland.
This means that Saint Brendan could well have visited America well before Christopher Columbus discovered it. Being a great traveller it is not surprising that he is the patron Saint of both sailors and travellers.
© Children's Web Magazine 2008