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1400th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Columbanus di Bobbio Scott 1603 (2015) On November 19, 2015, Vatican City issued a stamp to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of the death of Saint Columbanus of Bobbio. His feast day falls on November 23. Columbanus was born around 543 at Leinster in present-day Ireland. His early education was completed under the guidance of Abbot Sinell, whose monastery was located on the island in the Erne River. He then moved to Bangor Abbey, where he studied to become a teacher and completed studies in the areas of grammar, rhetoric, geometry, and the Holy Scriptures. He remained in Bangor until around 590, when he left for the mainland. Columbanus and his companions traveled extensively through Gaul, the Alps and Lombardy over the next 25 years, founding monasteries across the Frankish and Lombard kingdoms. The best-known are the Luxeuil Abbey in present-day France and the Bobbio Abbey in present-day Italy. Saint Columbanus died in Bobbio on November 21, 615, and is interred at the Bobbio Abbey. Here is a view of the Abbey of Saint Columbanus at Bobbio:  Abbazia di San Colombano, Bobbio, Piacenza, Italy Photo by Giorgio Galeotti From Wikimedia Commons Used under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license Columbanus’s teachings were based on those developed while at the Bangor abbey: those of Irish monastic rule and penitential practices for those repenting of sins. They emphasized private confession to a priest, followed by penances levied by the priest in reparation for the sins. He developed The Rule of Saint Columbanus, consisting of ten chapters covering the subjects of obedience, silence, food, poverty, humility, chastity, choir offices, discretion, mortification, and perfection. The first chapter summarizes the bedrock of his Rule: obedience, absolute and unreserved. The stamp for Saint Columbanus features an image of the Saint taken from a stained glass window found at the Abbey. The minisheet of four stamps issued to honor Saint Columbanus contains an inscription featuring his famous prayer: Lord, uproot and remove from my soul all that the enemy has planted. Remove from my heart and my lips all iniquity, Give me the intelligence and the habit of doing good So that in works and truth I may serve only you. May I know how to fulfill the precepts of Christ and seek you, O God! Grant me memory, love and faith. May you accomplish your good works through me And give me that which You judge to be useful. Amen 
1400th Anniversary of the Death of Saint Columbanus di Bobbio (Minisheet) Scott 1603M (2015) REFERENCES: |
