Saint Gall

Catholic Saint

st.Gall-Irish missionary, companion of St. Columban,

patron saint of Sweden and Switzerland

Feast Day : October 16 

Patronage: birds; geese; poultry; Sweden; Switzerland

Gall was born ca. 550 in Ireland and studied under SS. Columban and Comgall. He was a priest and biblical scholar, and one of the 12 companions who accompanied Columban to France, where they founded the abbeys of Annegray, Fontaine and Luxeuil; Gall lived at the latter for 20 years. When Columban was forced into exile in 610, Gall went with him, and they eventually went to Austrasia. There they preached for two years amidst opposition from the pagans. In 612 Columban decided to retire to Italy, but Gall said he could not go along due to illness. Columban did not think him that ill, but merely unwilling, and so sentenced him to a penance of never celebrating the mass for the rest of his life. Gall obeyed, and went off to Arbon, where he stayed with a priest, Willimar, who had given them shelter during Columban’s exile. The deacon Hiltibod instructed him to live as a hermit, and so he chose a spot by the river Steinach to live. Disciples gathered around him, and they followed the rule of Columban. Gall learned of Columban’s death at Bobbio in 615 in a vision.

St. Eustace, whom Columban had left in charge of the abbey at Luxeuil, died in 625. The monks asked Gall to succeed him as abbot, but Gall preferred to remain a hermit, leaving his cell only to teach and preach. He undertook missionary activities in Switzerland. King Sigebert twice offered Gall a bishopric, but he declined these as well. He died around 630 in Bregenz, Austria. The Saint Gall monastery grew up on the site of his hermitage, as did the town of Saint Gall. During the Middle Ages, it was a prominent center of arts and learning. The library was secularized and is now part of the cathedral of Saint Gall. According to legend, Gall had miraculous gifts, including the ability to communicate with animals. Once he is said to have dispatched a bear to fetch firewood for the monks.