Saint Gall

Monk and Missionary
(c. 550–645)

Saint Gall was an Irish monk, born around 550, who became one of the most celebrated missionaries of early medieval Europe. He was a disciple of Saint Columbanus, the great Irish monastic reformer, and accompanied him on his missionary journey to the continent of Europe, where together they founded monasteries and preached the Gospel in Burgundy, Alemannia, and the regions around Lake Constance.

Gall was gifted with a remarkable facility for languages and was able to preach effectively in the Germanic dialects of the regions through which they travelled, while Columbanus was limited to the use of an interpreter. This gift made Gall especially effective as a missionary among the pagan Alemanni, and he threw himself into the work of evangelisation with great energy, destroying pagan shrines and fishing nets used in idolatrous rites and replacing them with crosses and prayer.

When Columbanus fell ill and could not continue his journey to Italy, Gall remained with him until he recovered, but when Columbanus eventually moved on, the two men parted under circumstances that left Columbanus displeased. Gall had asked to remain behind on grounds of illness, and Columbanus, suspecting that his disciple's resolution had weakened, forbade him to celebrate Mass during his own lifetime. Gall accepted this penance with complete submission and observed it faithfully until a messenger came from Columbanus on his deathbed sending Gall his staff as a sign of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Gall withdrew to a remote valley in the region now called Switzerland and there lived as a hermit, attracting disciples who gathered around him and formed the nucleus of the great monastery that would bear his name. The Abbey of Saint Gall, built after his death, became one of the most celebrated centres of learning and culture in the entire medieval world, its famous library preserving some of the most important manuscripts in the history of Western civilisation.

Gall died around 645, having spent his long life in prayer, missionary labour, and the formation of disciples. He is venerated as the apostle of Switzerland and his shrine in the city of Saint Gallen, which grew up around his monastery, continues to draw pilgrims to this day. His feast is commonly kept on October 16th, but some calendars commemorate him in July.