Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/719

 EILFENORA

039

EILIAN

that no woman should dare even to speak with author- ity in the church, much less to preside anti govern there." He was deprived of his temporalities, forced to fly for safety to Adare, Co. Limerick, where he con- dvicted a school, and finally returning he died at Naas, aged 80.

The school of Kildare was among the most famous in Ireland (see Kild.\re, School op). There were also great and ancient schools at Sletty, Killeshin, 'I'ullow, Clonenagh, and elsewhere in the diocese. A synod was held at Cieashill in 5.50 (most probably), a national synod at Clane in 11(52, to establish codes of morality for both lahv and clergy: a provincial synod at Tierhogar, Portarlington (28 Jul., 1640), to pro- vide for the exigencies of the penal times; and a national synod at Tullow, in 1809, to condemn the teachings of the Abbe Blanchard.

Diocesan Writers. — Among the writers of the dio- cese and the works attributed to them are the follow- ing: — St. Fiacc of Sletty, a poem in Irish on the life of St. Patrick, a poem in Latin on St. Brigid, other com- positions and prayers; St. Eimhin (Emin) of Mon- asterevan (about 600), the "Tripartite Life" of St. Patrick, the "Life of St. Congall", "Emin's Tribute (or Rule) ", the "Lay of the Bell of St. Emin ", etc., St. Moling (see Ferns), a poem on Clonmore-Maedoc, one on the Borumha tribute of which he obtained the re- mission; St. Brogan of Clonsast, a litany in Irish on the B. V. Mary, indulgenced by Pius IX, a poem foretelling the Danish invasion, the lost " Book of Clonsast " ; St. Aedh, Bishop of Sletty (698), a life of St. Patrick; Aengus the Culdee (q. v.), 830, the "Feilire", the "Martyrology of Tallaght", "Litany of the Saints", "De Sanctis Hiberni^ lib. V", a history of the Old Testament in metre, the "Saltair-na-rann"; Siadhal (Sc(hilius). .\bl)nt of Kildare, 827, notes on the Epis- tles (if St. Paul; .Vnnieluidh (Animosus), Bishop of Kildare, y.SO, the fourth life of St. Brigid; Finn Mac Gorman, Bishop of Kildare. 11(10, the "Book of Lein- ster" — a most valuable historical work; Maguire, Bishop of Leighlin, 1490, the " Yellow Book (or Long Book) (if Leighlin"; Gallagher, Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, 17;;7-51, Irish sermons; Doyle (J. K. L.), Bi.shop of Kildare and Leighlin (q.v.); Rev. D. W. Cahill (q. v.); Comerford, coadjutor Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, history of the diocese in three vols., books of devotion; Rev. J. Farrell, .sermons and lec- tures. Among the priceless works which have been lost to the diocese and Ireland are the following: the "Book of Clonsast"; the "Book of Clonenagh"; the "Yellow Book of Leighlin"; the "Book of Kildare" — if it be not the existing "Book of Kells", as many suppose.

When the storm of persecution had spent its force, the revival of Catholicism was as marvellous here as over the rest of Ireland, and the following is a sum- mary of what a century has seen accomplished in the diocese: Carlow ecclesiastical college, the first to be established in Ireland since the Reformation; 1 dioc- esan lay college; 2 colleges of religious; 21 convents with their schools; 9 Christian schools; 234 primary schools; 1 cathedral; 164 churches. There are 49 par- ishes in the diocese, with 133 secular and 18 regular clergy. The present occupant of the see is The Most Rev. Patrick Foley, D.D., b. at Mensal Lodge, near Leighlinbridge, in 1858; ordained priest at Carlow in ISSl; and, having spent the interval in Carlow Col- lege as professor and president, consecrated bishop in May. 1S96. He is a Commissioner of National Educa- tion (1905) and a member of the governing body of the Dublin College of the National University of Ire- land (1908).

('(iMERFoRD, Collections relating to the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin (Dublin, 1SS3): O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints (Dublin, 1S75-); O'Donovan. Four Masters: Idem, Ordnance Surrey of Ireland; W.<RE-H.\RRis. Writers and Antiquities of Ireland {Dublin, 1764); IjEWis, Topographical Dictionary (Dub- lin, is:!!)) ; Shearman. Loca Patriciana (Dublin. 1874) ; Walsh. The Irish Hierarchy (Dublin, 1854); Healy, Ireland's Ancient

Scliooh and Scholars (Duhlin. 1902); Idem, Life and Writings of St. Patrick (Dublin, 190'J); Irish Catholic Directory (1909).

E. O'Leahy.

Kilfenora. See Galwav .\nd Kilmacduagh, Dio- cese OK.

Eilian (Killena, CillIne), Saint, Apostle of Fran- conia and martyr, b. about 640 of nol ile parents prob- alily in Ireland (according to others in Scotland, though Sa'illiea tflttis. as it is called by the elder ' ' Passio ", may also in medieval times have meant Ireland. The later " Pas.sio " says : "Scotia qua-et llilicrniadicitur"); d.S July, probably in 689. He was distinguished from his _ youth for his piety and love of study, and, according to ' the later " Passio ", embraced the mona.stic life. Trith- emius and later writers say tliat he was a monk in the celebrated monastery of Hy : that he was later the ab- bot of this monastery is also held by Trithemius; however, that, a supposition, cannot be proved. The statement in the older " Passio " that Kilian was raised to the purple before leaving his native land may be accepted as trustworthy, although the later " Passio " refers this event to his sojourn in Rome. In accord- ance with the custom then prevailing in the Irish Church, he was assigned to no particular diocese, but was district bishop or travelling bishop. One day he made up his mind to be a missionary, left his native country with eleven companions, travelled through Gaul, thence across the Rhine, and finally reached the castle of Wurzburg, inhabited by the Thuringian (Frankish) Duke Gozbert, who was, like his i)eople, still pagan. Kilian resolved to preach the Gospel here, but first journeyed with his companions to Rome to receive missionary faculties from the pojje. John V, whom he expected to find, had died meanwhile (2 August, 686), and was succeeded by Conon from whom Kilian obtained his faculties. From the sources al- ready cited, we learn that the arrival of St. Kilian and his companions at Wiirzburg and the journey to Rome occurred in the summer of 686, that they arrived in the latter city in the late autumn, and that their la- bours at Wiirzburg continued diu'ing 687 and the fol- lowing years. The original group separated on the return journey — some departing to seek other fields of missionary work, while St. Kilian with two com- panions, the priest Coloman and the deacon Totnan, came back to Wiu'zburg. He took this town as the base of his activity, which extended over an ever-increasing area in East Franconia and Thuringia, and converted Duke Ciozbert with a large part of his subjects to Christianity. Concerning the cause of the martyrdom of the three missionaries, the early documents supply the following information: After Duke Gozbert had become a Christian, St. Kilian explained to him that his marriage with Geilana, his brother's widow, was unlawful under the Christian dispensation, and se- cured the duke's promise to separate from her. In consequence of this action, Geilana plotted vengeance against the saint, and caused him and his two com- panions to be secretly murdered in the absence of the duke, their corpses being immediately buried at the scene of the crime together with the sacred vessels, vestments, and holy writings. This is generally held to have happened on S July, 689. although opinions vary as to the exact year. The early documents relate further that, after the duke's return, Geilana at first denied any knowledge of what had become of the missionaries; the murderer, however, went mad, con- fessed his crime, and died miserably. Geilana also dy- ing insane. Recent critics, especially llauck and Riezler (see bibliography), question without sufficient grounds the authenticity of these statements in the matterof detail, especially as regardsthecau.seandthe immediatecircumstancesof the martyrdom of the three missionaries. Through prejudice against the Irish Church the Protestant party has also disputed the absolutely reliable information about the journey to