Das sogenannte Kiliansbanner, Feldzeichen in der Cyriakusschlacht 1266 für die Würzburger Truppen. Heute im Museum für Franken, Würzburg. Wahrscheinlich ältestes, erhaltenes Feldzeichen Deutschlands.
Saint Kilien
Évêque et martyr en
Thuringe (+ 689)
ou Kilian.
Probablement d'origine
irlandaise, il serait venu, avec onze compagnons, en Thuringe. Ces migrations
évangélisatrices venues d'Irlande furent fréquentes à cette époque. Devenu
évêque de Wurzbourg, il convertit le duc de Thuringe qui accepte de rompre
l'union illégitime qu'il avait contractée avec sa belle-sœur. Mais celle-ci,
furieuse, fait massacrer Kilien et deux de ses compagnons. Cinquante ans plus
tard, lorsque saint
Boniface entreprendra l'évangélisation de cette partie de la Germanie,
les traces de l'évangélisation de saint Kilien seront encore vivantes.
D'origine irlandaise, il
résolut d'évangéliser la Bavière, encore païenne. Il prêche d'abord en Thuringe
et en Franconie, puis parvint à Wurtzbourg. Le duc Guzbert lui réserva le
meilleur accueil. Pour son baptême il fallait régulariser sa situation
matrimoniale. Kilien se rendit à Rome pour plaider la séparation du couple
illégitime. L'épouse qui ne voulait quitter le duc résolut à faire disparaître
Kilien lors d'un voyage du duc. Elle fit enterrer Kilien et ses collaborateurs
avec tous leurs ornements et objets du culte... A son retour le duc crut que
Kilien avait définitivement quitté le pays. Le pays sera évangélisé 50 ans plus
tard par Boniface. (source: Saints
du Pas de Calais - diocèse d'Arras)
Des internautes nous
signalent:
- "St Kilian
(Mullagh en Irlande +689(?) Würzburg en Allemagne) était un moine irlandais
parti évangéliser la Franconnie (l'actuelle Franken annexée à la Bavière). Il
est le patron des viticulteurs."
- "Ce Moine
Irlandais a évangélisé l'Alsace et la Lorraine, St Kilien est le patron de la
paroisse de Dingsheim en Alsace (67)."
À Wurtzbourg en Germanie,
vers 689, saint Kilian, évêque et martyr. Originaire d’Irlande, il parvint en
cette région pour y annoncer l’Évangile et, à cause des exigences morales du christianisme
qu’il rappelait, il fut massacré avec ses compagnons, le prêtre Coloman et le
diacre Totnan.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : http://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/1468/Saint-Kilien.html
Würzburg,
Statue des Kilian auf dem Kiliansbrunnen am Bahnhofplatz.
Würzburg (DE), statuo de la episkopo Kiliano sur la kiliana fontano ĉe la stacia placo.
Würzburg,
Statue des Kilian auf dem Kiliansbrunnen am Bahnhofplatz.
Würzburg
(DE), statuo de la episkopo Kiliano sur la kiliana fontano ĉe la stacia placo.
Le saint patron de Kylian
Mbappé ? Un missionnaire du VIIe siècle !
Aliénor Goudet - publié
le 07/07/22
Saint Kilien ou Kilian
(640-689) est un évêque d’origine irlandaise qui avait pour mission
d’évangéliser la Franconie, aujourd’hui connue sous le nom de Bavière. Il est
fêté le 8 juillet.
ilien fait partie de ces
hommes de la noblesse qui ont vite délaissé leur vie de luxe pour suivre le
Christ. Né dans un milieu privilégié en Irlande dans l’actuel comté de Cavan et
après de prestigieuses études, Kilien prend l’habit à l’abbaye d’Iona. Le moine
y reste une grande partie de sa vie avant de se rendre à Rome en été 686.
Kilien et ses onze
compagnons se rendent auprès du pape Conon, afin de recevoir des facultés de
missionnaires. Le Pape nomme Kilien évêque et l’envoie avec ses compagnons en
Franconie, encore peuplée de nombreux païens. Là, les compagnons se séparent en
petits groupes afin d’évangéliser plus efficacement. Kilien et deux compagnons
se rendent au château de Wurtzbourg où ils sont reçus par le duc de Gozbert. Le
seigneur, pourtant païen, est frappé par les paroles de Kilien et demande
rapidement le baptême. Afin de pouvoir entrer dans la vie chrétienne, Gozbert
prend la décision de quitter la femme de son frère avec qui il vivait en union
illégitime depuis quelques temps. Cette dernière, folle de rage, attend que le
duc s’absente avant de faire exécuter Kilien et ses deux compagnons le 8
juillet 689. On dit qu’elle les a fait enterrer vivants avec leurs objets
sacrés. Saint Kilien est aussi le saint patron des personnes atteintes de rhumatisme.
Si jamais le célèbre footballeur Kylian Mbappé souffre de douleurs
articulaires, son saint patron est l’homme à invoquer !
Lire aussi :Pourquoi
Germain a tout pour être le saint patron du PSG
Lire aussi :Raymond
de Toulouse, le moine architecte au service des pauvres
SOURCE : https://fr.aleteia.org/2022/07/07/le-saint-patron-de-kylian-mbappe-un-missionaire-du-viie-siecle
View from Old Main Bridge in Würzburg towards Festung Marienberg. St.Kilian in front with his golden sword.
Also
known as
Apostle of Bavaria
Apostle of Franconia
Chilianus
Chillian
Chillien
Cilian
Cillíne
Cillian
Kilian
Killena
Profile
Born to the Irish nobility. Monk at
the monastery of
Hy. May have been an abbot. Travelling bishop throughout Ireland. Missionary with
eleven companions through Gaul to Würzburg, Germany whose
people he found to be pagan, and whom he
resolved to convert. Pilgrim to Rome, Italy in 686 where
he received papal authority
for his mission; Pope Conon ordained
him as a missionary bishop.
Kilian then returned to Würzburg in 687 with Saint Colman and Saint Totnan.
With them, he evangelized East
Franconia and East Thuringia, areas in modern Bavaria, Germany, converted Duke Gozbert
and a large part of Gozbert’s subjects.
After Duke Gozbert converted,
Killian explained that the duke‘s marriage with
Geilana, his brother’s widow,
was unlawful. He secured the duke‘s
promise to leave her, which made an enemy of pagan Geilana. She plotted against
the saint,
and caused the murder of
him, Colman and Totnan,
and the burial of their corpses, sacred vessels, vestments, and holy writings
at the crime scene. When the duke returned
to her, Geilana denied knowing the location of the missionaries.
The actual murderer went mad,
confessed his crime, and died miserably.
Geilana herself eventually died insane.
Kilian’s good work did
not long survive him. When Saint Boniface arrived
in Thuringia, he found evidence of his predecessor’s influence. The relics of
the martyrs,
after cures had
brought fame to their burial place, were transferred to the Church of Our Lady
in 743 by
Saint Burchard, first Bishop of
Würzburg. After Burchard obtained Pope Zachary’s
permission for their public veneration, they were solemnly transferred,
probably on 8
July 752,
to the newly finished Cathedral of
the Saviour. Later they were buried in Saint Kilian’s vault in the new cathedral erected
on the spot where tradition says they were martyred.
His skull is still preserved, is be-jewelled, and is processed on his feast day.
Killian’s copy of the New Testament was preserved in Würzburg Cathedral until 1803, and
since then has been in the university library.
Born
c.640 in
Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland
against
rheumatism, rheumatism sufferers
–
–
in Germany
Paderborn, archdiocese of
Würzburg,
city of
in Ireland
Tuosist,
County Kerry (staging point for his mission to
mainland Europe)
bishop being murdered with
two priests
bishop holding
a crozier and sword
bishop holding
a large sword and
standing between two priests
with Saint Colman and
and Saint Totnan
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Francis
Xavier Weninger
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
Saints
and Their Attributes, by Helen Roeder
other
sites in english
images
video
webseiten
auf deutsch
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
fonti
in italiano
Martirologio Romano, 2005 edition
MLA
Citation
“Saint Killian“. CatholicSaints.Info.
25 April 2024. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-killian/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-killian/
Altar
by Hans Seyffer (1460–1509), Saint Kilian, Church Kilianskirche of Heilbronn -
Germany
Der
Hl. Kilian im Seyffer-Altars in der Kilianskirche (Heilbronn)
Book of
Saints – Killian, Coloman and Totnan
(Saints)
Martyrs (July
8) (7th century) Irish missionaries who successfully evangelised South
Germany. Pope John V consecrated Saint Killian first Bishop of Wurzburg. The Saint
had converted Gerbert, the local Duke or chieftain; but made an enemy of the
heathen Geilana, who lived with the Duke as his wife, though not really such.
She caused Saint Chillian to be assassinated, and with him Coloman, a priest,
and Totnan, a deacon (A.D. 688). Their relics, a century later, were enshrined
in his Cathedral by Saint Burchard, a successor of Saint Killian.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Killian, Coloman and Totnan”. Book of Saints, 1921. CatholicSaints.Info.
18 December 2013. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-killian-coloman-and-totnan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-killian-coloman-and-totnan/
Life
of Saint Kilian and his companions, Nuremberg, circa 1475, paint on wood,
Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg, Germany
Saint Kilian
Feastday: July 8th
Patron of sufferers of rheumatism
640 - 689
Kilian was born in Mullagh, County Cavan, Ireland, about 640.
St Kilian was consecrated
Bishop, went to Rome (with eleven other missionary priests and very few
possessions) in 686, and received permission from Pope Conon to evangelize
Franconia (Baden and Bavaria). He was successful, with two followers - Colman,
a priest, and Totnan, a deacon - in his missionary endeavors until he converted
Gosbert, Duke of Wurzburg, who had married Geilana, his brother's widow.
According to legend, while the newly converted Gosbert was away on a military
expedition, his wife Geilana is reputed to have had the three missionaries
beheaded when she found that Gosbert was going to leave her after Kilian had
told him the marriage was forbidden by the Church.
The martyred Kilian was
soon revered and his relics were transferred to the Cathedral in Wurzburg on
July 8, 752. It is there that he is greatly honoured by the people. The
Cathedral is dedicated in his name. The seminary is called Killianarun and
numerous statues of the saint are prominent around the city. The diocese and
city celebrate "Kilianfest" in the first week of July with a street
carnival, pageants and a solemn procession with the relics of the three
martyrs.
St Kilian was the Patron
Saint of Paderborn, Germany home of Dr Backhaus. Consequently, Bendigo's
first Church, founded by Henry Backhaus has a patronage to St Kilian.
St. Kilian's feast-day is
July 8th.
SOURCE : https://www.sandhurst.catholic.org.au/item/380-st-kilian
Saint
Kilian and Saint Nicholas, Franconia, circa 1465, paint on wood, Mainfränkisches
Museum, Würzburg, Germany
Kilian, Colman, and
Totnan MM (RM)
(also known as Chillien
or Chilianus, Colman, and Tadhg)
Died c. 689. Kilian, an
Irish monk from Mullagh, County Cavan, was consecrated bishop and set out to
evangelize Germany with eleven companions. They arrived at Aschaffenburg on the
Rhein and then sailed up to the River Main and Würzburg. With the able, zealous
assistance of Colman, a priest, and Totnan, a deacon, he was successful in his
missionary endeavors, especially after he converted the local lord, Duke
Gosbert (Gospert) of Würzburg.
Somewhat
anachronistically, about 686, he went to Rome and received permission from Pope
Conon to evangelize Franconia (Baden and Bavaria) and East Thuringia. Upon his
return his mission ran into a roadblock, Duke Gosbert had married Geilana, his
brother's widow. Like most Irish missionaries, the trio spoke out fearlessly
against any breach of faith or morals. In this case Kilian openly rebuked the
duke for his irregular marriage to his brother's widow. According to legend,
while Gosbert was away on a military expedition, Geilana had the three
missionaries beheaded when she found that Gosbert was going to leave her
because their marriage was forbidden by the Church.
A strong cultus was
immediately established in Germany and spread as far as Vienna, Austria, and
Ireland. Even today, the Kilianfest is one of the better known festivals of the
German peoples, including German-Americans. Kilian's Bible is exposed on the
high altar of Würzburg cathedral on his feast and an annual mystery play of his
life is produced. Kilian's relics were translated in 752 by Saint Burchard. The
strength of the cultus of the three martyrs drew the attention of Pope Saint
Zachary, who permitted public veneration of the martyrs in 752. From the time
of Blessed Charlemagne, it was common for emperors to make a pilgrimage to
their shrine at Würzburg, which Saint Boniface established as a bishopric in
honor of Saint Kilian. Kilian's name is also found with that of Saint Boniface
in the calendar of Godescale (c. 782).
Kilian, Colman, and
Totnan are also unusual in that the Irish themselves have shown veneration for
the expatriates, rather than showing their usual disinterest. Many illustrious
Irishmen have visited Würzburg over the centuries to honor the saints. In 1134,
one of the 12 Irish monasteries governed by that in Regensburg was established
in Würzburg. In 1650, Father Stephen White, SJ, a famous Irish historian, chose
the city as the center for his studies of Irish antiquities in Germany
(Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Montague).
In art, Saint Kilian is a
bishop holding a sword (often large) and standing between two priests.
Sometimes all three are shown assassinated at the command of the duchess or the
Kilian is shown between Colman and Totnan buried in a stable as a blind priest
is cured at their grave (Roeder). Kilian's image appears on seals and coins of
the region. Some old hymns in Latin and German survive that honor him (Farmer).
They are venerated at Aschaffenburg, Würzburg, Münnerstadt, and as the patrons
of whitewashers. They are invoked against gout and rheumatism (Roeder).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0708.shtml
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche
St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
Veit
Stoss (1447–1533), Münnerstädter altar : Legend of Saint
Kilian, tempera on softwood,
Stadtpfarrkirche St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt
Stadtpfarrkirche
St. Maria Magdalena, Münnerstadt Veit Stoß: Altartafeln zur Kilianslegende
St. Kilian
(Killena, Cillíne).
Apostle of Franconia
and martyr,
born about 640 of noble parents probably
in Ireland (according
to others in Scotland though Scottica
tellus, as it is called by the elder "Passio", may also in medieval times
have meant Ireland.
The later "Passio" says: "Scotia quæ et Hibernia dicitur");
died 8 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 monastic life. Trithemius and
later writers say that he was a monk in
the celebrated monastery of Hy:
that he was later the abbot 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 accordance 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 Würzburg,
inhabited by the Thuringian (Frankish) Duke Gozbert,
who was, like his people, still pagan.
Kilian resolved to preach the Gospel here, but first journeyed with
his companions to Rome to
receive missionary faculties from the pope. 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 already cited, we
learn that the arrival of St. Kilian and his companions at Würzburg 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 labours at Würzburg continued
during 687 and the following years. The original group separated on the return
journey — some departing to seek other fields of missionary work,
while St. Kilian with two companions, the priest Coloman and
the deacon Totnan,
came back to Würzburg.
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 Gozbert 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 secured 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 companions 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 8 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, confessed his crime, and died
miserably, Geilana also dying insane. Recent critics,
especially Hauck and Riezler (see bibliography), question without
sufficient grounds the authenticity of these statements in
the matter of detail, especially as regards the cause and
the immediate circumstances of 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 Rome undertaken
by St. Kilian and his assistants. His missionary labours through Eastern Franconia
and his martyrdom are,
however, accepted without question by everyone.
Although Kilian's work was not continued after his death, St.
Boniface on his arrival in Thuringia found at least evidence
of his predecessor's influence. The relics of
the three martyrs,
after wonderful cures had brought renown to their burial place, were
transferred in 743 by Saint Burchard, first Bishop of Würzburg,
to the Church of
Our Lady, where they were temporarily interred.
Later, when Burchard had obtained Pope
Zachary's permission for their public veneration, they
were solemnly transferred — probably on 8 July, 752 — to the newly
finished Cathedral of the Saviour.
Still later they were buried in St. Kilian's vault in the
new cathedral erected
on the spot where tradition affirms the martyrdom to
have taken place. The New
Testament belonging to St. Kilian was preserved among the
treasures of Würzburg Cathedral until
1803, and since then has been in the university library.
Kilian is the patron
saint of the diocese,
and his feast is
celebrated in Würzburg on
8 July with great solemnity.
The chief source of
information is the older and shorter "Passio" (which begins
"Fuit vir vitæ venerabilis Killena nomine"), formerly considered
to date from the tenth or ninth century. Emmerich (after the example
of the "Histoire littéraire de la France", IV, Paris, 1738, p. 86),
and Hefner (see below) on very good grounds now connect the
appearance of this chronicle with the solemn translation of the relics in
752, which raises its historic value beyond the reach of attack. The
later and more voluminous "Passio" is an amplified and embellished
version of the earlier one and cannot be relied upon when the accounts differ.
Both have been published by H. Canisius, "Antiquae lectiones",
IV, pt. ii (Ingolstadt, 1603), pp. 625-47; by Mabillon,
"Acta Sanctorum O.S.B.", II (Paris, 1669), p. 991-3; in the
"Acta Sanctorum" for 8 July (see below), and finally, with a
collection of later sources and with the office of St. Kilian of the Würzburg Church,
by Emmerich (see below).
Sources
Acta SS., II, July (Paris
and Rome, 1867), 599-619; Eckhart, Commentarii de rebus Franciæ
orientalis, I (Würzburg, 1729), 270-83, 451 sqq.; Gropp, Lebensbeschreibung
des hl. Kiliani und dessen Gesellen (Würzburg, 1738); Stamminger,
Franconia sancta, I (Würzburg, 1881), 58-133; Emmerich, Der heilige
Kilian, Regionarbischof u. Martyrer (Würzburg, 1896; Göpfert, St.
Kilianus-Büchlein (Würzburg, 1877; 2nd ed., 1902); Bellesheim, Gesch.
der kath. Kirche in Irland, I (Mainz, 1890), 168-71; Schrödl in Kirchenlex.,
s.v.; O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints, VII (Dublin, s.d.), 122-43;
Moore in Dict. Nat. Biog., s.v. Cilian. The authenticity of the older
"Passio" is combated by: Hauck, Kirchengesch. Deutschlands, I
(3rd and 4th ed.), 386 sq.; Riezler, Die Vita Kiliani in Neues Archiv der
Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde, XXVIII (1903), 232-4. In
opposition to the views put forward in these works, the authenticity of the
document is upheld in Hefner, Das Leben des hl. Burchard in Archiv des
historischen Vereins von Unterfranken u. Aschaffenburg, XLV — published
separately (Würzburg, 1904), pp. 33, 57; cf. also Hagiographischer
Jahresbericht für die Jahre 1904-1906 (Kempten and Munich, 1908), 110.
Lauchert,
Friedrich. "St. Kilian." The Catholic
Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton
Company, 1910. 8 Jul.
2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08639a.htm>.
Copyright © 2023 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08639a.htm
Saint
Kilian, Franconia, circa 1520, paint on wood, Mainfränkisches Museum, Würzburg,
Germany
July 8
SS. Kilian, Bishop,
Colman, Priest, and Totnan, Deacon, Martyrs
KILIAN or Kuln was a holy
Irish monk, of noble Scottish extraction. With two zealous companions he
travelled to Rome in 686, and obtained of Pope Conon a commission to preach the
gospel to the German idolaters in Franconia; upon which occasion Kilian was invested
with episcopal authority. The missionaries converted and baptized great numbers
at Wurtzburg, and among others Gosbert, the duke of that name. This prince had
taken to wife Geilana, the relict of his deceased brother; and though he loved
her tenderly, being put in mind by St. Kilian that such a marriage was
condemned and void by the law of the gospel, he promised to dismiss her, saying
that we are bound to love God above father, mother, or wife. Geilana was
tormented in mind beyond measure at this resolution; jealousy and ambition
equally inflaming her breast; and, as the vengeance of a wicked woman has no
bounds, during the absence of the duke in a military expedition, she sent
assassins, who privately murdered the three holy missionaries in 688. The
ruffians were themselves pursued by divine vengeance, and all perished
miserably. St. Burchard, who in the following century was placed by St.
Boniface in the episcopal see of Wurtzburg, translated their relics into his
cathedral. A portion of those of St. Kilian, in a rich shrine, was preserved in
the treasury of the elector of Brunswic-Lunenburgh in 1713, as appears from the
printed description of that cabinet: See the acts of these martyrs compiled by
Egilward, monk of St. Burchard’s at Wurtzburg, extant imperfect in the eleventh
century, in Surius, t. 4, entire in Canisius, t. 4, par. 2, p. 628, and t. 3,
ed. Basn. p. 174. Also among the Opuscula of Serrarius, printed at Mentz in
1611, in the collection of the writers of Wurtzburg published by Ludewig, p.
966, and in Mabillon and the Bollandists. See also Thesaurus reliquiarum
Electoralis Brunsvico-Luneburgicus. Hanoveræ, 1713, and Solier, t. 2, Julij, p.
600.
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume VII: July. The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : http://www.bartleby.com/210/7/083.html
Oswald Onghers, Martyrdom of St. Killian and his Companions, Side altar, Neumünster, Würzburg, Germany
Oswald Onghers, (1659),
Weninger’s
Lives of the Saints – Saint Kilian and His Companions, Martyrs
Article
Saint Kilian, the
glorious apostle of Franconia, was born in Scotland, the son of noble but not
less pious parents. The Almighty, who had destined him to convert many thousand
souls, bestowed on him the grace to lead, from early youth, a blameless life,
and to make, when more advanced in years, such progress in virtue and divine
science, that he was greatly beloved and venerated, as well by the clergy as by
the laity. He had deep compassion for those who were yet blinded by idolatry,
and felt within himself an irresistible impulse to labor for the salvation of
their souls One day, when he was musing on the words of Christ: “If any man
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow
me,” he made the resolution to devote himself to the salvation of souls. After
he had been ordained priest, he persuaded some intimate friends to accompany
him into the heathen countries and illuminate their darkness with the light of
Christian faith. They were willing to depart with him, and Kilian left his home
and property, crossed the sea, wandered through several provinces, and at
length arrived at Wurtzburg, in Franconia. The inhabitants of that city, and
indeed of the whole province, worshiped, before all other gods, the goddess
Diana. The holy man, pitying their ignorance, went with his companions to Rome,
to obtain the Pope’s permission to preach the Gospel in that region, as well as
in the neighboring states. The Pope gladly assented, consecrated Kilian bishop,
invested him with the power to preach the Gospel to the heathens, and gave him
many wholesome instructions for beginning and continuing his holy work. The
newly consecrated bishop returned, immediately after receiving the Holy
Father’s .blessing, and arrived at Wurtzburg, accompanied by Colman, a priest,
and Totman, a deacon, the same who had left Scotland with him. Assisted by
these, he began his apostolic labors. He preached the word of Christ and
opposed idolatry with so much zeal that, in a few days, many showed themselves
ready to embrace the Christian faith. The many miracles which the holy bishop
wrought, in testimony of the truth of his words, caused the heathens to
recognize their error, and humbly request of him to baptize them. When Gosbert,
at that period Duke of Franconia and an intelligent man, heard of this, he
called the Saint into his presence and desired to hear the new faith explained
by him. The holy bishop, accepting the invitation, spoke with such wisdom and
eloquence, that the duke, after some more conversations with him, was convinced
of the truth of his words, and promised to receive holy baptism publicly on the
coming Easter festival. He kept his promise, and Kilian received him and a
great many of the nobility, on the appointed day, into the bosom of the
Christian Church, to the great joy of his heart. The example of the duke was
soon imitated by thousands of his subjects, and Kilian entertained the hope
soon to see the whole province come under the sweet yoke of the Saviour.
The duke grew daily in
piety and virtue, and endeavored to be an example to his subjects. There was,
however, one dark spot in his life that overshadowed all his goodness. Geila,
or, as others write, Geilana, his brother’s wife, lived with him. When Saint
Kilian heard of this, he begged God’s aid in prayer, and then went to the duke
and told him that, according to the laws of the Church, his conduct was very
sinful, and exhorted him to dismiss Geila. Gosbert, who deemed it impossible to
part with Geila, was at first greatly troubled, but promised the Saint that he
would consider his words, and think of the best way to send Geila from his
Court, after the war was ended, to which he was just making preparations to go.
Geila was informed of this, and, almost beside herself with rage, sought to
revenge herself on the Saint, and determined to despatch him, before the return
of the duke. Hiring two assassins, she promised them a large sum of money, if
they would murder the bishop and his companions. The night on which this crime
was to be committed had come, and Saint Kilian, having said his prayers, had
just lain down to rest, when an angel appeared to him, ‘saying: “Rise, Kilian,
thy work is done: only one contest more, and thou shalt gloriously reign with
me.” The Saint immediately arose, and awakening his companions, he exhorted
them to be faithful; after which they prayed together, thus preparing
themselves for the approaching struggle. While they were still on their knees,
the assassins rushed into the room, but Kilian, going towards them, said:
“Friends, what purpose brought you hither? You may execute the command of the
duchess: we are ready to end our lives.” Without uttering a word, the hirelings
drew their swords and murdered Saint Kilian and his two holy companions on the
spot. Then, making a deep hole, they cast into it the holy relics, the vessels
of the church, the books and everything they found belonging to the holy
martyrs. This the wicked Geila had ordered them to do, in order that the
criminal deed should never be revealed. The just God, however, soon made it
known all over the land, by means of those who had endeavored to hide it. One
of the assassins became possessed of the devil, and ran raving and howling
through the streets, crying in fearful tones: “Oh! Kilian, how thou dost
persecute me! I see the sword, stained with thy blood, above my head.” Having
repeated these words many times, he at last tore his limbs with his own teeth,
and thus died a horrible death. The other murderer also became raving, and in
despair killed himself with his own dagger. The godless Geila, the author of so
wicked and cruel a deed, ended her life in the same manner. She also became
possessed of the Evil One, and was terribly tormented. She herself – so was it
ordained by God – had to confess her wickedness publicly; for she was heard
crying:
“It is just and right
that I am tortured, for I have caused the holy men to be tortured. You
persecute me too much, O Kilian! Colman, you are lighting the fire, and you,
Totman, increase it! Your vengeance is too great” After having thus raved for a
long time, she expired with dreadful suffering. According to the testimony of
Baronius, Saint Kilian and his companions received the crown of martyrdom in
the year 689. The Almighty revealed to the world, in the course of time, the
holy relics of these faithful servants, and glorified them by many miracles.
Baronius also ascribes to the powerful intercession of these holy martyrs the
fact that the true Faith has remained in the province of Franconia, and that
heresy, which, long after their glorious death, came to plant its seeds, was
happily destroyed there, while other states of Germany lost the Faith almost
entirely, to the irreparable damage of their inhabitants.
Gemälde des Hl. Kilian, 1702.
Practical Considerations
1. Saint Kilian reproved
the duke for his unlawful conduct, and endeavored to reform him, although he
had to fear his wrath and the rage of a wicked woman. You have not to fear
anything like this, and yet you are silent when you might prevent many wrongs by
kind expostulations or by proper punishment. For example, you are silent or
laugh when another makes unchaste remarks in your presence or slanders his
neighbor, or curses. You might prevent him, but you neglect it. Is this a sign
that true love to God fills your heart? “Christ is crucified before our very
eyes,” cries Saint Thomas of Villanova, “and we are silent.” Where is our love
to God? If some one speaks disparagingly of your friends in your presence, you
are not silent, and why? Because you love them. How then can I believe that you
have one spark of love for God, if you listen in silence when He is offended,
and do not endeavor to prevent it? Endeavor to do this in future, and try to
prevent others from offending the Almighty. As far as those under you are
concerned, as for instance, your children and domestics, you are under still
greater obligations not to neglect it. It is quite certain that parents and all
those who possess authority over others may commit great sin, and even make
themselves guilty of everlasting condemnation, if they silently pass over the
faults of those under them, or do not punish them properly. They make
themselves guilty of all those iniquities which those in their charge commit on
account of their silence, or which they commit more freely on account of not
being reproved. The punishment which parents have to expect from God for this
we may learn from what happened to Heli, because he was too indulgent to his
children, and did not duly punish their faults, as Holy Writ testifies. (1st
Kings 2).
2. Almighty God punished
in this world the murderers of Saint Kilian, and the unchaste woman who
instigated them to the criminal deed. And yet they had only deprived him of his
bodily, his temporal life. How terrible will be the punishment that awaits
those who have deprived their neighbor of his spiritual, his eternal life; who
have been the murderers of his soul? And who are these? All those who advise
their neighbors to do wrong, or who incite them to it, either by words or bad
example. Christ Himself calls the devil a murderer from the beginning, because
he incited Eve to sin; and Saint Augustine adds: “Do not suppose that you are
no murderer, when you lead your neighbor to commit sin. You murder him by doing
so,” as Satan deprived Eve of her spiritual life, and hence became a murderer.
“You have been guilty of as many murders as you have given occasion to sin,”
says Saint Gregory. You deprive him also of eternal life, if he dies in his
iniquities and is damned. What can you expect of divine justice? Certainly not
heaven, if you do not repent. A murderer is already sentenced: “No murderer
hath eternal life abiding in him” (John 3); “The murderers and the unclean
shall receive their reward in the pit filled with fire and burning brimstone.”
(Acts 21) These words, addressed to those who murder the body, indicate that no
less punishment will await those that murder the soul; for, a murder committed
on the soul of any one, by leading him into sin which will deprive him of
eternal life, is infinitely more deserving of punishment, than a murder
committed on the body. If a temporal murder is a sin that cries to heaven and
deserves hell, what sentence ought to be spoken against a spiritual murder?
Saint Thomas of Villanova hesitated not to say, that if he were certain that he
had caused the ruin of one single soul, he would depart this life with greater
fear than if he had murdered the bodies of a hundred persons. Be careful that
you do not die, and appear before the judgment-seat of the Most High, with
cause for such fear and trembling.
MLA
Citation
Father Francis Xavier
Weninger, DD, SJ. “Saint Kilian and His Companions, Martyrs”. Lives of the Saints, 1876. CatholicSaints.Info.
14 March 2018. Web. 14 April 2025.
<https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-kilian-and-his-companions-martyrs/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/weningers-lives-of-the-saints-saint-kilian-and-his-companions-martyrs/
Louis Sorg (1823-1863), Saint Kilian. 1861, huile sur toile, Église St Kilian de Dingsheim (IA67005517), Alsace, Bas-Rhin
Louis Sorg (1823-1863), Saint Kilian. 1861, huile sur toile, Église St Kilian de Dingsheim (IA67005517), Alsace, Bas-Rhin
San Kilian
(Chiliano) Vescovo e martire
Festa: 8 luglio
Irlanda, 644 ca. -
Würzburg, 8 luglio 689
L'irlandese Kilian (il
nome ha molte varianti: Chiliano, Kilien, Quillian, Cilian e Kuhln) era un
"vescovo itinerante" del VII secolo, che aveva avuto a Roma
l'incarico di evangelizzare la Franconia, una regione della Germania. Ne
convertì il Duca, Gosberto, obbligandolo a separarsi dalla vedova del fratello.
La donna, per vendicarsi di aver perduto l'alto stato sociale cui era ascesa,
fece uccidere Kilian insieme al sacerdote Colman, al diacono Totnano e a due
laici, Gallone e Arnuvale. Sepolto in una stalla, il corpo del santo venne
ritrovato prodigiosamente e in seguito esumato l'8 luglio del 752, alla
presenza di un altro vescovo irlandese, il celebre evangelizzatore della
Germania, san Bonifacio, e del primo vescovo di Würzburg, san Burcardo. Nel 788
i resti furono traslati nella cattedrale della cittadina tedesca in una solenne
cerimonia cui partecipò l'imperatore Carlo Magno. Dal secolo XV Kilian è
patrono della diocesi di Würzburg; lo è anche della Franconia e dei tintori. Al
1926 risale l'istituzione di una recitazione popolare sulla sua figura che si
svolge all'aperto nell'ottava della festa. (Avvenire)
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale, spada
Martirologio
Romano: A Würzburg nell’Austrasia, in Germania, san Chiliano, vescovo e
martire, che, originario dell’Irlanda, giunse in questa terra a predicare il
Vangelo e per aver serbato con cura gli usi cristiani fu trucidato, consumando
così il suo martirio.
E' un antico santo vescovo, venerato soprattutto nella città di Würzburg e in altre città della Germania, Austria e Irlanda. Il martirio è narrato in due ‘passiones’ in parte favolose del sec. IX e in alcuni Atti; insieme a s. Kilian sono associati nella vita e nel martirio il presbitero Colman, il diacono Totnano e altri due Gallone e Arnuvale.
Tutti vissero nel secolo VII e sono ricordati in calendari ed annali del secolo VIII, essi furono chiamati con molte varianti, in particolare Kilian (Chiliano, Kilien, Quillian, Cilian, Kulhn).
San Kilian nacque in Irlanda verso il 644 e secondo un racconto leggendario sarebbe diventato un monaco nella sua patria; poi si recò con alcuni compagni (sopra nominati) in Francia e da lì a Roma, dove avrebbe ricevuto la consacrazione episcopale e l’incarico di evangelizzare la Franconia (regione della Germania a Est del Reno, che nel sec. VII diventò un ducato).
Ma un altro racconto ritenuto più veritiero, dice che sarebbe divenuto vescovo in Irlanda e dopo una breve permanenza a Roma nel 685, avrebbe ricevuto l’incarico di evangelizzare la Franconia, da parte di papa Giovanni V (685-686).
Non ebbe una sede fissa e perciò venne chiamato “vescovo apostolico”; in tale funzione convertì il duca di Franconia Gosberto, obbligandolo a separarsi dalla vedova del fratello, Geilana, che aveva sposato; ma la vendetta della donna, che si era vista togliere il titolo di duchessa, più che l’amore del cognato, lo raggiunse; infatti approfittando dell’assenza del duca, lo fece assassinare insieme ai suoi collaboratori Colman, Totnano, Gallone e Arnuvale, l’8 luglio 689, presso la città di Würzburg la capitale.
Kilian fu sepolto di nascosto in una stalla, successivamente un prodigio fece rivelare il luogo e quindi si poterono inumare i suoi resti in un posto più dignitoso; resti che furono poi esumati nel 752, presente san Bonifacio (680-755) apostolo evangelizzatore della Germania e s. Burcardo († 754) primo vescovo di Würzburg.
Nel 788 furono traslati solennemente nella cattedrale della città, alla presenza dell’imperatore Carlo Magno (742-814). Il culto verso il santo vescovo itinerante Kilian, aumentò al punto che dal secolo XV divenne il patrono di Würzburg.
Nella stessa città, dal 1926 viene rappresentato un ‘mistero’ all’aperto (recitazione popolare in costume d’epoca), nell’ottava della sua festa, che si celebra l’8 luglio.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
SOURCE : https://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/91822
Zwei seiten aus Passio Kiliani, Ps. Theotimus, Passio Margaretae, Orationes. Vollständige Faksimile-Ausgabe im Originalformat des Codex MS. I 189 aus dem Besitz der Niedersächsischen Landesbibliothek Hannover. - https://www.kettererkunst.de/kunst/kd/details.php?obnr=411102904&anummer=385
Kilian
heilig, irischer Bischof,
Glaubensbote Ostfrankens, * angeblich Mullagh (Grafschaft Cavan,
Irland), + um 689 Würzburg, ⚰ Würzburg.
Biographie
Über K.s und seiner
Mitarbeiter, Kolonats und Totnans vor allem, Leben, Wirken und Sterben
berichtet eine eher um das Jahr 840 (Levison) als schon früher anzusetzende, in
den Einzelheiten nicht sonderlich glaubwürdige Passio (minor). Ihr Bericht
über K.s Reise nach Rom zur Entgegennahme eines Missionsauftrages klingt
unhistorisch und ist wohl als Rückprojektion bonifatianisch-angelsächsischer
Romverbundenheit, außerdem vielleicht auch als Datierungsmerkmal (Papst Konon
686-87), zu deuten. Festzuhalten aber ist gewiß, daß K., der bereits in
Irland Bischof war, während seiner offenbar nur wenige Jahre dauernden
Missionstätigkeit in Würzburg die dortige Herzogsfamilie, deren Mitglieder
zwelfellos getauft waren, obwohl die Passio sie als heidnisch bezeichnet, mit
dem Kirchenrecht konfrontierte: Als er von Herzog Gozbert verlangte, daß er
seine Frau entlasse, da sie die Gattin seines Bruders gewesen sei, ließ diese
ihn zusammen mit zwei Gefährten ermorden. Würzburgs erster Bischof Burghard
(Burchard) I. erhob am 8. Juli 752 die Gebeine der Frankenapostel, die 788 in
Gegenwart Karls des Großen in den Würzburger Salvator-Dom (an der Stelle des
heutigen Neumünsters) verbracht wurden. Der auch von den karolingischen
Herrschern geförderte Kult ist besonders in Mainfranken bis heute dicht und
zeugnisreich (Kilianifest, Kilianimesse), schlug aber auch in Würzburgs
sächsischen Missionsgebieten (Paderborn) Wurzel. In Irland entstand spätestens
im 9. Jahrhundert ein Sekundärkult (Fest: 8. Juli entsprechend dem Tag der
Würzburger Translation).
Literatur
ADB 15;
ältere Passio (minor), in: MGH SS rer. Mer. V, S. 711-28 (hrsg. v. W, Levison);
jüngere Passio (maior) u. a. Texte: F. Emmerich, Der hl. K., Regionarbischof u. Martyrer, 1896;
J. Dienemann, Der Kult d. hl. K. im 8. u. 9. Jh., 1955;
A. Wendehorst, in: Fränk. Lb. III, 1969, S. 1-19;
ders., Die hll. K., Kolonat u. Totnan, in: Bavaria Sancta 1, 1970, S. 89-106;
ders., Über d. Nachleben St. K.s in Irland, in: Volkskultur u. Gesch.,
Festgabe f. J. Dünninger, 1970, S. 440-51;
DNB
Porträts
K. Künstle, Ikonogr. d. Hll., 1926, S. 379 f.;
J. Braun, Tracht u. Attribute d. Hll. in d. dt. Kunst,
1943, S. 422 f.
Autor/in
Zitierweise
Wendehorst, Alfred,
"Kilian" in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 11 (1977), S. 603
[Online-Version]; URL:
https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd11856207X.html#ndbcontent
SOURCE : https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/11856207X.html#ndbcontent
