Saint Finan
Évêque (+ 661)
D'origine irlandaise, il est d'abord moine à Iona et maintient les traditions celtiques contre l'introduction de coutumes romaines. Il baptise Penda et Sigebert, les gouverneurs d'Angle et de l'Essex. Elu évêque de Lindisfarne en 651, il envoie des missionnaires en Mercie et en Essex. Il s'implique aussi dans les discussions avec l'anglais Ronan sur la façon correcte de déterminer la date de Pâques. Il construit une cathédrale en bois avec un toit d'algues qui sera remplacé par un toit en plomb par un abbé suivant. Il meurt en 661 et saint Cuthbert lui succède.
À Lindisfarne en Northumbrie d’Angleterre, vers 650, saint Finan, évêque, après
avoir été moine à Iona. Homme de savoir et de zèle, il entreprit
l’évangélisation de l’Essex et de Mercie, dont il baptisa les rois.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/11456/Saint-Finan.html
Also
known as
Finan of Lindisfarne
Fian of…
formerly 9 February
Profile
Monk
at Iona.
Succeeded Saint
Aidan
of Lindisfarne as governor of the Church in Northumbria,
England.
Bishop
of Lindesfarne,
England
in 651.
Built the cathedral,
and the monasteries
of Gilling and Whitby. Opposed the replacement of the Celtic
liturgy with the Roman one. Evangelized
southern England,
working with Saint
Cedd.
Friend of King
Oswiu of Northumbria
and Saint Cuthbert
of Lindisfarne. Baptized King
Penda and King
Saint
Sigebert of the East Saxons, and brought Saint Ebbe
the Elder into the Benedictines.
Born
in Ireland
9 February
661
in Ireland
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks
of Ramsgate
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
books
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
images
sitios
en español
Martirologio Romano, 2001
edición
fonti
in italiano
MLA
Citation
“Saint Finan of Iona“. CatholicSaints.Info.
13 February 2023. Web. 30 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-finan-of-iona/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-finan-of-iona/
Article
(Saint) Bishop (February
17) (7th century) An Irish monk of Iona, who succeeded Saint Aidan in the
government of the Northumbrian Church. He converted Kings Peada of Mercia and
Sigebert of Essex to Christianity, and attended by Saint Cedd and other worthy fellow-missionaries,
evangelised far south in England. He died A.D. 661.
MLA
Citation
Monks of Ramsgate.
“Finan”. Book of Saints, 1921.
CatholicSaints.Info. 16 February 2017. Web. 30 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-finan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/book-of-saints-finan/
Finan of Iona B (AC)
Died 661. An Irish monk
of Iona, who succeeded Saint Aidan in the governance of the Northumbrian
church. He also bore Aidan's spirit of zeal, erudition, and prudence. Finan
opposed Saint Ronan's introduction of the Roman liturgical practices in place
of the Celtic ones, yet agreed to Saint Wilfrid's going from Lindisfarne to
Rome. Attended by Saint Cedd and other missionaries, he evangelized parts of
southern England. He became a friend of King Oswy of Northumbria, and baptized
King Penda of the Middle Angles and later King Saint Sigebert of the East
Saxons, who had been converted to Christianity by King Oswy (Benedictines,
Delaney, Farmer).
SOURCE : http://www.saintpatrickdc.org/ss/0217.shtml
St. Finan of Lindisfarne
Feastday: February 17
Death: 661
Finan of Lindisfarne
Irish by birth, St.
Finan of Lindisfarne became a monk at Iona
and upheld the Celtic traditions against the encroachment of Roman usage. Finan
baptized Penda, ruler of the Middle Angles, and Sigebert, ruler of Essex.
Elected bishop
of Lindisfarne in 651, Finan sent missionaries to Mercia and to Essex. He also
debated Ronan, an Englishman, about the correct way to calculate the date of
Easter. On the Holy Island, he built a wooden cathedral, the roof of which was
thatched with seagrass. (A later abbot removed
the thatching and covered the building with lead). Finan died in 661, and St. Cuthbert
succeeded him as abbot.
SOURCE : https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=975
New Catholic
Dictionary – Saint Finan
Article
Bishop
of Lindisfarne, and apostle of Northumbria, born Ireland;
died
661.
He was appointed Bishop
of Lindisfarne, 651,
and built the cathedral,
and the monasteries
of Gilling and Whitby. Feast,
9
February.
MLA
Citation
“Saint Finan”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info. 16
February 2017. Web. 30 September 2026.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-finan/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-finan/
Calendar
of Scottish Saints – Saint Finan, Bishop, A.D. 661
Article
17
February. This saint was an Irishman who became a monk in the monastery
founded by Saint Columba at Iona. During his monastic life he was distinguished
for the virtues befitting his state, especially prudence and gravity of
demeanour. He was devoted to prayer and strove zealously to live according to
the Divine Will in all things. When Saint Aidan, who had been a monk of Iona,
passed to his heavenly reward, a successor in his see of Lindisfarne was again
sought in that celebrated monastery, and the choice fell upon Finan. His first
care was to erect on the island of Lindisfarne a suitable cathedral, and in
this he placed the remains of his saintly predecessor Aidan.
During the few years that
Saint Finan ruled his diocese he exhibited all the virtues of a model bishop.
His love of poverty, contempt of the world, and zeal for preaching the Gospel,
won the hearts of his people. Under his guidance, Oswy the King was brought to
realise his crime in the barbarous murder of the saintly Oswin, King of Deira,
and the result was the foundation of monasteries and churches as tokens of his
sincere repentance and his desire to obtain pardon from Heaven through the
prayers and merits of those who should dwell in them.
The influence of Saint
Finan extended beyond his own people; for the kings of more southern nations,
with their subjects, owed the Faith to his zeal and piety. Peada, King of the
Mercians, and Sigebert, King of the East Saxons, both received Baptism at his
hands, and obtained from him missionaries to preach to their respective
peoples.
The most famous work in
which Saint Finan was directly concerned was the foundation by Oswy of the
Monastery of Streaneshalch on the precipitous headland afterwards known as
Whitby. This was to become in later years, under the rule of the first abbess,
Hilda, a school of saints and a centre of learning for the whole territory in
which it stood, and the admiration of after ages for its fervour and strictness
of discipline.
Saint Finan died after an
episcopate of ten years, and was laid to rest beside the remains of Saint Aidan
in the cathedral he had built at Lindisfarne. His feast was restored to Scot
land by Leo XIII in 1898.
MLA
Citation
Father
Michael Barrett, OSB.
“Saint Finan, Bishop, A.D. 661”. The Calendar of
Scottish Saints, 1919.
CatholicSaints.Info. 16 February 2017. Web. 30 September 2026. <https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-finan-bishop-a-d-661/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/calendar-of-scottish-saints-saint-finan-bishop-a-d-661/
St. Finan
Second Bishop of Lindisfarne;
died 9 February, 661. He was an Irish monk who
had been trained in Iona,
and who was specially chosen by the Columban monks to
succeed the great St.
Aidan (635-51). St.
Bede describes him as an able ruler, and tells of his labours in the
conversion of Northumbria. He built a cathedral "in
the Irish fashion", employing "hewn oak, with an outer covering of
reeds", dedicated to St. Peter. His apostolic
zeal resulted in the foundation of St. Mary's at the mouth of the
River Tyne; Gilling, amonastery on
the sight where King Oswin had been murdered,
founded by Queen Eanfled, and the great abbey of Streanaeshalch, or Whitby.
St. Finan (Finn-án — little Finn) converted Peada, son of Penda, King of the
Middle Angles, "with all his Nobles and Thanes", and gave him
four priests,
including Diuma, whom he consecrated Bishop of
Middle Angles and Mercia, under King Oswy. The breviary of Aberdeen styles him
"a man of venerable life, a bishop of
great sanctity,
an eloquent teacher of unbelieving races, remarkable for his training in virtue
and his liberal education,
surpassing all his equals in every manner of knowledge as
well as in circumspection and prudence,
but chiefly devoting himself to good works and
presenting in his life, a most apt example of virtue".
In the mysterious ways of
Providence, the Abbey of Whitby, his chief foundation, was the scene of the
famous Paschal controversy, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Irish monks from Lindisfarne.
The inconvenience of the two systems — Irish and
Roman — of keeping
Easter was specially felt when on one occasion King Oswy and his Court
were celebrating Easter
Sunday with St. Finan, while on the same day Queen Eanfled and her
attendants were still fasting and
celebrating Palm
Sunday. Saint Finan was spared being present at the Synod
of Whitby. His feast is
celebrated on the 9th of February.
Grattan-Flood,
William. "St. Finan." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909.17 Feb.
2018 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06075c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Paul Knutsen.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. September 1, 1909. Remy Lafort,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2026 by New Advent LLC.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06075c.htm
St. Finan of
Lindisfarne,
Bishop of Lindisfarne
(Died AD 661)
The first monk sent from
Iona, to replace the noble St.
Aidan as Bishop of Lindisfarne in AD 651, was the Irishman, St. Finan.
His episcopate was prosperous and followed that of his predecesor in both
policy and character. It lasted ten years and was not interrupted by any
melancholy event, such as those which had troubled the life of Aidan, by
taking, from him, his two Royal friends. St. Finan always lived on good terms
and worked in close co-operation with King
Oswiu of Northumbria; and, before he died, he had the honour of
introducing, to the Church, the heads of the two other great Saxon kingdoms.
For Sigebert, King of Essex and Peada, King of the Middle Angles, both came to
seek baptism at the gates of Lindisfarne. This made way for the conversion of
their respective provinces, which this holy prelate furnished with proper
missionaries. After some time, he ordained the Scot, Diuma, as Bishop of Middle
Anglia, Lindsey & Mercia and St.
Cedd as Bishop of Essex. In the island sanctuary of Lindisfarne, St.
Finan caused a cathedral to be built, not of stone, like that which Paulinus and Edwin had
commenced at York, but, according to the Celtic custom and like the churches
built by Columba and his Irish monks, it was made entirely of wood. It was
covered with bent, that long rough sea-grass, whose pivot-like roots bind
together the sands on the seashore and which is still found in great abundance
on the island.
Finan's diocese was vast,
embracing not only Bernicia and Deira, but the adjoining kingdoms over which
the Northumbrian kings claimed suzerainty. Scottish scribes speak of a certain
Prince Fergus - probably a close relation of King Domangart II - who, by his
violence and other actions, had raised the indignation of the Scottish clergy
and called down upon himself a sentence of excommunication from the Bishops of
Lindisfarne, Finan and his successors. Bede was prejudiced against this holy
prelate because of his adhesion to the Celtic ritual and resistance to the
Irish missionary, Ronan, who pushed for the introduction of Roman usages. Finan
did however agree to Wilfred travelling to Rome and even Bede admits to his
great virtues, his contempt of the World, love of poverty and disinterestedness
and great diligence in preaching the Word of God. He died on 17th February AD
661, was buried in his cathedral and priory church on Lindisfarne and succeeded
in his episcopacy by St.
Colman.
Partly Edited from S.
Baring-Gould's "The Lives of the Saints" (1877).
SOURCE : http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/adversaries/bios/finanlindisfarne.html
Saint of the Day – 17 February – Saint Finan of Iona or Lindisfarne (Died 661)
Saint of the Day – 17
February – Saint Finan of Iona or Lindisfarne (Died 661) the Second Bishop of
Lindisfarne succeeding St Aidan on his death in 651. Monk and Missionary. Born
in Ireland and died there on 9 February 661.
The Name Finan being derived from Finn (Finn-án — little Finn). Also known as –
Finan of Lindisfarne, Fian of… Additional Memorial – 9 February on some
calendars.
The Breviary of Aberdeen,
Scotland, describes him “a man of venerable life, a Bishop of great sanctity,
an eloquent teacher of unbelieving races, remarkable for his training in virtue
and his liberal education, surpassing all his equals in every manner of
knowledge, as well as in circumspection and prudence but chiefly, devoting
himself to good works and presenting, in his life, a most apt example of
virtue.”
Finan was an Irish Monk
who had been trained in Iona, Scotland and who was specially chosen by the St
Columba (521-597) of Iona’s Monks to succeed the great St Aidan at Lindisfarne
in Northumbria, England.
St Bede describes him as
an able ruler and tells of his labours in the conversion of Northumbria. He
built a Cathedral a Monastery on the site where King Oswin had been murdered “in
the Irish fashion” employing “hewn oak, with an outer covering of reeds” which
he dedicated to St Peter. His apostolic zeal resulted in the foundation of St
Mary’s, a Monastery on the site where King Oswin had been murdered, at the
mouth of the River Tyne — Gilling Abbey and the great Abbey of Streanaeshalch,
or Whitby.
Finan converted Peada,
son of Penda, King of the Middle Angles, “with all his Nobles and Thanes” and
gave him four Priests, including Diuma, whom he consecrated as the Bishop of
Middle Angles and Mercia, under King Oswy.
In the mysterious ways of
Divine Providence, the Abbey of Whitby, his chief foundation, was the scene of
the famous Paschal controversy which resulted in the withdrawal of the Irish
Monks from Lindisfarne. The inconvenience of the two systems — Irish and Roman
— of keeping Easter, was specially felt when on one occasion King Oswy and his
Court were celebrating Easter Sunday with St Finan, while on the same day,
Queen Eanfled and her attendants were still fasting and celebrating Palm
Sunday. Saint Finan was spared being present at the Synod of Whitby. He died in
661 and was buried at Lindisfarne, having held that See for ten years.
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San Finan di Lindisfarne
(di Iona) Vescovo
m. 661
Originario della Scozia.
Le primie notizie risalgono al periodo della sua permanenza a Iona. Successe a
San Aidano nella diocesi di Lindisfarne nel 652 come vescovo. Passerà alla
storia per aver convertito vari principi e nobili del suo tempo. Beda il venerabile
lo definirà 'Acerrimus veri Paschae defensor". La morte di Finan è posta
nel 656. La sua festa è ricordata il 9 gennaio nell'agiografia irlandese, al 17
febbraio, invece, negli autori inglesi e scozzesi. E' da notare che la sua
opposizione agli usi romani lo aveva escluso dal Calendario romano, ma Leone
XIII, nel 1898, ha ristabilito la sua festa per la Scozia, dove è ricordato
nella diocesi di Argyll. (Avvenire)
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: A Lindisfarne in Northumbria, nell’odierna Inghilterra, san
Fináno, vescovo e abate, ricco di straordinaria dottrina e di zelo per
l’evangelizzazione.
Circa l'origine di Finan,
esistono due tradizioni: una lo dice nativo dell'Irlanda, figlio di Rimed o
Ryves; per l'altra, invece, era nato in Scozia e questa tradizione è accolta
nei Martirologi di Tallaght, del Donegal e di Gorman che, tutti, lo definiscono
"sassone". Baring-Gould, inoltre, precisa, non sappiamo su quali
prove, il suo distretto, che era quello degli Scoti Dalriadiani.
Comunque, è noto che le
prime notizie su Finan risalgono al periodo della sua permanenza a Iona, dove
fu per molto tempo, sotto il governo di Seghine, quinto abate (623-652). Morto
s. Aidano (31 agosto 651), Finan fu eletto a succedergli e prese possesso della
diocesi di Lindisfarne (corrispondente alle attuali contee di Northumberland,
(Durham e York), nel 652.
L'organizzazione di
Lindisfarne era analoga a quella di Iona; il monastero era governato da un
abate, scelto dal vescovo col consenso della comunità e tutto il clero, entro e
fuori il monastero, compreso il vescovo, seguiva la regola monastica. Fermo
sostenitore degli usi celtici, e perciò sgradito a Beda (che, però, ammette le
sue grandi virtù) Finan costruì la sua grande cattedrale in legno ed ebbe una
disputa con un certo Ronan, difensore della Pasqua romana, il quale, però, non
riuscì a convincerlo. In realtà, non sembra che Ronan si sia rivolto a Finan
nei termini di rispetto che si dovevano a un vescovo, e questo traspare anche
dalla narrazione di Beda, che lo definisce "acerrimus veri Paschae
defensor". Va detto tuttavia che il vescovo non ostacolò mai i seguaci
degli usi romani.
Amico di Oswiu, re di
Northumbria (654-670), Finan ottenne due grandi successi nel suo apostolato.
Battezzò infatti nel 653 Peada, principe degli Angli Mediterranei e figlio del
pagano Penda, re di Mercia, al quale Oswiu aveva posto come condizione, per
concedergli la mano della figlia Alchfleda, la sua adesione al Cristianesimo.
Successivamente, anche Sigeberto II detto Sanctus o Bonus, re dei Sassoni
Orientali (ca. 653-664), si fece battezzare da Finan; alla conversione dei
princip. seguì quella dei loro sudditi, e dopo qualche tempo Finan poté
ordinare Diuma vescovo degli Angli Mediterranei e s. Cedd vescovo dei Sassoni
Orientali. Il luogo del Battesimo di Peada e Sigeberto è detto da Beda Ad Murum
ed è da identificarsi forse con Benwell, presso Newcastle; era comunque una
delle ville di Oswiu site lungo il Tyne.
Un altro figlio di Penda,
Wulpher, si fecè battezzare da Finan, ma fu spinto alla conversione dal timore
che Oswiu (che tenne la Mercia dal 654 al 657) volesse vendicare su di lui la
morte di Oswald, ucciso da Penda nel 641. La precarietà dell'adesione di
Wulpher al Cristianesimo si mostrò ben presto, perché egli, istigato da un
certo Belial, abiurò e diede il martirio ai suoi figli Vulfado e Rufino.
Secondo gli analisti
scozzesi, l'autorità di Finan si estendeva anche oltre i confini della sua pur
grande diocesi, ed essi narrano della sentenza di scomunica pronunciata dal
vescovo di Lindisfarne contro un certo Fergus, re degli Scoti Dalriadiani, che
aveva suscitato le proteste del clero per le sue violenze e la sua avidità.
La morte di Finan è posta
al 656 negli Annali di Clonmacnoise mentre il ms. di Parigi ha l'anno 657: la
data esatta è però il 661, perché concordemente si assegnano a Finan dieci anni
di episcopato. La sua festa è ricordata al 9 gennaio nell'agiografia irlandese,
al 17 febbraio, invece, negli autori inglesi e scozzesi. Nel Breviario di Aberdeen
aveva un Ufficio con nove lezioni. E' da notare che la sua opposizione agli usi
romani lo aveva escluso dal Calendario romano, ma Leone XIII, nel 1898, ha
ristabilito la sua festa per la Scozia, dove è ricordato nella diocesi di
Argyll.
Autore: Mario
Salsano
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/36725
St Finan
of Lindisfarne : https://pyhiinvaeltaja.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/st-finan-of-lindisfarne/
