Moluag

Saint Moluag was born in Ireland, likely in Ulster, sometime between 500 and 520, an Irish noble of the Dál nAraide who became a bishop and missionary in the great flowering of early Celtic Christianity. Ordained in the tradition associated with Saint Comgall, he left his homeland with twelve companions, seeking to bring the Gospel to the peoples of northern Britain. Around 562 he established his chief community on the Isle of Lismore in Argyll, a place long held sacred by the Picts, and from there patiently evangelized through teaching and monastic life rather than harsh confrontation. Moluag went on to found major centers at Rosemarkie and Mortlach, and he is especially remembered in Aberdeenshire for planting churches and monastic houses that shaped the faith of the region for generations. Honored as “the Sun of Lismore in Alba,” he is venerated as a pioneer evangelist of the Picts and the patron saint of Argyll. He died on June 25, 592, and his feast day is celebrated on June 25.