St. Gall - an Irish Saint revered in Bohemia

St. Gall - and a bear. Some accounts suggest that in this image from 1555, the Saint does not have a halo, but is in fact carrying a bodhrán.

The earliest accounts of the Irish travelling to mainland Europe tell of the many religious who journied to lift the lift the fog of ignorance which had engulfed the continent during the well-named Dark Ages.

Our subject today is St Gall, who was one of the traditional twelve companions of Columbanus on his mission from Ireland to the continent.  He was born c.550 and died c.646 (at the age of 95!).  He founded a monastery in Switzerland, and while there is no record of him personally visiting the Czech lands he remains highly venerated here.  King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia founded a church in the saint's honour in 1232 in what became known as Havelské město (the name Gall became Havel in the Czech language). It was one of Prague's four main churches at the time and the area in which the church is situated (Havelská) was an important part of old Prague. It was united with Staré město in the 13th century and was later surrounded by the urban fortifications at Můstek.

Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor, took time off from building Charles Bridge and the New Town to be crowned King of Bohemia in September 1347 at a huge regal ceremony in the church. This was the occasion of his donation of the relic of St Gall, which is encased in the church in a gold and silver reliquary. Among the many notable pastors over the years was Jan of Nepumoc (see his statue on Charles Bridge) who served at the Church of St Gall from 1380 to 1390. As legend has it (written by the Jesuits who were masters at PR!) he was hurled from the bridge to his death because he would not reveal the confessions of his Queen. He thus became a saint and his statue can be seen in many towns throughout the Czech lands.

The church, which had been serviced by the Carmelite Order, fell victim to the religious reforms of the Emperor Joseph at the end of the 18th century (as did the Irish Franciscan Church at nearby Hybernské náměstí), but later was reopened as an ordinary parish church. The annual celebration of the feast day of St Gall on 16th October is a major annual event at the church and, in the course of the ceremony, the celebrant speaks eloquently of St Gall, and the contribution that he and the many other Irish missionaries had made to lifting the shadow of the Dark Ages which had engulfed Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire. He is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Church of Ireland.

Last year Eadaoin O'Connor from the Irish Embassy led the participation of the Wild Geese in representing the Irish community at the ceremony, and we hope to celebrate this memorable event again this year.

Note: A monastery dedicated to St Gall was founded just upriver from Davle, on the Vltava, and a church on the river bank bearing his name continues.