Aidan of Lindisfarne
7th-century Irish monk and missionary bishop, Catholic and Orthodox saint, first bishop of Lindisfarne and Apostle of Northumbria
Feast: 31 August (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Aidan was an Irish monk who studied under St Senan and became a monk at Iona about 630. In 635 he was chosen first Bishop of Lindisfarne, and became the apostle of Northumbria, with the support of his friend King Oswald.
Bede praises him greatly: 'a pontiff inspired with a passionate love of virtue, but at the same time full of a surpassing mildness and gentleness.' He died at Bamburgh on 31 August 651.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The gentle Irish monk who won Northumbria for Christ.
Connected on this site
- Cedd Saint Pupil
- Chad of Mercia Saint Pupil
- Wilfrid Saint Pupil
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Aidan
- Wikidata Q132148 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Aidan of Lindisfarne (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.