Asaph
Welsh bishop and saint
Feast: 1 May (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Asaph (or Asa) was a disciple of St Kentigern at the Celtic monastery of Llanelwy in Wales, and later the first Welsh bishop of the see that bears his name, in the second half of the sixth century.
The story is told that when Kentigern, chilled from praying in the icy river, sent the boy Asa for fuel, he brought live coals in his apron, and so his holiness was revealed. When Kentigern was recalled to Strathclyde after 573, Asaph succeeded him as bishop. The year of his death is not known.
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
A monk-bishop of the Welsh Church, remembered for his holiness from boyhood.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Asaph
- Wikidata Q721005 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Saint Asaph (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.