Assicus
Irish bishop of Elphin and saint
Feast: 27 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Assicus, one of St Patrick's converts, was Bishop and patron of Elphin. The Tripartite Life of St Patrick calls him Patrick's coppersmith, who made altars, book-shrines and patens; he was also known as a bellfounder.
In shame over a lie told by him, or of him, he fled to Donegal and lived seven years on the island of Rathlin O'Birne. His monks found him and tried to bring him home, but he fell ill on the way and died, and was buried at Racoon in County Donegal.
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 convert of St Patrick who served God with his craft and ended his days in penance.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Assicus
- Wikidata Q4071235 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Assicus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.