No likeness on file
Saint Fiacc
Bishop of Leinster
SaintResearchedPre-congregation
Feast: 12 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Born
415
Died
520
Beatified
—
not needed: before formal processes
Canonised
By tradition
recognised before formal processes began
Who they were
Fiacc, nephew of the chief bard Dubhtach, was himself a poet when he embraced the faith. St Patrick chose him, a widower with one son, as bishop for the converts of Leinster and later made him chief bishop of the province.
After many years of austere life he moved his church to Sletty near Carlow, where he built a monastery. He lived about 415 to 520.
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 bard whom St Patrick made a bishop.
Sources
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Fiacc
- Wikidata Q4483389 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Saint Fiacc (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.