Malachias (saint)

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Saint Malachias (1724), Metten Monastery Church, Lower Bavaria

Malachias ( Irish Maoileachlainn , English Malachy , * 1094/95 probably in Armagh ; † November 2, 1148 in Clairvaux , born as Máel Máedoc Ua Morgair or Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair ) was an Irish saint and archbishop of Armagh . Prophecies are associated with his name , although it is very doubtful whether they come from him. He is venerated as a saint within the Catholic Church . His feast day is November 3rd.

Almost everything that is known about Malachias today is due to the hagiography of Bernard of Clairvaux , who thus laid the foundation for the canonization of Malachia by Pope Clement III. laid on July 6, 1190. Malachias' importance lies in the fact that at a time of upheaval in Ireland, as Archbishop of Armagh, he initiated a reform which was largely carried out through monasteries. He opened the way to Ireland for the Augustinians , the Order of Savigny and especially the Cistercian Order .

Birth and youth

According to Bernhard von Clairvaux , Malachias grew up in Armagh. His place of birth is also believed to be in Armagh or the surrounding area. Since Malachias was 53 years old at the time of his death, the year of birth is 1094 or 1095. His father was Mugrón Ua Morgair , who is mentioned in the Ulster annals as the head of the Armagh School. In addition to his father, he found an important teacher in Imar Ua h-Aedacháin in his youth , who at that time led an ascetic life as abbot of the abbey of Saints Peter and Paul in Armagh . Malachias became known through him to the Archbishop Cellach Mac Aodh , who ordained him in 1117 or 1118 as a deacon . At the age of 25 (around 1119), Malachias was ordained a priest.

Early years as a reformer

Shortly after his ordination , Malachias was appointed vicar general by Cellach and charged with the renewal of his diocese , while Archbishop Cellach himself began his second journey to Munster in 1120 . Malachias took this opportunity to introduce the Roman liturgy to Ireland and to promote confession . After Archbishop Cellach's return, Malachias traveled to Malchus ( Máel Ísu Ua hAinmere ), the bishop of the dioceses of Lismore and Waterford . After the death of the lay abbot Oenghus Ua Gorman of Bangor in 1123, Malachias was appointed as the new abbot through the influence of Archbishop Cellach and Imar Ua h-Aedacháin . Malachy abandoned it on the extensive associated land and built by the raids of the Vikings destroyed Abbey Bangor again. According to his biographer Ailbe Luddy , it can be assumed that Malachias introduced the rule of holy Comgall , the founding abbot of Bangor, there.

The papal prophecy ascribed to Malachias in Lignum Vitae

Saint Malachias was in a work Lignum Vitae published by a Belgian named Arnold Wion in 1595, a papal prophecy of 112 short sayings about all the popes from Celestine II (1143–1144) until the end of the papacy. It is, however, absolutely certain that this cannot have come from him, and it is very likely that Saint Philip Neri is the author of her last 41 truly prophetic sayings, while the first 71 sayings are a forgery that was supposed to serve by means of to draw the public's attention to this prophecy after an exact partial fulfillment has already taken place.

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  • Bernhard von Clairvaux, Vita Sancti Malachiae episcopi 1149. A German translation was published as part of the collected works of Bernhard von Clairvaux in Tyrolia Verlag, Volume 1, 1990, ISBN 3-7022-1732-0 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Malachias  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bernhard's writing is entitled Vita Sancti Malachiae episcopi, see section Primary Sources .
  2. ^ Arnold de Wion: Lignum Vitae, Ornamentum et Decus Ecclesiae, in Quinque Libros Divisum . Venetiis apud Georgium Angelerium. 1595. Liber 2, pp. 307-311. Original text on the Internet
predecessor Office successor
Cellach Mac Aodh Archbishop of Armagh
1132–1136 		Gelasius
personal data
SURNAME Malachias
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Máel Máedoc Ua Morgair, Maelmhaedhoc O'Morgair
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Christian saint, Archbishop of Armagh
DATE OF BIRTH 1094 or 1095
PLACE OF BIRTH Armagh
DATE OF DEATH November 2, 1148
Place of death Clairvaux Monastery