Tugdual

Tugdual as one of the seven Breton founder saints; popular representation in Saint-Pol-de-Léon

Tugdual , Breton Tudwal ( Tudal , Thual ), also Pabu - "father, abbot" (* around 490 - 30 November 553  ? In Tréguier ), was a Christian messenger of faith in Brittany and, according to later tradition, the first bishop of Tréguier . He is a saint of the Catholic Church , patron saint of the Cathedral of Tréguier and one of the "seven founding saints" ( sept saints fondateurs ) of Brittany. His feast day is November 30th.

Life

According to tradition, Tugdual was a student in the convent in Llantwit Major on the south coast of Wales . When he was about 25 he crossed to the mainland with a large number of companions. The background is likely to be the emigration of Bretons from Great Britain . In Saint-Pabu , later named after him , he founded a monastery, of which he became abbot . After a while he set out with several monks on a mission hike. He converted many of his immigrant compatriots to Christianity and founded numerous monasteries with the support of the tribal leaders. Its most important foundation was the Tréguier Abbey, a monastery bishopric based on the Irish-Scottish model, from which the Diocese of Tréguier developed. From King Childebert I he obtained confirmation of his founding in 532. It is said that the people of Tréguier asked for his bishopric.

According to other sources , he is said to have built a hermitage on Saint Tudwal's Island East .

Adoration

The relics of St. Tugdual are kept in the Cathedral of Tréguier together with those of St. Yves in a gilded shrine donated by the Parisian Archbishop Hyacinthe-Louis de Quélen in the 19th century.

A Breton legend tells that Tugdual attended a Pope's funeral on a pilgrimage in Rome . When a white dove settled on him, he was proclaimed his successor and held the office of Leo V ( pontificate 903!) For a few months until a white horse appeared to him and carried him back through the air to Tréguier. In addition to the episcopal insignia, the white dove belongs to Tugdual's saints attributes .

Web links

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

• Yves-Marie Érard, archivist of the diocese of Saint-Brieuc : Saint Tugdual (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Author