Columba (/kəˈlʌmbəˌ ˈkɒlʌmbə/) or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry and one of the patron saints of Ireland along with Patrick and Brigid. He was venerated by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. (Full article…)
Attributes: Monk’s robes, Celtic tonsure and crosier
Patronage: Derry, floods, bookbinders, poets, Ireland, and Scotland
See also: Joseph of Anchieta, Ephrem the Syrian