SAINT FEAST DAY 5 MAY: ST ASAPH

ST ASAPH, BISHOP

Saint Asaph (St Asa) was the first Bishop of the Welsh See of that name (second half of the 6th century). No Welsh life of him is extant, but local tradition points out the site of his ash tree, his church, his well, and his valley, Onen Asa, Fynnon Asa, Llanasa, Pantasa. All these sites are in Tengenel, near Holiwell indicating probably that the saint once had hermitage in that neighbourhood.

SOME INFORMATION

The want of a Welsh life, however, is in part compensated for by Jocelyn of Furness's life of St Kentigern, or Mungo, the founder of the Diocese of Glasgow. This saint during his exile (c.545) betook himself to Wales and there founded the Celtic Monastery of Llanelwy (the church on the Elwy), as the Welsh still call the town of St Asaph. Of the building and government of few Celtic monasteries do we know so much as about Llanelwy. The church was built "of smoothed wood, after the fashion of the Britons, seeing that they could not yet build of stone".

A MIRACLE

The founder, after the manner of other Celtic saints, used frequently to pray standing in the icy cold river, and once, having suffered very severely under this hardship, he sent the boy Asaph, who was then attending him, to bring a fagot to burn and warm him. Asaph brought him live coals in his apron, and the miracle revealed to Kentigern the sanctity of his disciple. So when the old man was recalled to Strathclyde, after the battle of Ardderyd, in 573 (the only definite date we have in the life), Asaph was consecrated bishop to succeed him, and became the first Welsh bishop of the see.

(Information from: Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913)

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