St. Brendan

St. Brendan, called the Navigator, was one of the great monastic founders of Ireland, born around the year 484 near Tralee in what is now County Kerry and dying about 577. Formed under the holy teachers of the early Irish Church, he became a monk and priest and founded monasteries throughout Ireland, the greatest of them at Clonfert, which became a renowned center of learning and prayer with a large community under his care.

He is famous above all for the legendary account of his long sea voyage, the Navigatio Sancti Brendani, which tells how he and a band of monks set out in a small boat across the western ocean in search of a promised land of the saints, meeting many wonders on their years of wandering; whatever its historical kernel, the tale was among the most beloved of the Middle Ages and reflects the daring missionary spirit of the Irish monks who carried the faith across the seas. Honored as a patron of sailors and travelers, Brendan is commemorated on 16 May.