Our patron Saint Kentigern was the first Bishop of Glasgow where he is known as Saint Mungo meaning "the beloved one". "Kentigern" dervies from the Welsh Cyndeyrn, meaning "Chief Prince". He was born in North Britain about 518 in the kingdom of the Picts. After being consecrated by an Irish Bishop, he sent many missionary monks to the north of Scotland, in the Isles of Orkney, then in the Kingdom of Norway and to Iceland.

He was driven from his See by the Pelagian heretics and took refuge in Wales where he stayed with Saint David and was present when David died in 544. He returned to what we now call Glasgow in about 560 since we know that he met Saint Columba who came over from Ireland to lead a missionary effort in the same area where Kentigern was working.

St. Kentigern is often pictured carrying a bell, which is thought to have been given to him by the Pope. It was said to have been used in services and to mourn the deceased. The original bell no longer exists, and a replacement, created in the 1640s, is now on display in Glasgow.

St. Kentigern appears in the crest of Glasgow's coat-of-arms along with his miracles. A series of verses are used to remember the four miracles:

Here is the bird that never flew

Here is the tree that never grew

Here is the bell that never rang

Here is the fish that never swam

The Bird - Kentigern restored life to the pet robin of Saint Serf, which had been killed by some of his fellow classmates, hoping to blame him for its death.

The Tree - Kentigern had been left in charge of a fire in Saint Serf's monastery. He fell asleep and the fire went out. Taking branches from a tree, he restarted the fire.

The Bell - As mentioned previously.

The Fish - refers to the story about Queen Languoreth of Strathclyde who was suspected of infidelity by her husband. King Riderch demanded to see her ring, which he claimed she had given to her lover. In reality the King had thrown it into the River Clyde. Faced with execution she appealed for help to Kentigern, who ordered a messenger to catch a fish in the river. On opening the fish, the ring was miraculously found inside, which allowed the Queen to clear her name.

St. Kentigern died c.603-612 and a Cathedral in Glasgow was built in his honour. His feast day is the 13th of January.

If you would like to see more information on the historical background to Saint Kentigern you can visit the sites below where you will find a comprehensive history of the Saint.

With thanks to Cynthia Green, Houston, Texas, who has kindly allowed me to link the parish web site to hers.

 The Life of Kentigern by Jocelyn, a monk of Furness

 Saint Kentigern, Apostle to Strathclyde: A critical analysis of a northern saint