ST. AIDAN (AUG. 31ST)
The Life of St. Aidan of Lindisfarne Edited by Bp. Joseph ( Ancient Church of the West ) St. Aidan, also known St. Aidan of Lindisfarne and the Apostle of Northumbria, lived from about 590 until 31 August 651. He was an Irish monk and missionary who is said to have restored Christianity to Northumbria after a time of initial evangelization and decline. In 635 he founded a monastic settlement on the tidal coast of Lindisfarne and served as its missionary bishop. Little is known of St. Aidan's early life, except that he was of Irish descent and upbringing. He seems to have served from a young age at the monastery founded by St Columba on Iona. Roman Britain had been a Christian society by the time the Romans withdrew, but under the Anglo-Saxons it reverted to paganism. The turning point came as a result of Oswald of Northumbria, later known as Saint Oswald, who had been in exile on Iona from the age of 12 in 616. Oswald was baptized as a Christian, and when he became King of Northu...
