Saint Cataldus of Rachau

Cataldus was born in Munster, in Ireland, between 610 and 620. His parents, Euco and Aclena, had become Christians thanks to missionaries from Gaul, and their son received his education from them. When they died he gave away his entire inheritance. He became a disciple of Carthagh, abbot of the Celtic monastery of Lismore, and was ordained a priest there. In 637, after his teacher died, he took his place at the head of the monastery, which was one of the great centers of learning in the Ireland of that time. In 670 he was ordained a bishop, and between 679 and 680 he set out as a pilgrim for the Holy Land. The legend says that it was there that his life changed course: as he lay prostrate at the Holy Sepulchre, Jesus appeared to him and told him to go to Taranto, a city that had fallen back into paganism, and to start over from the beginning. Sailing home, he was shipwrecked on the Ionian coast, and that’s how he ended up in Taranto. He became its bishop and died there, according to tradition on March 8, 685. His body was found in 1071, during work on the cathedral, and from that discovery came the cult that has never stopped in Taranto: the cathedral bears his name, his feast in May is the city’s feast, and the baroque chapel dedicated to him — the Cappellone — is one of the most beautiful things in Apulia. If your name is Cataldo, today is your name day.