Description

Oil Dedicated to St Carthage

St Carthage from A Blessed Call To Love, Ireland.

Saint Carthage, also known as Mochuda, was an Irish monk and founder of several monastic communities in the 6th century. He is revered as a saint in the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, with his feast day celebrated on May 14.

Born in Munster, Ireland, in the early 6th century, Carthage was raised by his parents in a devout Christian household. As a young man, he felt called to the monastic life and joined a local monastery. However, he later felt a desire to establish his own community of monks and set out to find a suitable location.

Carthage eventually settled in a remote area of County Laois, where he founded a monastery at Rahan. He then went on to establish several other monastic communities throughout Ireland, including in Birr, Terryglass, and Lismore. These communities became known for their rigorous asceticism and commitment to scholarship, with Carthage himself renowned as a scholar and spiritual leader.

In addition to his work as a monk and founder of monasteries, Carthage also known for his acts of charity and healing. He  said to have cured many people of various ailments and known for his generosity towards the poor.

Despite his reputation for piety and charity, Carthage was not immune to controversy. He involved in a dispute with the powerful King Diarmait mac Cerbaill, who had seized some of the monastic lands. Carthage excommunicated the king, leading to a protracted conflict that only resolved when Diarmait repented and returned the lands to the monastery.

Carthage died at an advanced age in the early 7th century and buried at his monastery in Lismore. His legacy lives on in the many monasteries he founded, as well as in the numerous miracles attributed to him. He remembered as a model of asceticism, scholarship, and compassion, and remains a beloved figure in the Irish Christian tradition.