St. Columba, the Dove of the Church

The Great Rood Screen · Apr 16, 2026

Dcn. Seraphim tells us the story of Saint Columba of Iona — the aristocrat-monk whose name means "dove" but whose life was shaped as much by penance as by prayer. Born of royal blood in Donegal, foretold by saints from the age of Patrick onward, Columba trains under Finnian at Clonard before a catastrophic quarrel over a copied psalter leads to the Battle of Cooldrevny and his exile from Ireland. Drawing on Adomnán's Vita Columbae, Dcn. Seraphim follows Columba from the green shores of Ireland across the sea to the windswept island of Iona, where the Dove of the Church founds the monastery…