Saint Mechell was the 6th century founder and first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of the ''clas'' (a type of early Welsh/Celtic

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

) of

Llanfechell Llanfechell ( cy, 'Llanfechell' ' church + Saint ''Mechell'') is a village in Anglesey, Wales. It is the largest of several small villages and dispersed settlements that make up Mechell Community Council area. It is east of Holyhead, and west of ...

, on

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

in north-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. St Mechell's day is celebrated on 15 November. It is claimed that he is buried in Llanfechell. He was said to have been a

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

by birth. From the 14th century, he was identified with Saint Machudd, a Welshman and supposed

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of ''Venta Silurum'', an important settle ...

who has been similarly confused with Saint

Malo Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places *Malo, Italy, a town *Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu * Malo (Solomon Islands), an island *Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States * ...

. Malo and Mechell both have 15 November as their

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

,Baring-Gould, S. & Fisher, John (1911), ''The Lives of the British Saints'', Vol III p.43
us.archive.org
/ref> A 17th-century manuscript, (Llanstephan MS. 125) records a Welsh poem, "Cywydd i Fechell Sant". This describes St Mechell as the son of Echwys ab Gwyn Gohoew.
Accessed 30 April 2012 It goes on to claim many miracles from his life including raising a giant from the dead and converting him to Christianity, turning thieves to stone, and blinding and then curing the leader. This last act produced a gift of land in gratitude, to be demarked by the route of a released hare. The hare, under divine guidance, marked the full extent of what is now the parish of

, Anglesey, on which he then founded the monastery.

References

6th-century deaths Medieval Breton saints Medieval Welsh saints People from Anglesey 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 6th-century Breton people {{Wales-saint-stub