Saint Canna was a sixth-century mother of saints and later a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

in south

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. According to the writings of the unreliable

Iolo Morganwg Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg (; 10 March 1747 – 18 December 1826), was a Welsh antiquarian, poet and collector.Jones, Mary (2004)"Edward Williams/Iolo Morganwg/Iolo Morgannwg" From ''Jones' Celtic Encyclop ...

, Canna was a daughter of the

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 ...

King Tudur Mawr, and widely held to be related to Saint Illtud. She married her cousin

Sadwrn Two Welsh saints bear the name Sadwrn, St Sadwrn of Llansadwrn near Beaumaris in Anglesey, and St Sadwrn of Henllan in Denbighshire. St Sadwrn of Llansadwrn A burial stone dating from AD 550 at the latest, discovered in 1742, suggests that St Sa ...

, and in his old age, Sadwyn accompanied

Saint Cadfan Saint Cadfan ( la, Catamanus), sometimes Anglicized as Gideon, was the 6th century founder-abbot of Tywyn (whose church is dedicated to him) and Bardsey, both in Gwynedd, Wales. He was said to have received the island of Bardsey from Saint ...

to Britain where he founded two churches, one in

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 ...

and one in

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

. Canna accompanied her husband, with their son Crallo.''Archaeologia Cambrensis'', London. J. Parker, 1872, p. 235 et seq.
/ref> After the death of Sadwrn, she remarried and became the mother of Saint Elian Geimiad.Proja, Giovanni Battista. "Santa Canna", Santi e Beati, August 10, 2007
/ref> Canna (santez) Santes Canna Llangan disc-headed cross slab (cropped)

Canna (santez) Santes Canna Llangan disc-headed cross slab (cropped)

Canna founded a church in West Wales and then became a nun. She reportedly founded a church in

Llangan Llangan ( cy, Llanganna) is a small village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is located approximately outside the market town of Cowbridge. As a community it contains the settlements of St Mary Hill, Treoes and Llangan itself. I ...

in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

, where there is a church dedicated to her, built on the site of at least one previous. Near the west wall of St. Canna's Church is a 9th-10th century disc-headed cross slab, high, depicting the Crucifixion. There was a well below the old church called Ffynnon Ganna, , whose water was believed to have curative properties and was a site of pilgrimage for many centuries. Her name also appears as part of two Cardiff districts: Canton (English translation of the Welsh ''Treganna'', Saint Canna's Town); and Pontcanna (Welsh for Canna's Bridge).Matthews, J. Hobson. "Placenames of the Cardiff District", ''Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society, Volumes 32-33'', 1901, p. 39
/ref> St. Canna's Close is located in Canton. Canna's Feast day is celebrated on 25 October. A

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Lodge No. 6725, within South Wales Eastern Division, is named after Saint Canna. St Crallo's Church is dedicated to Canna's son, the 6th century Celtic saint, Saint Crallo, whose feast is August 8. The village in which the church is situated, Coychurch is known in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). Historically, it has ...

as Llangrallo; ''Llan'' – Church, ''Grallo'' – Crallo, the church of Crallo. It is believed that the saint founded a church on the site before the construction of the present medieval building.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canna 6th-century births 6th-century deaths Medieval Breton saints Welsh nuns 6th-century Christian saints Female saints of medieval France Female saints of medieval Wales 6th-century Welsh people 6th-century Welsh women 6th-century Breton people People whose existence is disputed