Saint Rumbold (or ''Rumold'', ''Romuold'', la, Rumoldus, nl, Rombout, french: Rombaut) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

, although his true nationality is not known for certain. He was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed near

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

by two men, whom he had denounced for their evil ways. Saint Rumbold's

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 ...

is celebrated by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, and

Western Rite Orthodox Western Rite Orthodoxy, also called Western Orthodoxy or the Orthodox Western Rite, are congregations within the Eastern Orthodox tradition which perform their liturgy in Western forms. Besides altered versions of the Tridentine Mass, congrega ...

Churches, on 24 June; and it is celebrated in Ireland on 3 July. He is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Mechelen, where

St. Rumbold's Cathedral St. Rumbold's Cathedral ( nl, Sint-Romboutskathedraal, french: Cathédrale Saint-Rombaut) is the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Rumbold of ...

possesses an elaborate golden shrine on its high altar, containing

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

attributed to the saint. It is rumoured that his remains are buried inside the cathedral. Twenty-five paintings in the choir illustrate his life.

Life and legend

Rumbold is assumed to have been consecrated a regionary

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 ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird, O.F.M. (''aka'' Aedh Buidh Mac an Bhaird ''or'' Hugh Ward; c.1593 – 8 November 1635), was an Irish Franciscan friar who was a noted poet, historian and hagiographer. He is considered the founder of Irish archaeology. ...

(c. 1590–1635) argued that Rumbold had been born in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He is also said to have been a

Bishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

, the son of a Scottish king, and the brother of Saint Himelin. He is assumed to have worked under St. Willibrord in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

, and also to have been a close companion of the

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...

St. Gummarus, and of the preacher monk Fredegand van Deurne, who, according to one tradition, maintained contact with St. Foillan (who was murdered in the

Sonian Forest The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood ( nl, Zoniënwoud, french: Forêt de Soignes, ) is a forest at the southeast edge of Brussels, Belgium. The Sonian Forest was a favorite hunting ground of the Habsburg Imperial family, and as such features promi ...

around 665). St. Rumbold's biography, written around 1100 AD by Theodoricus, prior of

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The muni ...

Abbey, caused 775 to be the traditional year of the saint's death. The surrounding areas of Mechelen however, had been Christianized much earlier. In 2004 a state-of-the-art examination of the relics assumed to be St. Rumbold's showed a death date between 580 and 655. This would make Saint Rumbold a Hiberno-Scottish rather than an

Anglo-Saxon mission Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon missionaries were instrumental in the spread of Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century, continuing the work of Hiberno-Scottish missionaries which had been spreading Celtic Christianity across the Fra ...

ary, and not a contemporary of either St. Willibrord, St. Himelin, or St. Gummarus.

St. Rumwold of Buckingham

There has been some historical confusion between Rumbold of Mechelen and the infant Saint

Rumwold of Buckingham Rumwold was a medieval infant saint in England, said to have lived for three days in 662. He is said to have been full of Christian piety despite his young age, and able to speak from the moment of his birth, professing his faith, requesting ...

, who died in 662 AD at the age of 3 days. The latter has become referred to as Romwold, Rumwald, Runwald, Rumbald, or Rumbold. A compilation of three saints' lives as translated by Rosalind Love mentioned that on 15th-century records in

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, an unknown author 'corrected' the attribution as "martyr" (possibly the Rumbold murdered in Mechelen) by annotating "confessor" (fitting in the miraculous infant Rumwold who was not a martyr). Also, the original dedication of churches to a St. Rumbold in Northern England appears uncertain.

Gallery

File:Saint Rumbold arc.JPG, St. Rumbold's statue in St. Rumbold's Cathedral, Mechelen, situated through the arch on the right side. File:Saint Rumbold in Basilica Hanswijk 1.JPG, Saint Rumbold on a painting in the

Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk The Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk is a Roman Catholic basilica in Mechelen, Belgium. The basilica is a famous place of pilgrimage in Belgium, the statue was crowned on 30 July 1876 by Cardinal Deschamps by request of pope Pius IX. Description ...

, Mechelen. File:Reliekschrijn Sint-Rombaut; Mechelen.JPG, Relics attributed to Saint Rumbold in their shrine, carried along ''Veemarkt'' (Cattle Market), Mechelen. File:Saint Rumbold in Basilica Hanswijk 2.JPG, Saint Rumbold's statue in the Basilica of Our Lady of Hanswijk, Mechelen. File:Mechelen - Catedral.JPG, St. Rumbold's Cathedral, Mechelen, treasury of St. Rumbold's reliquary shrine. File:Mechelen - Catedral - Interior.JPG, St. Rumbold's Cathedral; at the far end stands the statue of ''Sanctus Rumoldus'', aka Saint Rumbold, above the high altar.

References

External links

Saint Patrick's Day Saints Index: Rumold(us)Saints Index at Catholic Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rumbold 775 deaths Belgian Roman Catholic saints 8th-century Irish priests 8th-century Frankish bishops Medieval Irish saints on the Continent Merovingian saints Irish expatriates in the Netherlands Year of birth unknown