Saint Sanctain or Sanctan was a 6th-century Manx bishop, who originally came from

Northern Britain North Britain is a term which has been occasionally used, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island. "North Britains" could also re ...

. Sanctan was the son of

Sawyl Penuchel Sawyl Penuchel or Ben Uchel ("high-head", "arrogant"), also known as Samuil Penisel ("low-head", "humble"), was a British king of the sub-Roman period, who appears in old Welsh genealogies and the Welsh Triads. The genealogies, in which he appea ...

, a king in Northern Britain. He is said to have been a brother of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

, though this is chronologically impossible. He was an active missionary in

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

, before becoming Bishop of the unidentified ''Cell da les'' (or 'church of the two forts'). This may be ''Kill-na-Sanctan'' near Dublin or on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, where the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Santon is named after him. His feast day is on 20 May.

References

A Manx Notebook: Parish of Kirk Santan

Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015 6th-century Christian saints Manx saints Northern Brythonic saints Medieval Irish saints Manx religious leaders Christian missionaries in England Manx Christian missionaries Christian missionaries in the Isle of Man {{IsleofMan-bio-stub