Saint of the Day – 6 May – St Edbert (Died 698) Bishop of Lindisfarne Island, Monk at the Monastery there, succeeding St Cuthbert in 688, a renowned Scriptural Scholar, he administered the See of Lindisfarne Island for 10 years and became too, a man remembered for his great virtue and especially for his wonderful charity to the poor, needy and ill. Born in the 7th Century in England and died on 6 May 698 of natural causes at Lindisfarne which is situate along the northeast coast of England, close to the border with Scotland. Also known as – … of Lindisfarne, Eadbert, Eadbeorht, Eadberht, Edberto.
The Roman Martyrology reads today: “In England, St Eadbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, eminent for doctrine and piety.”
After having been a Monk at Lindisfarne, Edbert succeeded Bishop St Cuthbert. The Venerable St Bede calls him “magnarum virtutum vir et in Scripturis notabilità eruditus – A man of great virtues and remarkably learned in the Scriptures.”
He also distinguished himself for the generous alms he gave to the poor, to whom, every year, he distributed a part of the tithe of everything, money and produce.
On 20 March 698, after having asked his consent and approval, some Monks lifted the body of St Cuthbert from the ground which, being found intact, was placed in an urn and exposed to the veneration of the faithful. He is, therefore, as having founded the Holy Shrine of his predecessor, Saint Cuthbert on the Island of Lindisfarne, a place which was to become a centre of great pilgrimage in later years.
Edbert used to spend Lent and an Advent of forty days away from his See and the Monastery, in a solitary place surrounded on all sides by water “ and in great devotion of fasting, prayer and tears.”
The Church of Lindisfarne had been built by St Finau with oak wood and reeds; Edbert replaced the pipes with lead sheets, making the building more durable, solid and beautiful.
He died on 6 May 698, exhausted by a long illness, as he had asked the Lord and his body was placed in an coffin above the Tomb of Saint Cuthbert.
Egbert was graced by the granting of many miracles to those who prayed at his tomb after his death
AnaStpaul 