St Angelelmus of Auxerre
St Angelelmus (Angelelme, Angelaume, died 828) was bishop of Auxerre from 813 to 828. He was Bavarian, and became abbot of the monastery of SS Gervais and Protase, Auxerre. Angelelmus may have been a Benedictine.
St. Maelruain of Tallaght
St Maelruain is venerated as the founder and first abbot of Tallaght Monastery in County Dublin in Ireland, as well as the compiler of the martyrology of the same name. He is considered to be one of the leading figures in the Irish monastic movement known as the Culdees (‘Companions of God’) which flourished in Ireland and Scotland from the eighth to the twelfth centuries.
“Maelruain” (not to be confused with the later namesake Máel Ruain, bishop of Lusca) is not the baptismal name of the saint, rather, it was his monastic name. The form “Maelruain” consists of two parts: “mael” meaning “he who was tonsured”, and “ruain” which refers to the saint with the name Ruadan. From this it can be concluded that St. Maelruain was trained in the monastery founded by St. Ruadan, in Lothra in County Tipperary. The Martyrology of Tallaght (below) says that Maelruain “came here with the relics of holy martyrs and virgins”, to establish a monastery there. The foundation was dedicated to ‘God and St Michael’, and held the Virgin Mary and St Michael in special veneration. The monastery was later joined with Finglas in the reform movement as ‘the two eyes of Ireland’.
By the eighth century Irish monasteries had become lax, and Maelruain’s reform was necessarily severe. It put emphasis on preserving the enclosure and there was a strong ascetical component, focused spiritual direction, frequent confession, as well as long fasts and harsh penances, such as standing in cold water for long periods to control the flesh. With Aengus his disciple, Maelruain is regarded as joint author of The Rule of the Céilí Dé which contains a detailed series of rules for the regulation of the lives of the Companions.
Little is known of his early life. The Annals of Ulster report that in the year 792 Máel Ruain died a peaceful death, calling him a bishop and soldier of Christ.
These are two lines from a poem in the Leabhar Breac. They say of Maelruan:
“Maelruan ran to heaven
Splendid son of the Isle of the Gael.”
AnaStpaul 