St. Fergus, Bishop
(Fergustus, Fergusianus),
27 November
Died after 721; feast formerly on November 18. An Irish bishop,
possibly of Downpatrick, and surnamed "the Pict," he went to Scotland as
a missionary and preached in Caithness, Buchan (where there is a town
called Saint Fergus), and Forfarshire. In Strogeth he founded three
churches; in Caithness, two (presumably Wick and Halkirk). He may also
have established churches at Inverugy, Banff, and Dyce.
He finally settled at Strathearn, Perthshire, where he exerted a
powerful influence in the area between Aberdeen and Wick. Saint Fergus
is buried at Glamis, a central location of William Shakespeare's
"Macbeth" and where a cave and well bear his name. During the reign of
James IV (1488-1513), the abbot of Scone removed the head of Fergus and
built a splendid marble tomb for his body relic at Glamis. Aberdeen had
an arm relic.
He may be the same as Fergustus, bishop of the Scots, who signed the
Acts of the synod in Rome in 721, which condemned irregular marriages of
various kinds, sorcerers, and clerics who grew their hair long.
In the Aberdeen breviary he is called Fergustian. The feast of Saint
Fergus, who was highly venerated by the Scottish kings, is kept in the
dioceses of Dunkeld and Aberdeen. Although the Reformers attempted to
suppress his cultus, Montague states that it is still growing,
especially in the area around Paisley in Renfrewshire. A new church has
been dedicated to his memory and the nearby town of Ferguslie is named
after him
(Attwater2,
Benedictines,
Delaney,
Farmer,
Montague).
Web site with a map of the monastic foundations of Saint Fergus
http://www.cushnieent.force9.co.uk/fergus.html
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content © 2008, Ambrose Mooney
layout © 2008, Kathleen Hanrahan and Mo! Langdon
Page last updated: 8 November 2008
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