St Gall
The beginnings of St. Gall’s monastery (died AD 640)
St Gall was one of the twelve associates of St Columban when they left Ireland in AD 610 and brought Christianity to mainland Europe. The Irish missionaries had to flee several times because they were outspoken in their dealings with worldly rulers. This was also the case in Bregenz, Austria, where Columban and Gall were active for three years and thus laid the foundation for the later Mehrerau Abbey. In AD 612, Columban decided to cross the Alps into Italy, but Gall stayed and settled as a hermit in a barren region in the Sittertobel. Living conditions there were so hard that Gall had to rely on the active support of a bear. The Abbey of Saint Gall was erected on the site of Gall’s hermitage from AD 719 onwards.
Möglicher Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wettingen-Mehrerau_Abbey
The feast of St Gall is celebrated in the dioceses of St. Gallen, Chur and Feldkirch on 16 October. <More>