The Life of Saint Columba: Apostle of Scotland

by F.A. Forbes

Saint Columba (December 521 – 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in present-day Scotland. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries.

Genres: Biography, History, Christian, Nonfiction

116 pages, Paperback

First published May 9, 2011

About the author

F. A. Forbes (16 March 1869 – 1936) was the nom de plume of Mother Frances Alice Monica Forbes, RSCJ, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart from Scotland and a religious author.

She was born in 1869 as Alice Forbes into a Presbyterian family. Her mother died when she was a child. In 1900 she became a Roman Catholic. Only a few months later, she entered the Society of the Sacred Heart, as a 31-year-old postulant.

She wrote numerous books, including brief biographies of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Saint John Bosco, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Columba, Saint Monica, Saint Athanasius, Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Benedict, Saint Hugh of Lincoln, Saint Vincent de Paul, and, most famously, Pope Saint Pius X. She died in 1936.

Reviews

[Tyler Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the life of St. Columba that I listened to on Librivox before we visited Iona, Scotland, where St. Columba founded his monastery which became a powerhouse for evangelizing what we now call Scotland & England.

[Royce Ratterman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for personal research after watching an excavation of a Monastery at Mull which included bones under an alter. I found this work of immense interest and its contents helpful and inspiring - number rating relates to the book's contribution to my needs.
Overall, this work is also a good resource for the researcher and enthusiast.
Excerpt:
"...but the Druids could foresee the results of his friendly intercourse with the missionaries, and resolved not to lose their influence without a struggle. Their bitter enmity was to follow Columba for years, and to be the chief hindrance to his work amongst the Picts.
The religion of the Druids of Caledonia differed in some degree from that of the Druids of Britain. The people were taught to worship the sun, the rivers and the forests. Certain of the streams and wells which were, said the Druid priests, under the influence of a beneficent spirit, were wholesome and good to drink, while to taste of others which they declared to be under the rule of evil spirits, would be followed by instant death.
The first thing to be done was to convince the people of the falsity of their belief and to make them cease the idolatrous practices connected with it. Columba drank in their presence of the water that was supposed to be deadly, to prove to them that no evil effects would follow. The Druids pursued him wherever he went, interrupting him continually in his preaching, holding him up to the derision of the people, and misrepresenting what he said. Columba bore all their insults with patience; but when it came to trying to drown the missionaries' voices in the singing of the psalms of the Church with shouts and mocking cries, his zeal for God's glory overcame for once his meekness, and he intoned the holy chant in such a voice of thunder that his adversaries were silenced, and the King and his people trembled with fear.
In spite of the Druids, crowds flocked to hear the preaching of Columba, and many were converted to the faith...."

[Benjamin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good introduction

This book is a nice introduction to the life, legend and legacy of Saint Colmcille in both Ireland and Scotland and ultimately beyond. I recommend having a map near by if you are not familiar with the areas.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, simple biography of the famous sixth century Irish missionary who brought Christianity to Scotland. This 1919-era book, the sort of book you might find on the shelves of a modest church library, is free in the public domain.

Columba was also k... [see the rest on my book review site.]

[Andrew Pixton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting run down of the Gaelic Christian who led the Christianization of Scotland and isles. I've no idea how accurate this was, I suppose it skimmed on some parts but I wasn't looking for anything exhaustive to begin with.

[Tuesdayschild]

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[Tree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. I had been looking for one about Saint Columba, I keep running across him in my reading. I have another book about him, but it is more scholarly, about the sources. This one just tells his story in a very spiritual way. As with anything from material this old, I read the few miracles mentioned with a sceptical eye. However I do believe miracles are possible. Some I reserve judgement about- well to be honest I reserve judgement about most, but retain my spiritual and trusting heart. Saint Columba was an actual person, however you read his story. There are ruins and monuments all over Ireland and Scotland, some of monasteries begun by Saint Columba. My main interest in Saint Columba is historical and spiritual. As a protestant, I feel I have missed out on many of the stories and experiences of the the pre-reformation church fathers. Discovering some of these has been a joy.

[Pat Loughery · Rating 3 out of 5]

This edition is NOT the Life of Columba by Adamnan, the key hagiography of St. Columba. It is instead an early 20th-century biography/hagiography which uses Adamnan's tale and others as its core.

It lovingly tells the Columba story of life in Ireland, the Battle of the Books, exile to Iona, evangelism of the Picts and others in Scotland, and then the death of Columba. It's a nice, simple, clear story and a worthwhile addition to the bookshelf.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

🖊️ A note about the author: F. A. Forbes (1869-1936) was the pen name of Mother Frances Alice Monica Forbes, RSCJ, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart from Scotland and a religious author.

Here is a good, yet dryly presented, biography of Saint Columba of Scotland who contributed positively to Europe, particularly in Scotland and Ireland.

📕 Published — 1913.

🟣 Kindle.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Supposedly written by a monk born a few decades after Columba died. This book is not what I was looking for - wanted a purely factual account of his life. This one was too full of 'miracles'.

[Steve Bedford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating life! Pleasantly surprised by how unsantized it was. It contained many accounts of the miraculous with no apologies or pandering to the modern skeptic.

[Janelle]

Dnf. Some of the Librivox narrators weren’t to my taste.