St.Kilian

CURRICULUM VITAE

He came from Ireland and as a bishop he went to preach the Gospel to Herbipolis (Würzburg) in Austrasia (today’s Saxony in Germany). Like John the Baptist, he rebuked the local Duke Gosbert. And like John, for his exhortation to faithful observance of Christian morals, he achieved martyrdom by being excommunicated from the guidance of a sinful woman.

CV FOR MEDITATION

HE PAID WITH HIS HEAD FOR CHURCHING MORALS

He was born in Mullagh, in an Irish-Scottish family. He was reportedly educated in an Anglo-Saxon monastery and received the sacrament of priesthood as a monk. He longed for missionary work. 11 companions, including the priest Coloman (or Kolonat) and the deacon Donat (Tatnat), set out with him on a journey to preach the Gospel to the pagans. Kilian set out with them on a journey through France and what was then Austrasia, where 9 companions remained. The other three then sailed from Aschaffenburg on the Rhine to Würzburg in Bavaria. They arrived at the castle on the left bank of the Main, where the Thuringian Duke Gosbert ruled, in 686.

The place seemed most suitable to Kilian, but he considered it necessary to have a papal commission and blessing. That same year he therefore set out for Rome with Coloman and Donatus. Kilian obtained Pope Colonus’s willing permission and blessing and returned as a bishop.

Kilian began to work very zealously in Würzburg and its surroundings. Gosbert converted to Christianity and other nobles followed him. This was not enough for Kilian, he especially demanded that the monarch lead an orderly Christian life. But Duke Gosbert lived with his brother’s wife, Gailana, according to pagan custom, which Kilian reproached him for. Although it was difficult for the duke, he decided to release her. Before this could happen, Gosbert had to go into battle. Gailana decided to have Kilian murdered out of revenge. She entrusted the task to two hired assassins, and the night of July 8 was agreed upon for the execution. The saint, praying with his companions, told them at midnight that the longed-for hour of meeting with the Lord had come, so that they would be obedient to his voice and not fear those who kill the body because they cannot kill the soul. At that moment, an ambush occurred.

After committing the crime, the murderers dug a pit in which they buried the bodies of the martyrs on the spot, along with liturgical books, vessels and robes, as Gailana had wished. Some sources give the year of Kilian’s death as 689, but since this information is not considered reliable by experts, only the 7th century is given in the martyrology.

The legend details Kilian’s biography beyond the scope of possible historical evidence. This probably partly concerns his companions, who are not named in the martyrology today. The legend states that although the martyrs’ deaths remained a secret from the people, God revealed the murderers. After Gosbert’s return from the war, Gailana lied to him that she did not know where the missionaries had gone. However, one of the murderers, tormented by his conscience, had a mental breakdown and revealed the crime. The monarch imprisoned him and called on the people to express their opinion on what punishment should be meted out to him. Gailana’s envoy then proposed that he be left free to be punished by the God of the Christians, to prove that he was as powerful and just as he had been proclaimed. And if he did not take revenge, the people should return to the gods their ancestors had served.

Gosbert agreed to the proposal. The murderer, after being freed, is said to have begun to tear his own body in madness until he died. After the horrific scene, the Christians were strengthened in their faith. The second murderer also committed suicide, and Gailana is said to have suffered and died in pain.

The tomb of St. Kilian and his companions was discovered after about fifty years. Bishop Burkhard collected Kilian’s remains on July 8, 752, or, according to others, in 743, and had them transferred to the Church of Our Lady at Würzburg Castle. Later, perhaps in 788, they were transferred to the Würzburg Cathedral of St. Salvatore under the castle. This is said to be the place of their martyrdom. Charlemagne also participated in the transfer.

In the rebuilt church, the heads of his alleged co-martyrs are placed in a reliquary on the main altar with Kilian’s head. Kilian’s sarcophagus is located in the crypt there. Charles IV obtained two of Kilian’s shoulder bones for St. Vitus Cathedral.