Saint Kilian

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Statue of St. Kilian (with Fortress Marienberg in the background)

Saint Kilian, also spelt Killian or Chilian, was an Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of eastern Franconia (a region in the north of Bavaria, Germany), where he began his labors towards the end of the 7th century. There are several biographies of him. The oldest texts which refer to him are an 8th century necrology at Würzburg and the notice by Hrabanus Maurus in his martyrology. According to Maurus, Kilian was a native of Ireland, whence with eleven companions he went to eastern Franconia and Thuringia. After having preached the gospel in Würzburg, he succeeded in converting to Christianity the local lord, Duke Gozbert, and much of the population. Killian eventually told the Duke that he was in violation of sacred scripture by being married to his brother's widow, Geilana, and obtained the Duke's promise to leave her. Geliana, in revenge, had Killian murdered, along with two of his companions, Colonan or Colman and Saint Totnan. It is difficult to fix the period with precision, as the judge (or duke) Gozbert is not known through other sources. The elevation of the relics of the three martyrs was performed by Burchard, the first bishop of Würzburg, and they are venerated in the cathedral of that town.

The name can get confused in spelling (e.g. Chillian, Killian, Cilian, Kilian). In Ireland, the preferred spelling is Cillian; the name appears thus in the Irish liturgical calendar. Saint Killian's feast day is July 8th, and he is usually portrayed, as in his statue at Würzburg, wearing a bishop's crozier and wielding a sword. He is one of the patron saints for sufferers of rheumatism.