| Saint Iserninus | |
|---|---|
| Died | ~459 Ireland |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | (see below) |
Saint Auxilius, or Usaille,[1] (d. ca. 459) was an early Christian missionary of Ireland who is associated with Saint Patrick, Saint Seachnaill (Secundinus), and Saint Iserninus in establishing Christianity in the south of that island.[2]
He may have been ordained a deacon at Auxerre with Patrick and Iserninus.[2] Sabine Baring-Gould believes that Iserninus and Auxilius were Celts. “They would not have been of much use to [Patrick] had they not been fluent speakers of the Celtic language, and we may assume that they were Celts, either from Armorica, Cornwall, or Wales.”[1]
He is called a brother of Seachnaill.[3] According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Seachnaill was the son of Restitutus, a Lombard, and Liamain, sister of St. Patrick. He was one of nine brothers, eight of whom became bishops in Ireland. His early life and training are obscure, but he appears to have studied in Gaul, and to have accompanied St. Patrick to Ireland in 432.
The first documentary evidence that exists is an entry in the Irish Annals recording the arrival of St. Sechnall and his brother St. Auxilius "to help St. Patrick".[3]
He is called the founder of the church at Killashee (Co. Kildare), near Naas in northern Leinster.
Auxilius died around 459 but his date of death is also given as 454 or 455.[1]
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His feast day varies in old martyrologies. In the Martyrology of Gorman, his feast day is 7 February.[1] In the Book of Obits, of Christ Church, his feast day is 19 October, but other martyrologies give the feast day of 16 April or 16 September. In the Martyrology of Tallaght it is 19 March but in the Annals of the Four Masters, the text gives 27 August as the day of Auxilius’ death.[1]