| Cafan | |
|---|---|
| Bishop | |
| Died | 6th century Wales |
| Feast | November 1 |
Saint Cadfan, (Latin: Catamanus); (English: Gideon), (c.490-November 1?) Abbot of Tywyn and Bardsey was a Breton Saint who lived in 6th century Wales. A Breton nobleman, he was the son of Eneas Ledewig , and Gwen Teirbron, a daughter of Budic II, a King of Brittany.[1]
Some sources claim Cadfan was born around 530 and died around 590.[2]However he is primarily associated with Bardsey Island in north Wales where he is accepted as the founder of the monastic settlement there in 516, serving as its abbot until 542, which would have made a 530 birth impossible.[3]Multiple sources claim that the abbey he founded on Bardsey was established in 516, so it is therefore unlikely he was born after 500. He is also the patron of Llangadfan in northern Powys, where he founded a church before moving on to Bardsey. Additionally he also established the 'clas' at Tywyn in Gwynedd. This became a wealthy and prestigious site served by an Abbot and clerics from 1147 to 1291, becoming the mother church of the cantre of Meirionnydd south of the Afon Dysynni.