Happy St David's Day 2022!
St David was the founder of many religious communities and the only native-born patron saint of the countries of Britain and Ireland. He was born in the year 500, the grandson of Ceredig ap Cunedda, King of Ceredigion. According to legend, his mother St Non gave birth to him on a Pembrokeshire clifftop during a fierce storm. If you're interested in visiting the area, the place is marked by the ruins of Non’s Chapel, and the holy well there is said to have healing powers.
He become a renowned preacher, founding monastic settlements and churches in Wales, Brittany and southwest England (including possibly the abbey at Glastonbury!).
He reputedly made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, from which he brought back a stone that now sits in an altar at St Davids Cathedral, built on the site of his original monastery.
St David died on 1 March – St David’s Day - in 589. He was buried at the site of St Davids Cathedral, which remains a popular place of pilgrimage.
His last words to his followers came from a sermon he gave on the previous Sunday: ‘Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.’ The phrase Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd - "Do the little things in life", a call to kindness and living as a harmonious community - is still a well-known maxim in Wales.
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