St. Columba and Iona: The Early History of the Christian Church in Scotland

From Ireland, the island of saints, came Colum Cille, or Colum of the Church, known to us as St. Columba. Leaving his homeland, Columba crossed the sea and settled on the island of Iona, where he built a monastery that would change the course of Scottish history. Columba's mission to the northern Picts led to the conversion of Scotland and the foundation of monasteries across the land. His successors would forge connections between Iona and Northumbria, and in particular with the holy island of Lindisfarne. Iona itself, though ravaged over the centuries by the Danes, would be reestablished as a center of Christianity by the Benedictines in the thirteenth century. This popular abridgement of the first volume of Alphons Bellesheim's History of the Catholic Church in Scotland includes the story of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Appended is information for visitors to Iona.