Saint Mechell was the 6th century founder and first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. Th ...

of the ''clas'' (a type of early Welsh/Celtic

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

) of Llanfechell, on

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a Local government in Wales, principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strai ...

in north-west

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. St Mechell's day is celebrated on 15 November. It is claimed that he is buried in Llanfechell. He was said to have been a Breton by birth. From the 14th century, he was identified with Saint Machudd, a

Welshman Welshman or The Welshman may refer to: * any male Welsh person * ''The Welshman'', one of two named passenger railway trains * ''The Welshman'' (newspaper), defunct weekly (1832–1984) * Adam the Welshman (), bishop of St. Asaph * Welshman Ncube ...

and supposed

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Caerwent Caerwent ( cy, Caer-went) is a village and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located about five miles west of Chepstow and 11 miles east of Newport. It was founded by the Romans as the market town of '' Venta Silurum'', an important sett ...

who has been similarly confused with Saint

Malo Mal, which in Spanish means ''bad or evil'', may also refer to: Places *Malo, Italy, a town * Malo Island, formerly known as St. Bartholomew, Vanuatu * Malo (Solomon Islands), an island *Malo, Washington, Ferry County, Washington, United States * ...

. Malo and Mechell both have 15 November as their feast day,Baring-Gould, S. & Fisher, John (1911), ''The Lives of the British Saints'', Vol III p.43
us.archive.org
/ref> A 17th-century manuscript, (Llanstephan MS. 125) records a Welsh poem, "Cywydd i Fechell Sant". This describes St Mechell as the son of Echwys ab Gwyn Gohoew.
Accessed 30 April 2012 It goes on to claim many miracles from his life including raising a giant from the dead and converting him to Christianity, turning thieves to stone, and blinding and then curing the leader. This last act produced a gift of land in gratitude, to be demarked by the route of a released hare. The hare, under divine guidance, marked the full extent of what is now the parish of Llanfechell, Anglesey, on which he then founded the monastery.

References

6th-century deaths Medieval Breton saints Medieval Welsh saints People from Anglesey 6th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown 6th-century Breton people {{Wales-saint-stub