Forannan, fl. c. 969, was

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Donoughmore.

Life

Forannan was born around 910 to an old noble family. His clan held the plain of Magh Feimhin, near

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

. He received an excellent upbringing and education, and became a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monk.Odden, Per Einar. ''Den hellige Forannan av Waulsort (~910-982)'', Den katolske kirke
/ref> Forannan was chosen bishop by popular election, and consecrated, according to his 'Life,' in 'the city called in the barbarous dialect of the Irish Domhnach mor,' i.e. Donoughmore, which, it is added, is the metropolis of Ireland. From this Lanigan erroneously inferred it to have been in Armagh. But the 'Book of Leinster,' the 'Lebar Brecc,' and the 'Martyrology of Donegal' all term him of 'Donoughmore in Magh Feimhin,' the territory of his family.

Departure from Ireland

In obedience to a vision directing him to go to the

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, Forannan, with twelve companions, left Ireland about 969, and, as usual with Irish saints, was miraculously conveyed across the sea. It is possible that Forannan left Ireland as a ''peregrinus'' (a person who took an ascetic vow to live in exile) and he may have heard of the Irish connections of the monastery of Waulsort and decided to settle down there. While in search of the appointed place they met Count Eilbert, who had built many churches, and among them one dedicated to St. Patrick. He then led them to Rome, that they might obtain the instruction in monastic learning which they sought for. There Forannan received the episcopal dignity and the title of abbot; he was ordered to turn aside for further instruction in the Benedictine rule to

Gorze Abbey Gorze Abbey was a Benedictine monastery in Gorze in the present arrondissement of Metz, near Metz in Lorraine. It was prominent as the source of a monastic reform movement in the 930s. History Gorze Abbey was founded in around 757 by Bishop Ch ...

. Thence he went to

Waulsort Abbey Waulsort Abbey () was a Benedictine monastery located at Waulsort, Wallonia, now in Hastière in the Namur (province), province of Namur, Belgium. The monastery was founded in 946 by Irish monks. They were invited by Eilbert de Florennes who wa ...

, between

Dinant Dinant () is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south ...

and

Givet Givet () (; ) is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France surrounded on three sides by the Belgian border. It lies on the river Meuse where Emperor Charles V built the fortress of Charlemont. It borders the French municipali ...

. The pious emperor

Otto Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants '' Audo'', '' Odo'', '' Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fr ...

heard of his fame, and, after some hesitation in acknowledging Forannan's rank, took the abbey under his protection. Waulsort had been founded in 945 by Eilbert, and an Irish monk,

Macculind Saint Macculind (or Macallan, MacCuilinn, Macculin Dus, Maculinus; died c. 496) was an early Irish saint who was abbot and / or bishop of Lusk. Life John O'Hanlon notes in his ''Lives of the Irish saints'' (1873), "Much confusion exists in t ...

, who became the first abbot. Macculind, on leaving Ireland, had first gone to Peronne, the monastery founded by

Eorcenwald Saint Earconwald or Erkenwald (died 693) was a Saxon prince and Bishop of London between 675 and 693. He is the eponymous subject of one of the most St. Erkenwald (poem), important poems in the foundations of English literature (thought to be by th ...

, and there won the patronage of Hersendis, the wife of Count Eilbert. Walciodorus was one of a group of such monasteries supplied with monks from Ireland. By Forannan's influence a place called Hasteria (now

Hastière Hastière (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Namur Province, province of Namur, Belgium. On 1 January 2006 the municipality had 5,230 inhabitants. The total area is , giving a population density of 93 in ...

) was added to his monastery. He also obtained a village called Gruthen, which he made over to the monastery, in order that its vineyards might supply the monks with wine. Several interpretations of the name Waulsort/Walciodorus have been proposed; some taking it to be from 'vallis decora,' the beautiful valley, others from 'waltz-dor,' the torrent of the wood. Seven years after his arrival Count Eilbert died. He was attended during his illness by Forannan, and was buried in the Basilica of Walciodorus. Forannan died in 982. His day is 30 April. Saint Forannan is invoked against toothache, and rabies."Saint Forannan", Nominis
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forannan 982 deaths 10th-century Irish bishops Medieval Irish saints People from County Tipperary Irish expatriates in France Year of birth unknown