Photo: Present Abbey of Iona (upper right). The original monastery complex built of earth, timber and wicker-work has perished long ago. Now the restored Benedictine Abbey is used as an Ecumenical Center.

Having established his monastic center at Iona, St. Columcille and his monks proceeded to bring Christ to the Picts or Painted People. The Picts were a "Celtic" people who had settled in Britain since earliest times, now they were living in the northern highlands of the British isle, a rugged land as you can see below.

Aerial Photo courtesy of Alan Moar, Pilot photographer

St. Columcille was a man blessed with miraculous powers. In in 565 AD, he went to King Brude's stronghold, an iron age fort at the top of Craig Phadraig. A story is told that on his way there a group of Druids demanded that he return to Ireland. They drew a circle on the ground and said that Christ conflicted with the nature of the cycle. Columcille drew a cross within the circle and said that there was no conflict between God and nature because God himself created nature. When he arrived with his companions at the king's fortress, he found the gates locked because the king did not wish to see him. So, Columcille made the sign the cross over the gate, knocked and laid his hand it. Immediately the bolts were driven back with great force and he entered with his companions. The king learned what had happened, became apprehensive and left the palace to meet cordially with St. Columcille. (Medieval Sourcebook: Adamnan, Life of St. Columba, Ch. 26) The king gave permission to St. Columcille to preach Christianity among the Picts and the king himself came to believe in Christ. St. Columcille spread the faith among the Picts by establishing monasteries with one or more of his disciples as residents missionaries to continue to evangelize each district. Picts who became monks continued to to evangelize even to the remote parts of north Scotland and its islands, so that in one or two generations, Christianity became the religion of the Picts. All of these were subject to the Abbey of Iona.

When he was not evangelizing the Picts, St. Columcille resided at Iona where he lived an ascetic life and received visitors. Some came for spiritual help and others to find out their future As Adamnan states: "He very often foretold the future deserts, sometimes joyful, and sometimes sad, of many persons while they were still living in mortal flesh." On one such occasions, "Two men of low rank in life came to the saint, who was then in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona). One of them, named Meldan, brought his son to the saint and asked him what kind of future he would enjoy. To whom the saint replied, "Is not this the Sabbath day? Thy son will die on the sixth day at the end of next week, and will be buried here on the eighth day, that is the Sabbath." Then the other man, named Glasderc, also took his son along with him, and venturing to make a similar inquiry, received the following answer from the saint, "Thy son Ernan will see his grandchildren, and be buried in old age in this island." All this was fully accomplished in its own time regarding the two boys, according to the words of the saint."

Death of St. Columcille