St. Kevin of Glendalough

The feast of St. Kevin is celebrated on June 3. On this day, many Catholics war a St. Kevin medal in honor of this Irish saint. St. Kevin is known as Coemgen in Ireland, the land of his birth. St. Kevin was born in Leinster, Ireland and lived to the age of one hundred and twenty.

St. Kevin established a monastery in Glendalough which still stands today. It is the site of many Catholic pilgrimages. Many miracles are associated with St. Kevin.

St. Kevin Today

Kevin is a very popular name for boys today but in the fifth century in Ireland, St. Kevin was the first person to ever be baptized with the name, Kevin. An angel of God told his parents to give him the name Kevin which means, "He of Blessed Birth".

A St. Kevin medal or a St. Kevin pendant is often given to baby boys named Kevin as a Baptism gift. It is also traditional to give a St. Kevinmedallion to a young man taking the name of St. Kevin for Confirmation.

Prayer to St. Kevin

Saint Kevin,
We celebrate your saintly and holy life.
Help us to grow in our awareness of God's gifts to us.
You lived a life filled with a wonderful reverence
and awe of the beauties of nature.
You held in high esteem the value of life in all forms.
Create in us an appreciation for the presence of God in
all creation.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour.
Amen.

St. Kevin Prayer

St. Kevin of Glendalough,
with eyes anointed by the Holy Spirit,
you saw the Blessed Trinity
alive in all creation.

Help me, dear brother,
to heed the Spirit's voice
in wind and wave and storm,
to feel Christ near
in mountain, lake, and glen,
to see the image of the Father
engraved on every heart.

In the name of
the Three in One,
the One in Three,
the High King of all Creation,
Amen.