Saint Maudez


Saint Maudez is a Breton saint who lived in the 5th or 6th centuries. He is also known as Maudé, Maudet, Maodez or Modez, Maudetus, Mandé and Mawes. In the Breton calendar his feast is 18 November.

Biography

He is said to be from Ireland and first settled on the south coast of Cornwall where the village of St Mawes took his name. His Holy Well is preserved on Grove Hill and St Mawes Church is on nearby Church Hill . St Mawes Day, continues to be celebrated on 18 November. But it is above all in Brittany that his cult is greatest. In Trégor he is said to have founded a monastery in the 5th century on the island of Maudez.
He settled there with two disciples, Saint Budoc and Saint Tudy. He banished the snakes and that is why he is invoked by those who want to get rid of reptiles, insects and worms. Traces of a beehive hut known as Forn Modez are visible on the island.
A commune in Côtes-d'Armor has the name Lanmodez where the monastery of Maudez which he founded and where he died is located.
In the 9th century his relics were taken to Bourges and to Saint-Mandé, near Paris to escape from the Normans. When they returned to Brittany they were divided between nine churches.

Legacy