community
Palladius (first bishop to the Irish): Fordoun cult site
Fordoun, Aberdeenshire (cult site); mission field Ireland, United Kingdom (Scotland) / Ireland · Britain & Ireland
56.873, -2.412
Approximate location. The map shows a region, not a pin.
Disputed. The mission of 431 is attested by Prosper. Where it took place, and the Fordoun link, are later tradition and disputed.
Palladius (first bishop to the Irish): Fordoun cult site
Fordoun, Aberdeenshire (cult site); mission field Ireland
Prosper of Aquitaine's chronicle records that in 431 Pope Celestine sent Palladius as the first bishop 'to the Irish believing in Christ'. So there were Christians in Ireland before Patrick. Where Palladius worked is unknown: later traditions point to Leinster churches and to a cult and relics at Fordoun in Scotland, which is where the pin sits.
Source stance: insider. Papal-circle chronicle (Prosper); later Irish and Scottish tradition.
People and groups named here
- Palladius
- Pope Celestine I
- Prosper of Aquitaine
Sources
- Palladius (bishop of Ireland) (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Book I (Alban, ch. 7; Palladius, ch. 13)
tr. L. C. Jane (1903), public domain; Fordham Internet Medieval Sourcebook. Accessed 2026-11-11.
- Fordoun (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia contributors. Accessed 2026-11-11.
Councils here
None in this list.