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An early Irish missionary, the first bishop of Ireland,
and the immediate predecessor to St. Patrick. Perhaps originally of British
or Roman descent, Palladius was possibly a deacon in Rome or, more likely,
in Auxerre, France. According to the fifth century theologian Prosper of
Aquitaine, Palladius convinced Pope Celestine I to send St. Germanus, bishop
of Auxerre, to England with the aim of expunging the Pelagian heresy which
was then rampant. It seems that Palladius was then consecrated a bishop by
the pope who, in about 430, sent Palladius to preach among the Irish. He
landed near Wicklow and founded at least three churches in Leinster, but his
mission apparently made little impact upon the native population. Palladius
departed Ireland and sailed for Scotland, where he preached among the Picts.
He died at Fordun, near Aberdeen, a short time after arriving, although
there is an unreliable Scottish tradition that he lived among the Picts for
more than twenty years.
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