The Basics: Born 6th century in Ireland; died c. 585 in Ireland; canonized precongregation; feast day, January 1. Woman religious.
The Story: Fanchea’s story includes an inspirational tale of sibling evangelization. Like so many of the precongregation canonized, Fanchea’s family is full of saints, including all three of her sisters (Lochina, Carecha, and Darenia) and her brother Enda, but more on him later. Another commonality for Fanchea with other women saints: She’s said to have been beautiful and to have turned down at least one suitor, who ended up marrying her sister Darenia.
Andreas F. Borchert [CC BY-SA 3.0 de (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en), CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)]Fanchea built a convent near Lough Erne in what is now Northern Ireland. Other women were quick to join her. Amid all this joy, she remained concerned about Enda and his salvation. She admonished him when his troops came singing near the convent after a successful battle. Sometime after that, Enda asked Fanchea for the hand of one of the women who lived at the convent. Fanchea asked the girl whether she desired to enter into marriage with a man or with the Lord. She answered the latter, and died shortly thereafter. When Enda came back, expecting to marry the girl, Fanchea showed him her body, and talked about the post-earthly life that awaited her brother. His heart and soul were touched, and he decided to become a monk. He founded Ireland’s earliest monastery on the western coast off Galway. Fanchea went on to touch the souls of her charges in supernatural ways, including a story of spreading her cloak to cross water and having it turned into a sturdy board for the women’s safe passage.
What We Can Learn from Fanchea: It can feel uncomfortable to talk with our brothers and sisters, by blood or otherwise, about our concern for their salvation. How can you, with kindness and love, reflect Fanchea’s outreach to her brother?
Melanie Rigney is the author of Radical Saints: 21 Women for the 21st Century and other Catholic books. She is a contributor to Living Faith and other Catholic blogs. She lives in Arlington, Virginia. Melanie also owns Editor for You, a publishing consultancy that since 2003 has helped hundreds of writers, publishers, and agents.
