When Pope Benedict XVI flies into Edinburgh on Thursday, he will be surrounded by memories of the man considered to be Scotland’s first saint.The day’s highlight will be a St Ninian’s Day parade along Princes Street, a new St Ninian’s Day tartan has been commissioned to honour the occasion, and the route of the procession will be filled with children from St Ninian Schools across Scotland.
Yet, within the country of his birth, the man once regarded as a scholar, missionary, miracle-worker, mystic and Bishop is little known and his past remains mostly hidden.
It is believed that he came from the south-west of Scotland and trained in Rome before returning to Galloway a Bishop.
His name reveals a possible Briton past; although there is a suggestion too that he was a Bishop of the Picts.
What is known is that he built a stone church in Whithorn, where he established his See, and it was there that he was said to have been buried in 431.
Archaeological evidence has uncovered the shape and form of this early Christian community in Whithorn which is regarded by some as the cradle of Christianity in Scotland. There is evidence of worship going back hundreds of years.
The ruins that can be seen today date back to the 13th century, but beneath lies an older, smaller church that dates to a much earlier period.
But for history of the man himself we need to rely on ancient accounts. The 8th-century historian Bede wrote about Ninian, but his reputation really spread after the publication of a poem “Miracula Nynie Episcope” (Miracles of Bishop Nynia) which set out some of the miraculous cures attributed to Ninian’s shrine.
Once the stories of the miracles spread, Whithorn became a cult-centre based around the relics of the Saint, which attracted pilgrims from far and wide seeking cures and religious enlightenment.
They journeyed by foot and sea, many travelling for days in an exhausting trek. Monasteries along the route provided food and shelter and they met up with other pilgrims at assembly places along the way.
Pilgrims from outside Scotland travelled by sea, arriving into harbours close to the shrine. These foreign travellers took an added risk in their journey as they faced the threat of attack on Scottish soil, so, in 1427, James I granted safe passage to pilgrims who wore a special badge (signacula), allowing them 15 days to complete their journey.
On arrival the pilgrims would process through the streets, their exhaustion replaced by exhilaration as they drew nearer the shrine and the hope of a cure.
They followed a set route along Whithorn’s main street and then to the priory where they entered by the nave and prayed.
Then they moved to the choir at the east end which housed what was thought to be Ninian’s relics resting on an altar.
These bones would have been kept under a wooden, church-shaped box which was lifted and lowered by a pulley.
Although it has since disappeared, archaeologists who have seen other examples conclude that it would probably have been covered in precious metals. By the 1500s, the continual handling of the relics had resulted in their considerable deterioration.
In 1506, King James IV – who made a pilgrimage to Whithorn every year – commissioned a reliquary to contain the bones. It was made from silver and gold and would have been very ornate. During the Reformation it was taken to France for safe-keeping and kept there until it was lost during the French Revolution.
Having prayed and touched the relics, the pilgrims would have descended into the crypt to pray by the Saint’s tomb. Here again they would have sought cure by handling objects believed to have been the Saint’s, including the soil from the tomb itself.
St Ninian’s Chapel, outside the fishing village of Whithorn, still attracts pilgrims to this day. Along with the church there are other places associated with the man nearby. St Ninian’s cave, on the south coast of Galloway, attracts visitors, although there is no evidence that Ninian himself ever visited.
No-one is quite sure what the pilgrims would have done when they arrived in the cave, although archaeologists have discovered stone carvings and crosses from as far back at the 8th century which does suggest that something happened there.
Such was the area’s reputation that it attracted royal visitors through the ages. In 1329 Robert the Bruce came to pray for a cure for what may or may not have been leprosy.
According to records, his son David II was miraculously cured from the effects of an arrow injury after his visit. Other who travelled included Mary Queen of Scots, a number of King Jameses, and Prince Edward, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles.
Today visitors still enjoy the tranquility of the site and are drawn either by the history, the archaeology or by religious contemplation.
Perhaps after Thursday, when St Ninian will figure so prominently, more will journey there to understand a little more about the place that forms the heart of Christianity in Scotland.
SIC: CM/UK