Biography
Catald of Taranto
About Catald of Taranto
Catald is remembered as an Irish churchman who became bishop of Taranto. Tradition connects his education with the monastery at Lismore.
The account describes a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and a shipwreck on the return journey. It says that the people of Taranto chose him as bishop, but reliable detail about his life is scarce.
Relics identified as his were discovered during work on Taranto’s cathedral in 1071. A cross bearing his name accompanied the remains.
The Irish annals do not furnish a life of Catald, and attempts to identify the place named in the cross inscription have not succeeded. His devotion in Taranto outlasts the uncertainties of his early history.
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