Coloman - Austria's Irish Saint.

The main street of Melk is a cafe and restaurant strip. In front of them is a statue of a saint - in fact a patron saint of Austria. What's more he was Irish.
He was a pilgrim on his way to Jerusalem in 1012AD. Unfortunately, he had unwittingly entered a war zone. Strangely dressed and speaking Gaelic, he was assumed to be a spy and was lynched.
After his death, miracles were said to have started. His hair and nails continued to grow, the dead tree from which he was hanged started to bloom and people who came in contact with his body were healed of their ills.
The locals began to venerate him as a martyr. He was buried in a nearby church and the miracles continued.
Today, Coloman is still the patron saint for hanging convicts, passengers and livestock, and is invoked against disease, head and foot problems, plague, storms, fire hazards, and rat and mice infestations. Wow, he's a busy little saint!
His tomb can be seen in the Abbey church of Melk.Read more