St Abigail (also called St Gobnait or St Deborah) was a sixth century Irish saint. She cared for the sick and founded a convent of nuns.
Read the full St Abigail novena on the novena page. You can also learn more about novenas here.
What is St Abigail the Patron Saint Of?
St Abigail (also called St Gobnait or St Deborah) was a sixth century Irish saint. She cared for the sick and founded a convent of nuns. She is the patron saint of honeybees, beekeepers, and ironworkers.
Abigail was born in County Clare, Ireland, in the 500s.
Her family was contentious and argued constantly, so Abigail fled to a tiny island Inis OÃrr of the Aran Islands.
But an angel appeared to her and told her to look for nine white deer grazing, and that is where she would ultimately die and be resurrected on the Last Day.
Abigail searched the southern coast of Ireland for this sign of deer and now a pilgrimage route marks her path, which has water wells and churches along it.
Abigail discovered the nine deer in Ballyvourney, County Cork (now called St. Gobnet’s Wood).
She dedicated herself to helping the sick and needy, and her brother St Abban aided her in founding a new religious community of nuns.
Abigail became the patroness of beekeepers because she became one herself and used honey to treat wounds.
A miracle attributed to St Abigail occurred when she called on the bees to fight off an evil attack. Another miracle occurred when she prayed that Ballyvourney would be protected from the plague, and it was.
She died right there in Ballyvourney and now awaits the resurrection.