Gwenfaen

Saint Gwenfaen was a Welsh holy woman of the 6th century, venerated on the island of Anglesey. She is said to have been the daughter of Paul Hen (Peulin), a native of Rheged in Cumbria who moved to the Isle of Man, where Gwenfaen is said to have been born. She is said to have founded a Christian community at Rhoscolyn.

A legend tells that the druids drove her from her cell and that she escaped by climbing a rock on the shore near Rhoscolyn; the tide came in and stopped the druids, and Gwenfaen was carried away by angels. The only church linked to her name is the parish church of Rhoscolyn on Holy Island (Ynys Gybi), where the spring Ffynnon Wenfaen is found. The spring was renowned for healing people suffering from mental illness; it is sheltered by a small building with two stone seats, and the sick used to throw two white stones into it. The church was once of great importance in the religious life of the island, with chapels at Llanfair-⁠yn-⁠Neubwll and Llanfihangel-⁠yn-⁠Nhywyn; Rhoscolyn was once called Llanwenfaen. Her day is 4 November, by the Western calendar (new style). She is honored as a saint of the undivided Church.