Saint Laurence O’Toole

Saint Laurence O’Toole, in Irish Lorcán Ua Tuathail, was abbot of Glendalough and archbishop of Dublin. He renewed the life of the Church in Ireland and worked for peace in the years when Anglo-Norman knights entered the island. He died in Normandy, on his way to the king of England. The Church commemorates him on November 14.

He was born around 1128 in what is now County Kildare; the exact date is not certain. His father ruled one of the small kingdoms of Leinster, and the bull of canonization calls Laurence the son of a king and queen of Ireland. In childhood he was handed over as a hostage to Dermot MacMurrough, king of Leinster, who at first treated him harshly. Later he was entrusted to the monastic community of Glendalough, founded by Saint Kevin. There he was educated, and there he decided to stay.

At the age of twenty-five he became abbot of Glendalough. He cared for the poor and distributed food to them. He did not accept the bishopric of Glendalough when it was offered to him, but after the death of Archbishop Gregory he was chosen archbishop of Dublin. He was consecrated bishop in 1162 by the archbishop of Armagh. He brought canons regular of Saint Augustine to the cathedral and shared their life himself. Under his episcopal robes he wore a hair shirt, and for fasting and prayer he returned to Saint Kevin’s hermitage at Glendalough.

In 1170 the forces of Dermot MacMurrough and of the Anglo-Norman earl Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow, advanced on Dublin. The citizens chose the archbishop as their mediator, but the city was taken while the negotiations were still under way. Laurence then came to the aid of the people. In the following years he mediated between the Irish rulers and King Henry II of England. In 1175, as the envoy of King Rory O’Connor, he took part in concluding the Treaty of Windsor.

In 1179 he took part in the Third Lateran Council, and Pope Alexander III appointed him his legate in Ireland. After his return he worked at the synod of Clonfert for discipline among clergy and laity.

In 1180 he went to England to intercede with Henry II on behalf of King O’Connor. The king refused to speak with him, would not allow him to return to Ireland, and left for Normandy. The archbishop followed him but fell ill on the way. He was taken in by the canons of the abbey of Saint Mary at Eu. There he died on November 14, 1180, and there he was buried.

Reports of healings at his tomb soon began to spread. The archbishop and chapter of Rouen, together with the abbot and canons of Eu, asked the pope for his canonization. Honorius III ordered an inquiry into his life and miracles, and by a bull issued at Rieti on December 11, 1225, he enrolled him in the catalog of saints and set his feast on November 14. In the bull he recalled his constant prayer, his severity toward himself, and his generous almsgiving. Pilgrims still visit his tomb in the collegiate church at Eu, and the saint’s heart is kept in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin. He is the patron saint of the Archdiocese of Dublin.