Saint Canna

Who is Saint Canna?

Saint Canna was a 6th-century mother of saints and nun in south Wales.

According to the writings of the unreliable Iolo Morganwg, Canna was a daughter of the Breton King Tudur Mawr, nephew of King Arthur. She came to Wales with her husband Sadwrn and their son Crallo. When Sadwrn left to become a hermit on Anglesey she remarried and became the mother of Saint Elian Geimiad. She seems to have become a nun and lived at Llangan, Pembrokeshire: at Llangan, Glamorgan she was deemed important enough for her image to be carved on the church cross. The nearby Ffynnon Ganna, Canna's Holy Well, was a site for pilgrimage for many centuries after her death.

Her name also appears as part of two Cardiff suburbs: Canton; and Pontcanna. Canna's Feast day is celebrated on the 25 October.

A Masonic Lodge No. 6725, within South Wales Eastern Division, is named after Saint Canna.