Cadoc was related to the royal house of Gwent through both his mother, Gwladys, and his father. He studied in the monastery at Caerwent and also probably in Ireland. When he returned to Wales he profoundly influenced the faith-life of his parents. He took the Gospel to the inhabitants of a hill fort above the River Usk and then travelled west and founded the monastery at Llancarfan, west of Cardiff. Cadoc valued the Greek and Roman classics and felt regret that he would not be able to meet his favourite author, Virgil, in heaven, because he was a pagan. Finnian of Clonard became his pupil and took back to Ireland Cadoc’s pattern of solitude, study and communal worship. He seems to have visited Cornwall and Scotland also, and there is a dedication to him in Brittany, the Ile de Cado (Cadoc’s island), probably established by his followers. He loved the simple life of a hermit. Cadoc died while celebrating Holy Communion, when a Saxon horseman entered the church and killed him with his lance.
Give me grace and discipline, my Lord, to spend much time with You in solitude, to worship You from the heart, to treasure the fellowship of Your people, and to play my part in bringing Your message of eternal life to those who need to hear it. I offer my prayer in the holy name of Christ. Amen.