Miracula Nynie Episcopi
The divine grace in the saint’s body could not die and be buried in Earth’s bosom, but it began to spread far and near, running through the ranks of the faithful and shedding light on the generations through many ages...

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PILGRIMAGE

HEALING

      

Saint Ninian's shrine was reputed as a place of powerful healing, where the sick and injured could be miraculously cured of their ailments.  Ninian's reputation as a healer attracted people from all walks of life.


According to the eighth century poem Miracula Nynie Episcopi (Miracles of Bishop Nynia), the saint's shrine had the power to heal a disfigured boy, a man with a terrible skin disease, a blind girl and two lepers.

For the sick, there would have been opportunities to handle


Handling dust or earth from the saint's tomb was also thought to be beneficial.

Evidence of medicinal herbs and what might be a surgeon's knife were found in remains of the seventh century monastery during the excavations of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Numerous royal visitors came to Whithorn.

In 1329, the ailing Robert Bruce came to pray at Ninian's shrine.  His journey to Whithorn may have been painful for he died three months later.  It is now believed that the king was suffering from a wasting disease and not leprosy as previously thought.

According to records, Robert Bruce's son, David II, was miraculously cured at Whithorn.  At the Battle of Neville's Cross in 1346, David II is said to have received an arrow wound that never fully healed, but after visiting Ninian's tomb the injury was cured.