Justinian of Ramsey Island

Justinian would stand in the cold sea praying for hours, believing the extreme discipline helped him focus on God.

He was visited by Saint David who was so impressed with his holiness that he made him his confessor and abbot of the monastery on the mainland.

[1] However, Justinian became disillusioned with the poor attitude of the monks at St David's and took himself away the short distance to remote Ramsey Island to establish a more holy spiritual community.

Apparently, he picked up his head and crossed Ramsey Sound walking on the water carrying his head in his arms and his body was buried in the small ruined chapel which still stands on the mainland at St Justinian's, immediately opposite his island home; his bones were later moved to St Davids Cathedral.

[2][3] During the reformation, Bishop William Barlow was strongly opposed to the veneration of relics, pilgrimages, and other Catholic practices.