Its first abbot was Macarius (1139–53) who with a few other monks had come from the Scots Monastery of St. Jacob at Ratisbon. In 1146 he went to Rome to obtain relics and indulgences for his monastery. He died in 1153, and is honoured as a saint. His feast is celebrated on 24 January.
The monks at St. James's were all Irish or Scottish until 1497, when their number dwindled to one or two. The abbey was then given over to German monks, and in 1506 was united with the Bursfeld Congregation. From 1506–16 Johannes Trithemius was its abbot. In 1547 the whole monastery had died out, and its revenues went to the Bishop of Würzburg.
Upon the request of John Whyte, Abbot of the Scottish Monastery at Ratisbon, it was again restored to the Scottish monks by Bishop Julius in 1595, and prospered for some time. Its last abbot, Placidus Hamilton, who, though very learned, lacked the qualities of a good ruler, resigned and retired to London in 1763. From that time till its secularization in 1803 it was ruled by priors. At its secularization it numbered eight monks. The complex became the Garrison Hospital(Standortlazarett) and in 1904, the sanctuary became the garrison church. Subsequent to the bombing at the end of World War II, in 1945, the church was rebuilt and dedicated to St. John Bosco. It is now called "Don-Bosco-Kirche".
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ott, Michael (1913). "Würzburg Abbeys". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:
LINK, Klosterbuch der Diocese Würzburg, I (Würzburg, 1873), 105-8.
WIELAND, Kloster und Ritterstift zu St. Burkard in Archiv des hist. Vereins fur Unterfranken, XV, fasc. 1-2.
LINK, Klosterbuch, I (Würzburg, 1873), 395-402;
Pirmin August Lindner [de], Schriftsteller, O.S.B., in Bayern, 1750–1880, II (Ratisbon, 1880), 196-202.
WIELAND, Dad Schottenkloster zu St. Jakob in Würzburg in Archiv des hist. Vereins fur Unterfranken, XVI, 21-182; LINK, Klosterbuch, I, 402-9.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ott, Michael (1913). "Würzburg Abbeys". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. The entry cites:
