Q Can you give me information on the Scottish saints Mungo, Ninian and Columba? Can you also explain why St Andrew is patron saint of Scotland? - Bill Hutchinson Chester-le-Street.

A St Andrew came from Galilee and probably never visited Scotland. But he is also patron saint of Romania, Greece and Russia. Stories explaining St Andrew's Scottish links are wrapped in legend, but have more substance than England's links with St George.

It is claimed that a saint called Regulus brought the bones of St Andrew to Scotland after his ship was wrecked on the Fife coast. The place of the shipwreck came to be known as St Andrews and a cathedral was later built on the site. Another story says that Northumbrian monks brought back the relics of St Andrew from Rome and presented them as a gift to a Pictish King in 731 AD.

St Andrew's cross - the 'Saltire' - is the national flag of Scotland and firmly recognised as a symbol of the nation. According to legend, St Andrew's cross appeared in the sky to a Pictish king during a battle with the King of England. From that day the white cross on the blue background became a symbol of Caledonia.

In earlier times, more importance was given to Scottish saints like Columba, Mungo and Ninian, who had a stronger association with the west of the country. Some historians suggest that those with power in eastern Scotland adopted the disciple Andrew because he was such an important saint. In other words it was a kind of trump card designed to overshadow the Scottish saints of the west.

Of the three Scottish saints you mention, the least is known about Ninian, a Fourth Century saint. He founded the monastery of Whithorn in Galloway and set about the conversion of the Picts to Christianity.

St Columba belongs to the Sixth Century and was an Irish born missionary. He established the monastery of Iona off the western Scottish coast in 563AD. Monks from Iona like St Aidan played a major part in the introduction of Christianity to Northumbria and it was Aidan who established the monastery of Lindisfarne. St Mungo was principally associated with west of the country and founded a church on the spot where Glasgow's St Mungo's Cathedral stands today.

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