Saint Abel, named after Abel, the second son of Adam and Eve, is one of the Saints of the Catholic Church during the Dark Ages in Europe. He was born in the British Isles around the turn of the Eighth Century. Abel accompanied the legendary Saint Boniface on a missionary journey to the European continent. Even though Christianity was already well-established on the Continent thanks to the Roman Empire, at this time, the British Isles were the bastion of Christianity since pagan Germanic and Norse tribes were running all over Europe. And though many had converted to Christianity, it was the Irish and English who had preserved Catholic theology and much of the scripture, at least in the Northern part of Europe.
Anyway, Abel came over with Boniface. In 744, Pope Saint Zachary and the Council of Soissons chose him as archbishop of Rheims, but he was never able to take the position because Bishop Milo had already appointed himself archbishop and was defended by hostile forces. abel eventually retired as a Benedictine monk at the monastery at Lobbes, Belgium, where he became abbot. He ded at Lobbes in 751 of natural causes, and his feast day is celebrated on August 5.