c.400. British saint. According to Bede he was the son of a British chieftain, trained for the church in Rome. He settled in SW Scotland at Whithorn where he built a white church, Candida Casa, named in honor of [[Martin of Tours]].* There has been considerable controversy over Ninian's work recently, as some Scottish historians have maintained that the Picts of Scotland were Christianized by Columba (521-97) while others, using the evidence of place-names and similar materials, believe that Ninian was largely responsible for the conversion of the Picts of E Scotland.