May 27 - Saint Augustine of Canterbury
Died: 605
Nationality: Italian
Vocation: priest, religious
Attributes: Bishop’s robes, church
Patronage: England
Canonization: Pre-congregation
Known as the “apostle of England,” Augustine of Canterbury is responsible for the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon territory, now modern day England.
While no one knows quite when he was born, Augustine lived the first part of his life as an abbot of an Italian monastery, which used to house the pope of the day, Gregory the Great. When Gregory became pope, he called upon Augustine to carry out the difficult task of leading a mission group of monks into Anglo-Saxon territory.
Missionaries had gone in the past, but the brutality of the Saxons was relentless, and new converts were forced into hiding. Augustine was sent to bring those Christians out of hiding and to convert the brutal savage Saxons. Augustine and a band of about 30 monks set out, but initially turned back because of the rumors and stories of the cruelty of the Saxons. Yet Gregory was certain that, since the Saxon King Ethelbert had taken a Christian bride, Bertha, the time was ripe for England’s conversion.
As it turned out, the king was just as afraid of the monks as they were of him. He agreed to meet them out in the open air, in the hopes that they would be less likely to kill him with a violent spell. Instead of spells, Augustine and his monks preached to the king and his bride through an interpreter. The initial response was somewhat positive, the monks would be allowed to continue preaching, but were not to convert anyone through violence. Augustine agreed.
Ethelbert, later to become Saint Ethelbert, soon converted, and became one of the monks’ greatest benefactors. The monks made their home in Canterbury, living according to the rule of Saint Benedict and preaching in the surrounding countryside. By the end of 597 more than 10,000 people wanted baptism from the missionaries.
Pope Gregory and Augustine continued to be close friends, writing letters to each other and ultimately dying within a year of one another. The seeds of Catholicism that Augustine planted would grow for hundreds of years, until schism divided England in the 16th century.
Saint Augustine of Canterbury, pray for us.