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As we deepen our relationship with the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, we grow in grace and are transformed by His love and mercy.
c. 534–May 26, 604
Patron Saint of England missionaries and the English Church
St. Augustine of Canterbury was the missionary bishop who helped establish the Christian Faith among the Anglo-Saxon peoples of England. His courage, perseverance, and trust in God laid the foundation for the growth of the Church in that land.
Augustine was a Benedictine monk in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great asked him to lead a mission to England in 596. In the fifth century, after the fall of Roman rule, Anglo-Saxon pagans invaded the territory, and many people there returned to pagan beliefs.
The journey was difficult, and Augustine and his companions initially feared the task before them. Encouraged by Pope Gregory, they continued their mission and eventually arrived in Kent. There they were welcomed by King Ethelbert, whose wife, Queen Bertha, was already a Christian.
Augustine preached the Gospel and lived a life of prayer and simplicity, impressing both the king and his people. King Ethelbert eventually embraced the Christian Faith, and many others followed his example. With the king’s support and reinforcements and resources sent by the pope, he established a monastery in Canterbury and began organizing the Church’s structure in the region.
In 597, he was consecrated as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. From this center, he baptized converts, founded churches, and sent missionaries throughout the surrounding territories. His leadership helped restore Christianity to England and set the stage for future generations of missionaries and teachers.
St. Augustine died around the year 604. Though the mission he began faced many challenges in the centuries that followed, his work laid the foundation for Christianity’s enduring presence in England. For this reason, he is honored as the “Apostle of the English.”
According to a well-known tradition recorded by the Venerable Bede, Pope Gregory the Great once encountered a group of young Anglo-Saxon slaves being sold in a Roman market. Gregory was struck by their fair, angelic appearance. He asked where they came from and learned they were from the land of the Angles. Gregory famously replied that they were not “Angles” but “angels.” He was prompted to make the remark by a desire that they come to know the Christian Faith and that they should be rescued from paganism and made co-heirs with angels in heaven. This encounter deepened his concern for the spiritual welfare of the people of England, and he acted on this desire by sending Augustine and a group of Benedictine monks to preach the Gospel there.
King Ethelbert of Kent played a crucial role in the success of Augustine’s mission. Although he was not initially a Christian, his wife, Queen Bertha, was a Christian princess from the Frankish kingdom and openly practiced her Faith. When Augustine and his companions arrived in Kent in 597, the king allowed them to preach freely. After witnessing Augustine’s example and hearing his message, Ethelbert eventually accepted Baptism. His conversion encouraged many of his subjects to follow the Christian Faith. The king also granted land for the establishment of churches and monasteries, including the cathedral church at Canterbury, which became the center of the English Church.
Augustine’s mission led to the establishment of some of the earliest Christian institutions in Anglo-Saxon England. The most important was the cathedral church at Canterbury, which became the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and remains a central symbol of Christianity in England today. He also founded a monastery in Canterbury dedicated to Peter and Paul, later known as St. Augustine’s Abbey. This monastery became an important center of learning and missionary activity. From Canterbury, St. Augustine and his fellow monks traveled throughout the region, founding churches and establishing Christian communities that helped spread the Faith throughout England.
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