Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Born in the recently Christianized Kingdom of Wessex around 675, Saint Boniface (whose birth name was Wynfrid) was a descendant of the Germanic pagans who had conquered Roman Britain and essentially wiped out Christianity only a couple of centuries before. As a young man, an encounter with missionary monks inspired Wynfrid to follow their example. He lived in a Benedictine monastery for seven years before going to the Abbey of Nursling, where he made vows as a Benedictine monk. Wynfrid was ordained a priest at 30, and early in his priestly ministry, Father Wynfrid  sensed a call to evangelize the people of his ancestral homeland. In 716, Father Wynfrid seemingly realized his missionary calling by obtaining permission from his abbot to travel north to Frisia (modern-day Netherlands) to assist a missionary priest in that territory.

Unfortunately that mission failed, but Father Wynfrid was determined, and, in the fall of 718, he traveled to Rome to discuss his desire to evangelize the Germanic pagans with Pope Gregory II. The Holy Father changed Wynfrid’s name to Boniface, meaning “doer of good,” and on May 15, 719, the pope sent Father Boniface north. In only three years, the mission bore abundant good fruit, and Father Boniface was called back to Rome where Pope Gregory II ordained him a bishop and named Boniface the regional bishop of Germany. With this new authority, Bishop Boniface better organized the Frankish Church, built new monasteries and churches, and improved relations between the Catholics and pagans.

When he was 79, after 30 years of good work throughout Germany, Bishop Boniface returned to Frisia to complete his initial mission. While preparing to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation for new converts, Bishop Boniface and many of his companions were murdered, likely by thieves. The bishop and his companions did not fight back. Bishop Boniface’s last words were, “Cease, my sons, from fighting, give up warfare, for the witness of Scripture recommends that we do not give an eye for an eye but rather good for evil. Here is the long awaited day, the time of our end has now come; courage in the Lord!”