St. Augustine of Canterbury, Bishop

St. Augustine of Canterbury is referred to as the “Apostle of England.” He was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew on Rome’s Coelian Hill when Pope St. Gregory the Great sent (596) him and about thirty monks to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine and his monks landed in Kent during the summer of 597. Because Bertha, the wife of Ethelbert, the king of Kent, had been a Christian before her marriage, the king readily permitted the missionaries to preach in his kingdom. The king likewise gave the monks a house and a church in Canterbury. Through Augustine’s preaching, Ethelbert became a Catholic (597) as did many of his subjects. Augustine established his see at Canterbury—the only Christian Anglo-Saxon kingdom on that island—built the first cathedral there, and sent missionaries and bishops to other parts of England. Augustine’s ministry in England lasted only seven years; he died on May 26, 604 or 605. Because he planted the seeds of the Catholic Church in England, St. Augustine is also known as the Father of the Church in England.