The apostle of the Germanic peoples

Today the Church commemorates Saint Boniface (675–754), the great missionary remembered as the “Apostle of the Germans.” Born in Wessex (Britain) under the name Winfrid, he entered a monastery at a young age. At the age of thirty, after his ordination, he felt called to the apostolate among the pagan peoples of continental Europe. His early efforts met with difficulty, but Pope Gregory II encouraged him and later consecrated him a bishop. At the age of eighty, as he was preparing to celebrate Mass, he was martyred by a group of pagans. Boniface left us a remarkable example of reverence for the Word of God, love for the Church, and enthusiasm for human culture—inseparable, in his life, from the Christian faith.