St. Augustine of Canterbury

Their story

Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome founded by Pope St. Gregory the Great. Gregory had long dreamed of bringing the Gospel to the Anglo-Saxons, the pagan peoples who had settled in England. In 596 he chose Augustine to lead a group of about forty monks on the mission. The journey was long, and as the monks crossed France they heard frightening stories about the fierce people they were going to meet. They lost heart and sent Augustine back to Rome to ask if they could give up the mission. Gregory answered with a kind and firm letter, encouraging them to go on, and they did. In 597 they landed in Kent, in southeastern England. The king, Ethelbert, was a pagan, but his wife, Queen Bertha, was a Christian from France. The king received the monks courteously, gave them a place to live in Canterbury and allowed them to preach. Before long King Ethelbert was baptized, and many of his people followed him. Augustine became the first archbishop of Canterbury and began to build the Church in England. Pope Gregory advised him to be patient and gentle, to keep the good customs of the people and to turn their pagan temples into churches. Augustine tried to reach an agreement with the Christian bishops of the native Britons in the west, but they could not come to terms. He died around 605. He is remembered as the Apostle of the English.