St. Augustine of Canterbury

Sent by Pope Gregory the Great, Augustine established a lasting Roman mission in Kent and became the first archbishop of Canterbury.

The story

Little is known about Augustine's early life. By the late sixth century, he was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew on the Caelian Hill in Rome. Pope St. Gregory the Great chose him to lead a mission of about forty monks to the Anglo-Saxon peoples of England. The missionaries departed in 596. Alarmed by reports about the journey and the peoples they would encounter, they paused in Gaul. Augustine returned to Rome, but Gregory encouraged him and sent him back with letters of support.

The missionaries landed on the Isle of Thanet in the kingdom of Kent in 597. King Æthelberht was not yet Christian, but his wife, Queen Bertha, was a Frankish Christian who worshiped with her chaplain, Bishop Liudhard, at the church of St. Martin near Canterbury. Æthelberht received Augustine and his companions in the open air. He allowed them to settle in Canterbury, preach, and worship. Their common life, prayer, and care for the people helped make their preaching credible.

Æthelberht accepted baptism, although the exact date is uncertain. His conversion gave the mission protection, but Augustine did not teach that subjects should be forced to follow their king. Augustine was consecrated a bishop in Gaul, probably in 597. In 601, Gregory sent additional missionaries, books, sacred vessels, and the pallium. Augustine established his episcopal church at Canterbury and helped found the monastery later known as St. Augustine's Abbey. He also consecrated bishops for London and Rochester.

Augustine met with British bishops to seek cooperation and agreement on certain ecclesiastical customs. The meetings ended without reconciliation. Later accounts added dramatic details, but the precise course of these encounters remains uncertain. Augustine died at Canterbury, probably in 604 or shortly afterward, and was buried at the monastery church. He was honored as a saint from the early Middle Ages and therefore had no later formal canonization ceremony. Called the Apostle of England, he is commemorated by an optional memorial on May 27.

What Augustine teaches

St. Augustine of Canterbury teaches that evangelization requires courage, patience, and respect for human freedom. The Church is missionary by her nature because she is sent by Christ to all nations, as CCC 849 teaches.

Patronage

England, Canterbury, missionaries, converts.

Prayer

God our Father, you sent St. Augustine to proclaim Christ among the peoples of England. Give your missionaries courage, humility, and perseverance. Through his intercession, lead those seeking truth into the communion of your Church. Amen.