A brief intro to St. Boniface

St. Boniface, born in England about 675, is considered possibly the greatest missionary of the Middle Ages. Historian Christopher Dawson considered Boniface to be the Englishman who had the greatest influence on the history of Europe.

A Benedictine monk in England until he was 40, Boniface turned down the office of abbot and went to see Pope Gregory II who agreed to Boniface's wish to preach the Gospel to the heathens in western Germany.

In 723, Boniface chopped down an oak tree dedicated to the god Thor and used the wood to build a chapel. When Thor did not strike down Boniface with lightning, the local people in attendance agreed to be baptized. The incident is generally regarded as the start of Christianity in Germany.

Boniface brought Christian faith to large portions of western Germany and established a permanent structure for the Church there. In 754, on the eve of Pentecost, Boniface was martyred along with 53 others as he prepared to confirm a large number of converts in present-day Netherlands.

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