Bertha of Kent
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- See also: Saint Bertha of Val d'Or
| Bertha of Kent aka Berthe (Aldeberge) Princess of Paris | |
|---|---|
| Queen | |
| Born | 539, France |
| Died | c. 612, Canterbury, Kent |
| Venerated in | Anglican Communion |
| Major shrine | St Augustine's Abbey, Canterbury, Kent (destroyed) |
| Feast | |
| Attributes | Queen holding a model of St Martin's Church, Canterbury |
| Controversy | Not strictly-speaking a saint, but revered as such in England. |
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Saint Bertha or Aldeberge (539 – c. 612) was the Queen of Kent whose influence led to the introduction of Christianity to Anglo-Saxon England.
Bertha was the daughter of Charibert I, King of Paris[1]. When she married the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent, she brought her chaplain, Liudhard, with her to England[2]. She restored a Christian church in Canterbury, which dated from Roman times, dedicating it to Saint Martin of Tours. The present St Martin's at Canterbury occupies the same site. Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent by Pope Gregory I to preach the Gospel in England in 596, owed much of his favourable reception there to the influence of Bertha.
She seems to have had two children:
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