Portal:Catholicism/Patron Archive/June 5

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Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints

Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifacius; German: Bonifatius; c. 672June 5, 754), the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid or Wynfrith at Crediton in the kingdom of Wessex (now in Devon, England), was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He was killed in Frisia in 754.Born at Crediton, Devon, Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. He devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. Winfrid taught in the abbey school and at the age of 30 became a priest. He wrote the first Latin grammar produced in England.In 716, Winfrid set out on a missionary expedition to Frisia, intending to convert the inhabitants. This mission failed. Winfrid again set out in 718, visited Rome, and was commissioned in 719 by Pope Gregory II, who gave him his new name of Boniface. He set out to evangelize in Germany and reorganize the church there. On November 30, 722, he was elevated to bishop of the Germanic territories he would bring into the fold of the Roman Church.
Attributes:ax, book; fountain; fox; oak; raven; scourge; sword
Patronage:brewers; file cutters; Fulda; The Netherlands and Germany; tailors; World Youth Day
Prayer:In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship but to keep her on her course. Let us stand fast in what is right, and prepare our souls for trial. Let us wait upon God's strengthening aid and say to him: "O Lord, you have been our refuge in all generations." Let us trust in him who has placed this burden upon us. What we ourselves cannot bear let us bear with the help of Christ. For he is all-powerful, and he tells us: "My yoke is easy, and my burden light." Let us continue the fight on the day of the Lord. The days of anguish and of tribulation have overtaken us; if God so wills, "let us die for the holy laws of our fathers," so that we may deserve to obtain an eternal inheritance with them.