Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface
from the book "Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints"
Bishop and Martyr
Born	c. 672 Crediton, Devon
Died	June 5, 754 (aged 82) Dokkum, Frisia
Venerated in	Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Lutheran Church, Anglican Communion
Major shrine	Fulda Cathedral
Feast	June 5
Attributes	axe; book; fountain; fox; oak; raven; scourge; sword
Patronage	brewers; file cutters; Fulda; Germany; tailors;[1] World Youth Day

Saint Boniface (Latin: Bonifacius; c. 672 – June 5, 754), the Apostle of the Germans, born Winfrid, Wynfrith, or Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex, possibly at Crediton (now in Devon, England) or Nursling, was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz.

He was killed in Frisia in 754.^[1] His tomb is in the crypt of Fulda Cathedral.

Early life and first mission to Frisia

The earliest "Life" of Boniface, written by a certain Willibald, an Anglo-Saxon priest come to Mainz after Boniface's death,^[2] around 765, does not mention his place of birth but that at an early age he attended a monastery ruled by abbot Wulfhard Ad [at] escancastre or Examchester, depending on the texts, which seem to denote Exeter.^[3] The later vita written by Otloh of St. Emmeram (1062-1066) adds that his birth was at Crediton, but it is not clear on what tradition this was determined.

Winfrid was of a respected and prosperous family. Against his father's wishes he devoted himself at an early age to the monastic life. He received further theological training under the abbot Winbert in the Benedictine monastery of Nhutscelle (Nursling), on the western edge of Southampton.^[4] 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 by preaching to them in their own language, his own Old English language being similar to Old Frisian. His efforts, however, were frustrated by the war then being carried on between Charles Martel and Radbod, king of the Frisians, and he returned to Nursling.

In 723, Boniface felled the Donar Oak, latinized by Willibald as "Jupiter's oak," near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse. Boniface called upon the god to strike him down if he cut the holy tree. According to his early biographer Willibald, Boniface started to chop the oak down, when suddenly a great wind, as if by miracle, blew the ancient oak over. When the god did not strike him down, the people were amazed and converted to Christianity. He built a chapel dedicated to Saint Peter from its wood at the site where today stands the cathedral of Fritzlar. Later he established the first bishopric in Germany north of the old Roman Limes at the Frankish fortified settlement of Büraburg, on a prominent hill facing the town across the Eder River.

Boniface and the Carolingians

St Boniface, Baptising and Martyrdom, from the Sacramentary of Fulda

The support of the Frankish mayors of the palace (maior domos) and later the early Pippinid and Carolingian rulers, was essential for Boniface's work. Monasticism went from the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons and thence to the Carolingian kings. Boniface had been under the protection of Charles Martel from 723 on. From the Anglo-Saxons, Boniface joined the papacy and the Carolingian kings and provided education for them. The Christian Frankish leaders desired to defeat their rival power, the non-Christian Saxons, and to incorporate the Saxon lands into their own growing empire. Boniface's destruction of indigenous Germanic paganism and its ritual sites may have benefited the Franks in their campaign against the Saxons.

In 732, Boniface traveled again to Rome to report, and Pope Gregory II conferred upon him the pallium as archbishop with jurisdiction over Germany. Boniface again set out for what is now Germany, baptized thousands, and dealt with the problems of many other Christians who had fallen out of contact with the regular hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. During his third visit to Rome in 737–38, he was made papal legate for Germany.

After Boniface's third trip to Rome, Charles Martel erected four dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Regensburg, Freising, and Passau) and gave them Boniface as archbishop and metropolitan over all Germany east of the Rhine. In 745, he was granted Mainz as metropolitan see. In 742, one of his disciples, Sturm (also known as Sturmi, or Sturmius), founded the abbey of Fulda not far from Boniface's earlier missionary outpost at Fritzlar. Although Sturm was the founding abbot of Fulda, Boniface was very involved in the foundation. The initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman, the son of Charles Martel. The saint himself explained to his old friend, Daniel of Winchester, that without the protection of Charles Martel he could “neither administer his church, defend his clergy, nor prevent idolatry.” He also organized provincial synods in the Frankish church and maintained a sometimes turbulent relationship with the king of the Franks, Pepin, whom he may have crowned at Soissons in 751.

St Boniface balanced this support and attempted to maintain some independence, however, by attaining the support of the papacy and of the Agilolfing rulers of Bavaria. In Frankish, Hessian, and Thuringian territory, he established the dioceses of Würzburg, and Erfurt. By appointing his own followers as bishops, he was able to retain some independence from the Carolingians, who most likely were content to give him leeway as long as Christianity was imposed on the Saxons and other Germanic tribes.

Last mission to Frisia

Saint Boniface Crypt, Fulda, Germany

A view inside the shrine of Saint Boniface of Dokkum in the hermit-church of Warfhuizen in the Netherlands. The little folded paper on the left contains a bone-fragment of Saint Benedict of Nursia, the folded paper on the right a piece of the habit of saint Bernard of Clairvaux. The big bone in the middle (about 5 cm in length) is the actual relic of Saint Boniface.

He had never relinquished his hope of converting the Frisians, and in 754 he set out with a small retinue for Frisia. He baptized a great number and summoned a general meeting for confirmation at a place not far from Dokkum, between Franeker and Groningen. Instead of his converts, however, a group of armed inhabitants appeared who slew the aged archbishop. Boniface's hagiographer reports that the Frisians killed the saint because they believed the chests he carried with him contained gold and other riches, but were dismayed when they discovered that there were only the bishop's books contained within.

His remains were eventually buried in the abbey of Fulda after resting for some time in Utrecht, and they are entombed within a shrine beneath the high altar of Fulda Cathedral, previoiusly the abbey church. The forcible conversion of Germany up to the Elbe River was executed by Charlemagne, who destroyed the Saxons' independence, though not that of the Frisians, in the last decades of the eighth century.

Memorials

Saint Boniface's feast day is celebrated on June 5 in the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Anglican Communion and on December 19 in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

A famous statue of St Boniface stands on the grounds of Mainz Cathedral, seat of the archbishop of Mainz. A more modern rendition stands facing the cathedral of Fritzlar.

The UK National Shrine is located at the Catholic church at Crediton, Devon, which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor's Oak, by sculptor Kenneth Carter. The sculpture was unveiled by Princess Margaret in his native Crediton, located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is also a series of paintings there by Timothy Moore. There are quite a few churches dedicated to St. Boniface in the United Kingdom: Bunbury, Cheshire; Chandler's Ford and Southampton Hampshire; Adler Street, London; Papa-Westray, Orkney; St. Budeaux, Plymouth (now demolished); Bonchurch, Isle of Wight.

Bishop George Errington founded St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth in 1856. The school celebrates St Boniface on June 5 each year.

In 1818, Father Norbert Provencher founded a mission on the east bank of the Red River in what was then Rupert's Land, building a log church and naming it after St. Boniface. The log church was consecrated as Saint Boniface Cathedral after Provencher was himself consecrated as a bishop and the diocese was formed. The community that grew around the cathedral eventually became the city of St. Boniface, which merged into the city of Winnipeg in 1971.

St. Boniface also has a church dedicated to him in the city of Lafayette, Indiana of the United States of America. It was started sometime in the 1800s. It is still holding masses for the city's Catholics that wish to come celebrate. St. Boniface Church, Chicago was established by German immigrants in 1865, with the current building dating from 1903. The church, although of significant architectural interest, fell into disuse in 1990 and its future is in doubt. St. Boniface Catholic Church in Cold Spring, Minnesota reached its 130 year anniversary in 2008. There is another St. Boniface Roman Catholic church in Anaheim, California. This year it is celebrating its 150 year anniversary.

Legends

Some traditions credit St Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. The aforementioned Oak of Thor at Geismar was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol: "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide."^[5] It is worthwhile adding that the latter part of this account is completely legendary (and probably later than the Middle Ages) and has no credible authority in any of the vitae or later biographies.

Anniversary and other celebrations

Boniface's death (and birth) have given rise to a number of noteworthy celebrations. The dates for some of these celebrations have undergone some changes: in 1805, 1855, and 1905 (and in England in 1955) anniversaries were calculated with Boniface's death dated in 755, the "Mainz tradition"; Michael Tangl's definitive dating of the martyrdom in 754^[6] was not universally accepted until after 1955. Celebrations in Germany centered on Fulda and Mainz, in the Netherlands on Dokkum and Utrecht, and in England on Crediton and Exeter.

Celebrations in Germany: 1805, 1855, 1905

Coin minted for the Boniface anniversary in Fulda, 1905.

The first German celebration on a fairly large scale was held in 1805 (the 1150th anniversary of his death), followed by a similar celebration in a number of towns in 1855; both of these were predominantly Catholic affairs, which emphasized the role of Boniface in German history as opposed to Protestant views on the role of Martin Luther, and especially the 1855 celebrations were an expression of German Catholic nationalism. In 1905, when strife between Catholic and Protestant factions had eased (one Protestant church published a celebratory pamphlet^[7]), there were modest celebrations and a publication for the occasion on historical aspects of Boniface and his work.^[8] In all, the content of these early celebrations showed evidence of the continuing question about the meaning of Boniface for Germany, though the importance of Boniface in cities associated with him was without question.^[9]

1954 celebrations

In 1954, celebrations were widespread, in England, Germany, and the Netherlands, and a number of these celebrations were international affairs. Especially in Germany, these celebrations had a distinctly political note to them and often stressed Boniface as a kind of founder of Europe, such as when Konrad Adenauer, the (Catholic) German chancellor, addressed a crowd of 60,000 in Fulda, celebrating the feast day of the saint in a European context: "Das, was wir in Europa gemeinsam haben, [ist] gemeinsamen Ursprungs" ["What we have in common in Europe comes from the same source").^[10]

Papal visit, 1980

Pope John Paul II praying at the grave of Boniface, 18 November 1980.

When Pope John Paul II visited Germany in November 1980, he spent two days in Fulda (17 and 18 November). He celebrated mass in Fulda Cathedral, with for 30,000 gathered on the square in front of the building, and met with the German Bishops' Conference (held in Fulda since 1867). The next the pope celebrated mass outside the cathedral, in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000, and hailed the importance of Boniface for German Christianity: "Der heilige Bonifatius, Bischof und Märtyrer, bedeutet den 'Anfang' des Evangeliums und der Kirche in Eurem Land" ("The holy Boniface, bishop and martyr, signifies the beginning of the gospel and the church in your country")."^[11] A photograph of the pope praying at Boniface's grave became the centerpiece of a prayer card distributed from the cathedral.

2004 celebrations

In 2004, anniversary celebrations were held throughout Northwestern Europe--in Exeter and Crediton, Dokkum and Utrecht, and Fulda and Mainz--generating a great amount of academic and popular interest. The event occasioned a number of scholarly studies, esp. biographies (for instance, by Auke Jelsma in Dutch, Lutz von Padberg in German, and Klaas Bruinsma in Frisian), and a fictional completion of the Boniface correspondence (Lutterbach, Mit Axt und Evangelium).^[12] A German musical proved a great commercial success,^[13] and in the Netherlands an opera was staged.^[14]

Further reading

• Talbot, C. H., ed. The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany: Being the Lives of S.S. Willibrord, Boniface, Strum, Leoba and Lebuin, together with the Hodoeporicon of St. Willibald and a Selection from the Correspondence of St. Boniface. New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954. (English translation of original source material. Includes the first biography of St. Boniface, written by his 8th-century contemporary St. Willibald, and the Boniface correspondence.)

The Bonifacian vita was republished in Noble, Thomas F. X. and Thomas Head, eds. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints’ Lives in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1995. 109-40.

• Mostert, Marco. 754: Bonifatius bij Dokkum Vermoord. Hilversum: Verloren, 1999.(Excellent and well-illustrated popular study of Boniface and Friesland, the saint's role, and modern veneration, in Dutch.)
• Padberg, Lutz E. von. Bonifatius: Missionar und Reformer. München: Beck, 2003. (Biography by one of the foremost authorities on the saint and the conversion of the German peoples, in German.)
• "St. Boniface", entry from online version of the Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913 edition.

See also

• St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth

References

External links

• "St. Boniface, Archbishop of Mentz, Apostle of Germany and Martyr", Butler's Lives of the Saints