Saint Boniface, Bishop & Martyr
S. Bonifatii Episcopi et Martyris
On the fifth of June the Church keeps the feast of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr, the apostle of the Germanic peoples, who carried the Gospel to many nations and crowned his long labours with the shedding of his blood.
Saint Boniface, honoured on this day as bishop and martyr, is one of the great missionary figures of the Christian West. Born in England, in the kingdom of Wessex, around the year 675 and given the name Winfrid, he became a monk and a learned teacher before leaving all to preach the faith among the peoples of the European continent. The prayer of his feast recalls that through his zeal God deigned to call a multitude of nations to the knowledge of His name.
Apostle of Germany
Sent and strengthened by the authority of the Roman See, which he visited and to which he bound himself in lasting devotion, Boniface laboured for some forty years among the Frisians, the Hessians, the Thuringians, and many other peoples. He preached, baptised, founded churches and monasteries, and organised the life of the young Christian communities. Pope Gregory II consecrated him bishop and gave him the name Boniface; later he was made archbishop and established his see at Mainz. Among the monasteries he founded, the abbey of Fulda became a lasting centre of faith and learning. He is remembered for an event at Geismar, where, to show the powerlessness of the old gods, he felled a great oak held sacred by the people, and from its timber a chapel was built.
His martyrdom
Though advanced in years and laden with honours, Boniface did not lay down his missionary work. Returning to Frisia, the land of his earliest labours, to confirm his converts, he and his companions were set upon by a hostile band near Dokkum in the year 754. Forbidding his followers to take up arms, he received the death-blow while holding the book of the Gospels over his head, and so passed to the Lord with the crown of martyrdom. His body was carried to Fulda, where it is venerated to this day.
His witness today
Saint Boniface stands among the chief founders of Christian Europe, a bishop who united tireless preaching with steadfast communion with the See of Peter, and who sealed his apostolate with his blood. The Church prays on his feast that, as we keep his solemnity, we may also feel the help of his patronage. His life is a witness that the spread of the Gospel is the fruit of charity, obedience, and the willingness to lay down one’s life.
The Collect
O God, who through the zeal of blessed Boniface, Thy Martyr and Bishop, didst vouchsafe to call a multitude of peoples to the knowledge of Thy name: mercifully grant that we, who keep his solemnity, may also feel the help of his patronage. Through our Lord.
Deus, qui multitúdinem populórum, beáti Bonifátii Mártyris tui atque Pontíficis zelo, ad agnitiónem tui nóminis vocáre dignátus es: concéde propítius; ut, cujus sollémnia cólimus, étiam patrocínia sentiámus. Per Dóminum.
Patronage
He is venerated as the Apostle of Germany and is honoured as a patron of Germany and of the city and diocese of Mainz, and his relics are kept at the abbey of Fulda.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar his feast is observed on 5 June as an obligatory memorial.
Common Questions
When is the feast of Saint Boniface?
His feast is kept on 5 June in the calendar of the 1962 Roman Missal, as a Third Class feast.
Who was Saint Boniface?
He was an English-born monk and bishop (c. 675–754) who became the great missionary to the Germanic peoples, founding churches and monasteries in close union with the Roman See. He was martyred in Frisia about the year 754.
Why is he called the Apostle of Germany?
Because he spent decades preaching the Gospel and organising the Church among the peoples of what is now Germany and the surrounding lands, earning him recognition as one of the principal founders of Christianity in that region.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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