Thoughts to live by: St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

5 June, Thursday

Readings: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Ps. 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11; Jn. 17:20-26.

Some Notes on St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr.

1. Born Wynfrid or Wynfrith into a a respected and prosperous family in Wessex, England ca. 675, he received Benedictine education. He became a Benedictine monk and was ordained a priest at about age 30. Around 716, he was selected as the Abbot of the monastery in Nursling, but he declined. Instead, he opted to become a missionary in Frisia (now modern Holland).

2. He stayed for a year in Utrecht, and assisted Willibord, "the Apostle to the Frisians." But their missionary work was disrupted by the war between Charles Martel and Radbod, the king of the Frisians. Wynfrid returned to Nursling. On a pilgrimage to Rome the following year, he was entrusted by Pope Gregory II with a mission to the pagans, east of the Rhine. The Pope changed Wynfrid's name to Boniface. Boniface returned to Frisia and later went to Hesse, where he established the 1st of many Benedictine monasteries.

3. Because of his missionary success, the Pope consecrated him in Rome as a bishop and recommended him for protection to Charles Martel, king of the Franks. Boniface began destroying pagan sites, including the the "sacred oak" of the Germanic god, Thor, at Geismar. This awed the pagans, when they saw that Boniface was not punished by their pagan for this "sacrilege." Many of them were converted.

4. For several years, beginning in 725, Boniface did missionary work in Thuringia, converted many pagans, and renewed the faith of Christians whose faith was mixed with superstition and error. They had been earlier converted by Irish missionaries who fell short of instructing them properly in the faith. But Boniface met opposition from "ambitious and free-living clerics," who led immoral and corrupt lives. His great missionary zeal was well known.

5. Benedictine monks and nuns greatly encouraged and supported him by gifts and letters in his missionary work. Ordered by Pope Gregory III to organize the Church in Bavaria, he established 4 bishoprics there. His work of Christianizing Bavaria paved the way for its ultimate incorporation into the Carolingian empire.

6. In 732, Boniface was appointed by the Pope as Archbishop with jurisdiction over what is now Germany. Because of the many benefits given to the Church and to its clergy by the Carolingian kings, Boniface thought that corruption would result. The Church itself paid little heed to Rome.

7. Rome made Boniface a papal legate to Germany. Charles Martel established 4 dioceses in Bavaria (Salzburg, Freising, Regensburg, and Passau) and gave them to Boniface as metropolitan Archbishop over all Germany, east of the Rhein. In 741, Boniface established the diocese of Wurzburg.

8. In 745, he undertook the reform of the Frankish clergy and Irish missionaries. For this purpose, he convened four synods between 740 and 745. And in 747, he convened a reforming council for the entire Frankish kingdom. Its decisions were made binding in Frankish law.

9. Not wanting to relinquish his hope of converting the Frisians, he set out again to Frisia in 454. He converted and baptized a great number of Frisians. He summoned a general meeting to prepare the ones to be confirmed. But instead of his converts, a band of armed pagan Frisians appeared and slew the 79 yr-old Archbishop and 52 others, while he held the Scriptures as protection. His martyrdom took place on Pentecost Sunday, 754.

10. His remains were returned from Frisia to Fulda via Utrecht and Mainz. Boniface was buried at the Benedictine monastery of Fulda. He was quickly hailed as a saint in Fulda and other areas of Germania and England. He is regarded as the unifier of Europe.

11. He was the reformer of the Frankish Church and the chief influencer of the alliance between the Papacy and the Carolingian family. Known as the "Apostle to the Germans," he is the Patron Saint of Germany.

He profoundly influenced the intellectual, political, and ecclesiastical history in Germany and France throughout the Middle Ages. Through the bishops and priests, who were formed through his monasteries, he significantly improved the quality of life in the Frankish kingdom. Well known for his saintliness, he is considered as the unifier of Europe.

12. Prayer - May the Martyr, St. Boniface, be our advocate, O Lord, that we may firmly hold the faith he taught with his lips and sealed in his blood and confidently profess it by our deeds. This we pray, through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Prayerful Easter greetings and best wishes, God bless!