Saint Augustine of Canterbury
Bishop
- Feast Day
- May 27
- Life
- d. 604
- Order
- Order of Saint Benedict
- Born
- Rome
Saint Augustine of Canterbury was prior of the Benedictine monastery of Saint Andrew on the Caelian Hill in Rome when Pope Saint Gregory the Great chose him about 595 to lead a mission to evangelize the pagan Anglo-Saxons of Britain. With about forty companions, Augustine reached the Isle of Thanet in the kingdom of Kent in 597.
The narrative of the mission is preserved in detail by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Books 1.23-2.3), drawing on letters preserved at Canterbury and Rome. King Aethelberht, husband of the Christian Frankish princess Bertha, granted the mission a hearing under an oak tree, then welcomed them to Canterbury and gave them the disused Roman church of Saint Martin for worship. Aethelberht himself was baptized by 601.
Augustine was consecrated Archbishop by the bishop of Arles, established his see at Canterbury, and founded the suffragan see of Rochester. He sought, with limited success, to bring the existing British (Celtic) Church into communion with Roman usage at the conferences known as Augustine's Oak. He died at Canterbury about May 26, 604, and is buried at the abbey he founded, later known as Saint Augustine's, Canterbury.
Augustine of Canterbury is venerated as the Apostle of the English. His mission, sent at papal initiative and rooted in monastic life, became a model of Roman missionary outreach, later imitated in central Europe by Saint Boniface and in northern Europe by Saint Ansgar.
Patronages
England
Catholic Churches Named After Saint Augustine of Canterbury
20 parishes on Catholic Church Times share Saint Augustine of Canterbury's name. Find their Mass times, confession schedules, and adoration hours:
- St Augustine's Church — Eldorado, VIC
- St Augustine’s, Port MacDonnell — Port MacDonnell, SA
- St Augustine of Canterbury - Leeds — Leeds, ENG
- St. Augustine Parish — Sorsogon, SORSOGON
- St. Augustine of Hippo Parish — San Juan, SIQUIJOR
- St. Augustine of Hippo Parish — Bacong, NEGROS ORIENTAL
- St. Augustine Parish — Panglao, BOHOL
- Saint Augustine Parish — Sagbayan, BOHOL
- Parish of St. Augustine — Patnongon, ANTIQUE
- St. Augustine of Hippo Parish — Naguilian, LA UNION
- St. Augustine of Hippo Parish — Tanauan City, BATANGAS
- St. Augustine Parish — Bantay, ILOCOS SUR
- St. Augustine — Wilcox, SK
- St. Augustine Parish — Paoay, ILOCOS NORTE
- Cathedral of St. Augustine — Iba, ZAMBALES
- St. Augustine of Hippo Parish — Saguday, QUIRINO
- St. Augustine Parish — San Agustin, ISABELA
- St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral — Cagayan de Oro City, X
- St. Augustine Mission Station — CAPIZ
- St. Augustine Parish — San Agustin, IV-B
Sources