Saint Boniface of Mainz

But Winfrid was destined by Providence for a greater mission.

Great Britain worked for a century to Christianize Germany: our Saint was to complete this holy undertaking and definitively organize the Church among the Germanic peoples.

He first came to Frisia and advanced as far as Utrecht, the capital of that country; but King Radbod, who persecuted Christianity, rendered all the Apostle's efforts useless. He was obliged to return to England, where he was named abbot of his monastery.

After a stay of two years (718), he resolved to begin his apostolate again. Provided with letters of recommendation from his bishop, the wise Daniel of Winchester, he left for Rome in order to receive his mission from the Vicar of Jesus Christ himself. Gregory II, after having tes ted his fai Grégoire II Pope who gave his apostolic mission to Winfrid. th, his virtue, and the purity of his intentions, encouraged him with wise counsel and named him, on May 15, 719, apostolic missionary. He also gave him holy relics and letters of recommendation for the Christian princes who would be found along his route.

Filled with favors and provided with all the necessary powers, the Saint departed from Rome; and, after visiting Luitprand, King of the Lombards, in passing, who gave him a very warm welcome, he entered Germany and went as far as Thuringia, where he stayed for some time, exhorting the princes and the most prominent people of the province to embrace the faith of Jesus Christ. He also reformed some priests there who had abandoned themselves to various disorders. But having heard that Radbod, King of the Frisians and sworn enemy of the Christian religion, was dead, he boarded a ship to cross into Frisia; and, having arrived there, he worked gloriously for the conversion of the infidels. In all his labors, he obeyed Saint Willibrord, Archbishop of Utrecht. The latter wanted to have him as a coadjutor and as his successor: but the Saint refused this dignity, saying that he had to evangelize the idolaters of all Germany. After remaining for three years in Frisia, he traveled again through Thuringia and Hesse, which the arms of Charles Martel had opened to him by delivering both countries from the Saxons. He founded the convent of Hamelburg on the Saale.

Then, he sent one of his disciples and associates to Pope Gregory to report on the progress of the Gospel and to consult him on some difficulties concerning ecclesiastical discipline and on how he should conduct himself with the new converts. The Pope answered him article by article; but wishing to be more fully informed of the success of this great mission, he ordered him to come and meet him in Rome. Winfrid went there immediately out of obedience and made known to His Holiness by word of mouth what he had sent him in his letters. He also gave him his profession of faith in writing and took the oath that bishops are accustomed to make to the Holy See at their ordination; after which the Pope himself consecrated him regional bishop on November 30, 723. Furthermore, he changed his name from Winfrid, which he had borne until then, to that of Boniface, and presente d him wi Boniface Apostle of Germany and Archbishop of Mainz. th a book containing the rules and canonical institutions, drawn from the approved Councils of the Church and the ordinances of the sovereign Pontiffs. He also placed in his hands letters, not only for Charles Martel, who was then governing France, but also for the ecclesiastics and princes of Germany; he exhorted the former to favor and assist him in his needs, and the latter to perseverance in the faith and in the Christian religion. There were also some for the people of Thuringia, where he instructed them on some points of the faith and recommended that they render all manner of obedience to Boniface, their bishop, and receive him as

the one who was sent to them, not to profit from their temporal goods, but to win souls for Jesus Christ. There was not even a Saxon newly converted whom this vigilant Pope did not honor with a letter, to exhort them to remain constant in the religion they had just embraced.

Boniface, provided with these apostolic provisions, came to Austrasia to present the Pope's letters to Charles Martel, who at the same time gave him others of favor and protection for the sovereigns of Germany. However, with all these powerful recommendations, he did not lack difficulties in the execution of his designs, particularly when he preached to the Hessians and the Goths who were extremely attached to the superstitions of paganism: he dared to undertake the felling of the principal pagan sanctuary of the region: it was the oak of Thor or of the Thunder, a gigantic tree, near the village of Geismar. The idolaters threate Geismar Location where the Oak of Thor was situated. ned to massacre Boniface; but the oak having split into four, and having fallen at the first blow of the axe that he gave it, they were so terrified that, many opening their eyes to the light of the Gospel, converted to the faith. Following this miracle, he had a small chapel built in the same place, from the very wood of this tree, which he consecrated in honor of the prince of the Apostles, and this was the first church of these lands. Saint Boniface, living thus among the pagans and the infidels, suffered great necessities; but God raised up several good people to help him; moreover, his friends and compatriots, being informed of this, did their best to assist him: some sending him clothes, others provisions for his food, and others books and letters full of consolation. Daniel, Bishop of Winchester, of whom we have already spoken, sent him a brief instruction to convince the pagans of their errors and the vanity of their false gods. Abbess Eadburge, a relative of the King of Kent, also presented him with some sacred books for the instruction of the people, particularly the Epistles of Saint Peter, written in letters of gold, which the Saint had urgently requested of her. Finally, God himself provided for his necessities by extraordinary means. One day, after having dedicated a church to Saint Michael, near the river Oraha, and having been consoled by a vision of this archangel, he had nothing for his dinner, a large bird, flying above his table, dropped a very fine fish onto it; he made his meal of it, thanking the divine Goodness for such a miraculous favor. As he worked tirelessly in the Lord's vineyard, the fruits of his mission increased so much from day to day that he was forced to bring several new workers from England: he named them rectors of the churches he had had built.

A swarm of widows and virgins also emerged from the convents of Great Britain, mothers, sisters, and relatives of the missionaries, eager to share in their merits and their perils. Chunihild and her daughter Berathgit stopped in Thuringia. Chunidrat was sent to Bavaria; Thecla remained at Kitzingen, on the Main. Lioba , "be Lioba English nun who assisted Boniface in Germany. autiful as the angels, delightful in her speech, learned in the Scriptures and the holy Canons," governed the abbey of Bischofsheim. The fierce Germans, who once loved blood and engaged in battles, now came to kneel at the feet of these gentle mistresses. Silence and humility have hidden their labors from the eyes of the world; but history marks their place at the origins of Germanic civilization: providence has placed women beside every cradle.

After a few years, the Apostle counted one hundred thousand converts.

While Saint Boniface was occupied in Germany, not only in preaching to the infidels but also in correcting the disordered morals of the Christians of Thuringia, who, through the negligence of their pastors, were beginning to waver in the faith, Gregory II passed from this life to a be tter one, an Grégoire III Pope who granted a church in the name of Sabas in Rome. d Gregory III was elected in his place to fill the Apostolic See. Our Saint found himself obliged, by this, to send deputies to Rome to pay his respects to the new Pope; and he consulted him, by the same means, on some doubts concerning his mission. The Sovereign Pontiff gave him a very favorable response and even granted him more than he had requested: for he sent him the Pallium as a mark of his archiepiscopal dignity and gave him the power to create new bishops, as he would judge most necessary for the advancement of our holy religion.

In the year 738, he had the devotion to visit the sepulchers of the blessed Apostles in Rome for a third time, desiring at the same time to consult the Sovereign Pontiff on several important articles for the salvation of souls. The Holy Father gave him a very warm welcome, similar to that which his predecessors had formerly given to Saint Athanasius, Saint Epiphanius, and other great figures who had served the Church well. Upon his departure, he gave him several relics that he had requested; he also granted him Wilibaud, an Englishman and religious of Monte Cassino, to assist him in his apostolic functions. Boniface headed toward the city of Pavia, as much to visit Liutprand, King of the Lombards, as to see there the holy relics of Saint Augustine, brought some years earlier from the Island of Sardinia through the care of that prince.

He then passed into Bavaria; after having delivered the province from several false ministers who were usurping the office of priests, and from some others who called themselves bishops, he erected three bishoprics: that of Salzburg, that of Freising, and that of Regensburg, in addition to that of Passau which was already established. He notified the Sovereign Pontiff, who approved everything he had done with this fine praise: that after God, the conversion of one hundred thousand pagans was due to him and to Charles Martel, Prince of the Franks, who had greatly assisted him in this enterprise.

In the year 742, he assembled, by the order of Gregory III, the Council of Germany, in which he had several holy decrees made for the happy establishment of these new churches. He presided, in 744, over the Council of Soissons, where the authority of the metropolitans, shaken in some places, was re-established. He presided over other councils as well. He was powerfully supported by Carloman and Pepin, who had succeeded their father Charles Martel in 741. In the year 744, he couvent de Fulde Burial place of Saint Lioba and Saint Boniface. laid the foundations of the convent of Fulda, that great monastery which was for Central Germany what Monte Cassino was for Italy, Saint Gall for Southern Germany, and New Corvey for Saxony and Northern Germany.

Gewilled, Bishop of Mainz, having been deposed, Pope Zachary created Boniface Archbishop of Mainz, Primate of all Germany, and his legate in Germania and the Gauls (747). In this capacity, he crowned, at Soissons, in 752, Pepin the Short, King of the Franks Pépin le Bref King of the Franks whose accession to the throne was supported by Burchard. , the progenitor of our kings called Carolingians, because of Charlemagne, the eldest son of this prince, just as the first was called Merovingians, because of Merovech, son of Pharamond.

Finally, God, wishing to reward the illustrious labors of His servant with the crown of martyrdom, gave him the inspiration to return to Frisia, where the people, whom he had converted several years earlier, had plunged back into idolatry. He requested permission from the Pope, who granted it willingly; he then wrote to Fulrad, Abbot of Saint-Denis, the King's chief chaplain, so that he might beseech Pepin to assist him with his authority in this enterprise, and also to aid his disciples who were in the direst poverty. Finally, having ordained in his place a holy priest named Lullus, according to the power he had received from Rome, and having asked him to take care, when he had received news of his death, to retrieve his body for burial, he departed from Mainz and embarked on the Rhine with Eoban, a bishop, three deacons, and four religious. They all arrived safely in Frisia, where in a few days they baptized several thousand people.

One day, the 5th of June, the archbishop's pavilion had been set up near Dokkum, on the banks of the Burda, wh ich se Dockum The exact site of the martyrdom of Saint Boniface. parates the East and West Frisians. The altar was ready and the sacred vessels arranged for the sacrifice, for a great multitude had been summoned to receive the laying on of hands. After sunrise, a cloud of barbarians, armed with spears and shields, appeared on the plain and came to fall upon the camp. The servants ran to arms and prepared to defend their masters. But the man of God, at the first tumult of the attack, came out of his tent surrounded by his clerics and carrying the holy relics, which never left him: "Cease this combat, my children!" he cried; "remember that Scripture teaches us to return good for evil. For this day is the one I have long desired, and the hour of our deliverance has come. Be strong in the Lord, hope in Him, and He will save your souls." Then, turning toward the priests, deacons, and lower clerics, he said these words: "Brothers, be firm, and fear not those who can do nothing to the soul; but rejoice in God, who prepares for you a dwelling in the city of the angels. Do not regret the vain joys of the world, but courageously cross this short passage of death, which leads you to an eternal kingdom." Immediately a furious band of barbarians surrounded them, slaughtered the servants of God, and rushed into the tents, where, instead of gold and silver, they found only relics, books, and the wine reserved for the holy sacrifice. Irritated by the sterility of the pillage, they became drunk, quarreled, and killed one another. The Christians, rising in arms from all sides, exterminated what remained of these wretches.

Saint Boniface was holding the book of the Gospels in his hands as he died: these infidels pierced it with a sword stroke; but they did not cut a single letter of it: which could not have happened without a miracle.

His body was first carried to Maastricht, then to Mainz, and, from there, it was solemnly transferred to the monastery of Fulda, as he had ordered. He has since performed many miracles, which can be seen in his acts.

We do not wish to omit here a very beautiful apophthegm which is attributed to this holy Apostle and Martyr, at the Council of Tivoli. Alluding to the wicked life of some priests of his time, he said: "That formerly priests were of gold, and used wooden chalices; but that then they were of wood, and used golden chalices."

Saint Boniface is depicted holding a book which is pierced by a sword. As this sword did not damage the sacred text, tailors who need to have a sure and skillful cut of the scissors have chosen Saint Boniface as their patron.

## WRITINGS OF SAINT BONIFACE.

We have from Saint Boniface: 1st Letters; 2nd Sermons; 3rd a Latin Grammar; 4th a long Poem. — A copy of the Gospels is also attributed to him: This volume is written on parchment, in-12, in current Saxon characters. Gold letters which are found on the last page and which are of a more recent date, state formally that this book is from the very hand of Saint Boniface. It is kept in the public library of Fulda.

Serrarius published, in 1605, a collection of letters of Saint Boniface; but of the one hundred and fifty-two letters that this collection contains, there are only thirty-nine that are from the Saint; the others were addressed to him by Popes and bishops, princes, etc. One sees by the epistles of Saint Boniface, that he proposed to himself in all things only the glory of God.

Dom Martène and Dom Durand published a large number of letters of the Saint which are very curious, and which had never been printed. They also provided nineteen homilies by the same author. Here is what is said in the fourth, on the necessity of confession: "If we hide our sins, God will discover them publicly in spite of us. It is better to confess them to a man, than to expose oneself to being covered with confusion in the sight of all the inhabitants of heaven, of the earth and of hell." One finds, in the Spicilegium of d'Achery, a collection of canons that Saint Boniface had made for the conduct of his clergy. There is a sermon by the same Saint on the renunciation which is made at baptism, in the *Thesaurus anecdotorum novissimus*, which Dom Bernard Pez published at Augsburg, in 1729.

The style of Saint Boniface is clear, grave and simple; his thoughts are just and solid. One notices in all his writings much unction and a truly apostolic spirit. All his letters are in Latin, although, according to the most skillful antiquarians, the Anglo-Saxon language was so similar to that of most of the peoples of Germany, that the missionaries of this country did not need interpreters to make themselves understood.

His life was written first by Saint Willibald, one of his disciples, and then by Othlon, priest of Mainz, at the request of the monks of Fulda. The former is found in Baronius in the ninth volume of his Annals, and both in Surius. One can also read: *Boniface, apostle of the Germans, his life, his works*, by J.-Ch.-A. Selters, Catholic scholar of Gonttugue; Mainz, 1845. — Cf. Ozanam, *Germanic Studies*.