St. Augustine of Canterbury (died about 604) was a Benedictine monk of Rome whom Pope St. Gregory the Great sent in 596 with some forty companions to bring the Gospel to the pagan Anglo-Saxons of England; landing in Kent in 597, he baptized King Ethelbert and thousands of his people and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He is called the Apostle of the English. He is not the same person as St. Augustine of Hippo, the great African Father of the Church. His feast day is May 27 (May 26 in England and Wales). Below are his story in the words of St. Bede, and a prayer to St. Augustine of Canterbury.
A short prayer to St. Augustine of Canterbury, written for this page:
St. Augustine, you crossed the sea with the cross and the image of Christ to bring the Gospel to a pagan land.
Pray for England and for all who proclaim Christ in new places,
and give me courage when the task before me seems too great. Amen.
Who was St. Augustine of Canterbury?
Augustine was prior of the monastery of St. Andrew on the Caelian Hill in Rome, founded by Gregory the Great in his own family home. Gregory, who according to tradition had once seen fair-haired English boys in the slave market of Rome and longed to evangelize their people, chose Augustine to lead the mission in 596. On the journey through Gaul the monks lost heart and sent Augustine back to ask to be released, but Gregory encouraged them to continue. They landed on the Isle of Thanet, in Kent, in 597.
King Ethelbert of Kent, whose Frankish wife Bertha was already a Christian, received them cautiously, gave them a house in Canterbury and allowed them to preach. Within a year the king was baptized, and on Christmas Day, according to Gregory’s letters, more than ten thousand of his people were baptized. Augustine was consecrated bishop in Gaul and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He founded the cathedral of Christ Church and the monastery of Sts. Peter and Paul, later St. Augustine’s Abbey, established sees at Rochester and London, and tried, without success, to reach agreement with the bishops of the older British Church in the west. He died around 604.
Augustine before King Ethelbert
St. Bede tells how the missionaries first met the king (Ecclesiastical History I.25):
But they came endued with Divine, not with magic power, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board; and chanting litanies, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for the eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom and for whom they had come. When they had sat down, in obedience to the king’s commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the Word of life, the king answered thus: “Your words and promises are fair, but because they are new to us, and of uncertain import, I cannot consent to them so far as to forsake that which I have so long observed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far as strangers into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true, and most beneficial, we desire not to harm you, but will give you favourable entertainment, and take care to supply you with all things necessary to your sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion.” Accordingly he gave them an abode in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and, as he had promised, besides supplying them with sustenance, did not refuse them liberty to preach. It is told that, as they drew near to the city, after their manner, with the holy cross, and the image of our sovereign Lord and King, Jesus Christ, they sang in concert this litany: “We beseech thee, O Lord, for Thy great mercy, that Thy wrath and anger be turned away from this city, and from Thy holy house, for we have sinned. Hallelujah.”
Feast day
The optional memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, bishop, is May 27; in England and Wales his feast is kept on May 26.
Frequently asked questions
Is St. Augustine of Canterbury the same as St. Augustine of Hippo?
No. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) was an African bishop and Doctor of the Church; Augustine of Canterbury was a Roman monk sent to England in 596.
Why is he called the Apostle of the English?
Because he led the mission that brought Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons of England.
When is his feast day?
May 27 (May 26 in England and Wales).
More saints
- St. Gregory the Great
- St. Bede the Venerable
- St. Augustine prayer (of Hippo)
- St. Thomas Becket
- St. Anselm
- Saint of the day
Texts and sources
- Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People I.25, trans. A. M. Sellar (1907), public domain (Project Gutenberg).