2023-05-27 07:01:00
May 27, 2023 / 12:01 a.m.
Today, May 27, the Church celebrates Saint Augustine of Canterbury, Benedictine monk (Order of Saint Benedict) who was the first Archbishop of Canterbury (England) and one of the Fathers of the Latin Church. Saint Augustine is also considered one of the greatest evangelizers in Europe, along with Saint Patrick of Ireland and Saint Boniface of Mainz (Germany).
Revive the faith
The exact date of his birth is unknown, however, it is known that he began his apostolic and missionary life in the year 597, when Augustine left the city of Rome, where he lived, for the island of Great Britain. The saint left in the company of 39 other monks on the orders of Pope Gregory the Great, who sent him to evangelize the European island territory.
Great Britain had received evangelizers since apostolic times, however, after a few centuries, it gradually returned to the old pagan cults, especially after the Saxon invasion in the fifth and sixth centuries.
Accompanied by Providence
This situation would take an important turn when King Etelbert of Kent (560-616) -Kent was the region located in the southeast of medieval England- granted permission for the arrival of missionaries and evangelizers, especially Benedictines. Etelberto, being a pagan, wanted with this opening to please his Catholic wife, the queen consort Adalberta -later, Santa Berta de Kent-. In time the king himself would convert, ask for baptism, and die holy as his wife.
Before the arrival of the missionaries in the town of Thanet, in Kent, and they were received by Ethelbert, Pope Saint Gregory the Great had already named Augustine abbot and appointed bishop. After the meeting between the monarch and the novice bishop, the king granted permission to the monks to preach and handed over the church of San Martín to them.
Liturgical celebrations and public preaching were resumed, and with this many conversions began to take place. As a corollary to that revival of faith, the king and members of his court were baptized on the day of Pentecost in the year 597.
“The Apostle of the English”
The affability of the missionaries, their simplicity, generosity and strength against all tests, made a deep impression on the king. Agustín also stood out in the middle of the group. With this, Etelberto was impressed, and increasingly compenetrated with the doctrine taught by the saint, clearly and eloquently exposed.
So, Augustine made the decision to send two of his monks to Rome to tell the Supreme Pontiff what was happening. The Pope in response appointed him Archbishop of Canterbury and exhorted him to maintain the king’s favor through humility and gratitude.
Augustine thus became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, the famous cathedral city in the southeast of England, which would resume its Christian roots, until centuries later it would end up becoming the center of Anglicanism.
catholic england
Augustine would fulfill, without being fully aware, a historical task: following the indications of the Pope, he carried out the distribution of ecclesiastical territories. The saint erected several episcopal sees that remain to this day, one in London and another in Rochester, consecrating Melito and Justo bishops.
After having worked tirelessly for the conversion of England, Saint Augustine of Canterbury died on May 26, 604.
If you want to know more about Saint Augustine of Canterbury, we recommend that you read this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia: https://ec.aciprensa.com/wiki/San_Agustín_de_Canterbury.
More information in the next link.
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