SAINTS DAYS COMMEMORATED IN JUNE
5 June Saint Boniface
The Apostle of the Germans, born Wynfryth in the kingdom of Wessex
(c.672), probably at Crediton (now in Devon, England), was a missionary
who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8 th Century,
He is the patron saint of Germany and the first archbishop of Mainz, He was
killed on 5 June 754 in Dokkum, Frisia , buried in Fulda, which became a site
of pilgrimage. Facts about his life are well documented, ‘vitae’, legal
documents, sermons and letters are preserved. In 723 he felled the Donar
Oak near the present-day town of Fritzlar in northern Hesse. He called upon
the god to strike him down if he cut this holy tree, but his vita told that a great
wind arose and blew the oak down, but did not kill Boniface, so the people
were amazed and converted to Christianity. He built a chapel on the site
from the wood and dedicated it to St Peter, today it’s the site of the cathedral
in Fritzlar. He enjoyed the personal protection of the Carolingian kings, and
was made papal legate to Germany. Some traditions credit him with the
invention of the Christmas tree (although this is not mentioned in the vitae).
Through his efforts to reorganise and regulate the church of the Franks, he
helped shape Western Christianity.
9 June St Columba (born 7 Dec 521, died 9 June 597)
Irish abbot and missionary, he studied in
Ireland under St Finnan,