St. Augustine of Canterbury

St. Augustine of Canterbury (died c. 604) was a Benedictine monk and prior of the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome when, in 596, Pope St. Gregory the Great chose him to lead a band of some forty monks on a mission to convert the Anglo-Saxons of England. Landing in Kent in 597, he was received by King Æthelberht, whose Christian Frankish queen Bertha aided the mission; the king was soon converted and baptized, opening the way for the evangelization of his people.

Augustine established his see at Canterbury, becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury, and founded the monastery that later bore his name. He consecrated further bishops, sought — with mixed success — to reconcile Roman practices with the older British Christians, and corresponded with Pope Gregory on questions of governing the young Church, replies preserved by St. Bede. Rightly called the "Apostle of the English," he laid the foundation of the Church in England and is honored as a saint by Catholics and Anglicans alike.