St. Oswald of Worcester

St. Oswald of Worcester was a leading figure of the tenth-century monastic revival in England and died on 29 February 992. Of Danish descent and a nephew of an archbishop of Canterbury, he became a monk and was trained in the reformed monastic life at Fleury in France before returning to England, where, together with Sts. Dunstan and Ethelwold, he labored to restore the discipline and fervor of the religious houses that had fallen into decline.

Made bishop of Worcester and later also archbishop of York, he founded and reformed monasteries, notably the great abbey of Ramsey, and promoted learning, sound worship, and the care of the poor. A humble and charitable pastor, he was known for washing the feet of the poor each day during Lent, and it was while performing this act of humility that he died. Honored for his holiness and his work of renewal, he is commemorated at the end of February, on the 28th and, in leap years, the 29th.