St. BONIFACE (680-754)

Feast day, 5 June.

The ‘Apostle of Germany’. Wynfrith, as he was originally called, was born at Crediton, in Devon. In 716 he made a first, but unsuccessful, missionary journey to Frisia. Undaunted, he journeyed to Rome two years later, where he was forthwith armed with Papal authority, and in 719 on a second visit to Germany met with success in Bavaria and Thuringia and converted many of the Hessians. News of his work caused Gregory II to demand his presence in Rome in 722, and Boniface from now on received the fullest Papal support. (The tradition that it was on this occasion that his name was changed to Boniface on the feast of St. Boniface, the Roman martyr, seems incorrect, as he apparently used the name Boniface earlier.) On his return to Germany, his courage in felling the Oak of Thor at Geismar, near Fritzlar, won him instant success, and not much later he was able to lay the foundations of a settled ecclesiastical organization for Germany. After the death of Charles Martel (741), Boniface was given authority to carry through a reform of the whole Frankish Church, a task which he accomplished in a series of councils. c.743 he founded the famous abbey of Fulda. c.747 he became Archbp. of Mainz, but after a few years he resigned the see to return to his old mission in Frisia, where he met with martyrdom. His devotion to the Papacy, coupled with the success of his work, greatly assisted the spread of Papal influence north of the Alps.

OXFORD DICTIONARY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

BONIFACE OF CREDITON, missionary and martyr. B. probably at or near Crediton (Devon, UK). c. 675; d. in Friesland, 754 or 755; f.d. 5 June. He was christened Wynfrith, but is always known as Boniface, the name he used later on. Until he was about forty he was a monk, first at Exeter and then at Nursling, near Southampton; his chief concern in those days was study and the handing on of the fruits of his study by teaching and preaching: he expounded the Bible, and compiled the first Latin grammar written in England. In the year 718 Boniface left his homeland, never to return, to take the gospel to the heathen tribes of Germany. He made an immediate impression as one who moved with power, and the results of his mission were lasting. St Boniface’s activities ranged over Hesse, Bavaria, Westphalia, the Thuringenland, and Württemberg. Three times he journeyed to Rome to report progress to the pope, and on the second visit he was made a bishop, eventually establishing his see at Mainz. To help in his work he enlisted other English missionaries from Wessex, women as well as men - Lull, Willibald, Walburga, and Lioba among them.

The text of many letters written by and about Boniface still exists; they are valuable. historical documents and give a picture of a great and lovable man. Probably in the year 732, Pope Gregory III made him archbishop, and his later years were busy with organizing the West German and reforming the Frankish church, in concert with King Pepin the Short. When he was over seventy he still had no thought of rest, and turned his attention to Holland. There he ended his life in martyrdom. At a place called Dokkum, be and his companions were set upon by heathen Frieslanders and put to the sword; when they broke in on him he was sitting quietly in a tent, reading. Shortly after, Archbishop Cuthbert of Canterbury wrote to St Lull that ‘we in England lovingly reckon Boniface among the best and greatest teachers of the faith’ and among our special patrons. St Boniface is an important figure in the history of western Europe, but today he is much better remembered in Germany than among his fellow countrymen: his tomb at Fulda (where he founded a monastery) is revered as a sacred spot.

PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF SAINTS

The Legend Of The Christmas Tree

A pleasant tradition credits Boniface with the invention of the Christmas tree. The Oak of Thor at Geismar was chopped down by Boniface in a stage-managed confrontation with the old gods and local heathen tribes. A fir tree growing in the roots of the Oak was claimed by Boniface as a new symbol.

"This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households. Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light. Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your Comfort and Guide"

The tree became a sign of Christ in the world for the German peoples and nowadays it is a universal reminder of Christmas