Today is the Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury, the Roman monk who crossed the Channel in 597 and became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. If you’ve ever wondered how England became a Christian nation, the answer begins with Augustine’s landing on the shores of Kent with forty Benedictine monks and a mission from Pope Gregory the Great.
Who St. Augustine of Canterbury was
Augustine was prior of St. Andrew’s monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory chose him to lead a missionary expedition to the Anglo-Saxons in 596. The monks got as far as Gaul before fear stopped them. They sent Augustine back to Rome to beg off. Gregory sent him back with letters of encouragement and the title of abbot. They landed on the Isle of Thanet in Kent in 597.
King Ethelbert of Kent received them cautiously, insisting the first meeting happen outdoors where Roman magic would be less potent. Augustine and his monks approached singing litanies, carrying a silver cross and an icon of Christ. Within months, Ethelbert was baptized. By Christmas, Augustine had baptized more than ten thousand English converts in the River Swale.
Gregory consecrated Augustine as bishop and later as archbishop, establishing Canterbury as the primatial see of England. Augustine died around 604, less than a decade after arriving, but he had planted the seed. The English Church traces its roots to that Benedictine prior who almost turned back in Gaul.
What he’s known for
Augustine is remembered as the Apostle to the English. He didn’t destroy pagan temples but converted them to churches, following Gregory’s advice to baptize cultures, not just individuals. The church he founded at Canterbury became the mother church of English Christianity. His crosier and book in sacred art represent his episcopal authority and his mission of teaching.
The baptismal font in his iconography recalls those Christmas baptisms in 597, the moment when England’s conversion began in earnest. Augustine’s approach was patient and incarnational. He asked questions of Rome, adapted Roman practice to English soil, and built on what was already there rather than razing it.
For today
Augustine teaches missionaries and parents the same lesson: patient incarnation wins where force fails. Today, ask yourself where you’ve been pushing when you should be translating. Pray for England, which has largely abandoned the faith Augustine brought. Ask St. Augustine of Canterbury to intercede for the re-evangelization of post-Christian lands, including your own neighborhood.
Carry his patience into one conversation today.
