Augustine of Canterbury (Died 604)
Pope Gregory the Great asked Augustine to re-establish Christianity in the Southern part of England after pagan Anglo-Saxons of Denmark and Germany had overwhelmed the local Christian population.
E-FACT
Canterbury remains the religious capital of England. None of the cathedralthat stands today is from Augustine's time, however. The last of several Saxon buildings on the site was destroyed by fire in 1067. Most of the current structure was then designed and completely finished.
He and forty of his monks were received by King Ethelbert and Queen Bertha of Kent. Augustine built a church and monastery at Canterbury, on land given to him by the king, but ran into opposition as he sought to make converts. The king, however, was converted, and his change of heart inspired others to do likewise.
Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury. To this day, the Archbishop of Canterbury remains the head of the Church of England, or the Anglican Church nationally. The church that Augustine constructed was the first cathedral ever built in England, and Canterbury remains the religious capital of the country. St. Augustine's feast day is May 27.
