Who was St. Boniface?
St. Boniface was born at Crediton in Devon in 675 and baptised with the name Winfrith. The name means “Friend of Peace”, possibly because his father was a Saxon and his mother British, to show that the two peoples had come together. He had convinced his parents to send him to a monastery for schooling because he admired the monks who had visited his home. Through diligent study he rapidly learned all that this local monastery could teach him and was transferred to the monastery at Nursling for further schooling. There he became such a well-known teacher that students circulated notes from his classes. He found in his heart a burning passion for foreign mission. Finally his abbot let him leave, and in 716 he set out for the land of the Frisians. Another English Missionary, Willibrord from Northumbria had already preached the Gospel there for several years. But wars and the hatred of the pagans were big obstacles for the young Winfrith. Some months later, having failed, he returned to hi
