Feast day: February 3
When did St. Ansgar live: 801 - 865
Biography of St. Ansgar:
Ansgar was born as the son of a noble family in Amiens and soon became a monk. King Harold asked him to accompany him to Denmark. There, Ansgar got involved in missionary word before moving to Sweden to build the first Christian Church in Sweden. Later on, he became Abbot of New Corbie and Archbishop of the German city of Hamburg. Pope Gregory IV even asked him to be his legate to the Scandinavian Countries and he also became archbishop of Bremen in 848. In his last years, he completed his missionary work in Scandinavia.
Patronage: Ansgar is patin saint of Scandinavia
Statues and wooden sculptures representing St. Ansgar - portrayal, imagery and emblem: St. Ansgar is shown as a bishop with miter, crozier and books. In his hands, he hold a little church model as the symbol for the first Christian Church of Sweden, which he built.