Feastday St. Bonifatius: June the 5th
When did St. Bonifatius live: Eight century
Biography of St. Bonifatius:
Saint Bonifatius, also known as Saint Winfrid or Apostle of Germany, was born at Crediton in Devonshire (England) around 673 AD. He was educated at the Benedictine monastery in Exeter and there he became a monk. In 719 AD he went to Germany as a missionary. He destroyed idols and pagan temples, and then built churches on the sites. The legend tells that in Saxony Bonifatius came up against a huge oak tree. The folk worshiped the tree as a deity and so St. Bonifatius hacked down the wooden god with an axe. Afterwards St. Bonifatius told the people that his god was stronger than theirs. St. Bonifatius became Archbishop of Mainz and reformed the churches in his see. He built religious houses in Germany and founded the monastery at Fulda. He and fifty of his monks were martyred by a troop of pagans the fifth of June 754 at Dokkum in Freisland.
Statues and sculptures of St. Bonifatius - portrayal, imagery and emblem: The statue represents St. Bonifatius with an ax and a book.
Patronage St. Bonifatius: Patron of brewers, tailors and of the diocese of Fulda in Germany