Saints and Holy People

Find out about their lives and how they changed the world

Saint Boniface (c. 680–754)

Saint Boniface (c. 680–754)

Patron saint of Germany, brewers, tailors, and file cutters

Feast day: June 5




Saint Boniface was a Benedictine monk from England who gave up being an abbot to accept the mission of converting the Germanic tribes to Christianity. He was well known for his adherence to the Christian faith and his loyalty to the Pope of Rome.

When Boniface went on his first German mission trip, he encountered widespread pagan worship and a corrupt and uneducated clergy. He reported his findings to the Pope, and, after carefully considering the information, the Pope told Boniface to reform the German Church.

Boniface was appointed a regional bishop and his reforms were very successful. However, he encountered problems in the Frankish kingdom because of secular interference in Church matters. During his last mission to share the Good News with the Franks, he and his companions were killed while readying converts for Confirmation.

(Image Cornelis Bloemaert, 1603-1684; public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)