St. Boniface

by Paul A. Schons

Originally published by the Germanic-American Institute in June, 2000

A June drive just to the west of the Twin Cities on Highway 7 brings us through the little city of St. Boniface, Minnesota. The small town with its German ethnic traditions, invites reflection on the role of its name giver, St. Boniface. St. Boniface day is celebrated on June 5 in both the Catholic and the Lutheran traditions. St. Boniface, called the “Apostle to Germany”, was one of the early missionaries responsible for bringing much of Germany to Christianity.

Christianity had come quite early to those parts of Germany which were incorporated into the Roman Empire. Along the Rhine and as far north as the Danube there were numerous Christian communities as early as the 3rd century. Such cities as Augsburg, Cologne, and Trier were early centers of Christianity. The designation of Christianity as an accepted religion by the Roman Emperor Constantine in 313 opened the rapid spread of the new religion. The process of the Christianization of the bulk of Germany, however, would not follow for centuries. St. Boniface was a highly influential figure in this process in the 8th century. The completion of the process of the Christianization of Germany within its present borders was not achieved, never the less, until the Saxon conquests of Karl der Große (Charlemagne) in the 9th century.

St. Boniface was born on the British Islands in about 675. It is not known exactly where. There is dispute as to whether it was in England, Ireland or Scottland. Winfrid, as he was originally named, was born to a wealthy noble family, but gave up his earthly advantage to lead a life dedicated to religion. He was educated at monasteries in Exeter and Nutshalling in England. At age 30 he was ordained to the Christian priesthood in the Benedictine Order. His dream had long been to undertake a mission among the pagans (his Anglo-Saxon ancestors) in the area now known as Holland and Germany. After some work with the missionary, Willibrord, in Utrecht, he received permission to travel to Rome to seek an independent appointment as a missionary to Germany. In 719 he was given the appointment by Pope Gregory II. He then spend a further three years with Willibrord in Holland working with him in the continuing conversion of the pagan Friesians. Finally in 721 he undertook his work in Germany as he traveled across the Rhine to the area which is now the German state of Hessia. In 722 he was consecrated a regional bishop. It is likely that he took the name Boniface as an ecclesiastic name at that time.

The story is told that in his missionary zeal he traveled to Fritzlar at one point. He was drawn by an ancient oak tree which was revered there as sacred to the pagan god of thunder, Thor. He personally cut down the tree as an act of defiance against the pagan god. He used the wood to build a Christian chapel on the location. Many pagans are said to have converted to Christianity on that occasion, seeing that Thor struck down neither him nor the chapel with his lightening bolts in retribution.

In 732 he was elevated to the rank of archbishop with the authority to appoint additional bishops. In this capacity he established the dioceses of Passau, Regensburg, Freising, Würzburg and Erfurt. He also established a number of monasteries. The Abby at Fulda which he established in 744 was the one which he made a base of his activities. (The Abby in Fulda is still active today. Should you wish to visit it, it is located in the center of the city, directly adjacent to the cathedral.)

He had headed the first German Synod in 742 and was to call another 4 Synods in seeking to consolidate German Christianity. In 747 Boniface was elevated to the position of Archbishop of Mainz. In that role he was the Christian primate over all of Germany and continued to work toward the consolidation of his earlier missionary work.

In 754 Boniface resigned as Archbishop of Mainz to return full time and actively to the work to which his life had been devoted, the conversion of pagans. He returned to the work with the full energy and zeal of his earlier years. His work was soon to be cut short, however. Later in that same year while on the way to baptize a group of new Christians he was attacked by a resentful pagan mob and stabbed to death. As many as 50 of his traveling companions were also killed in the attack. According to his own earlier request his body was entombed at the Abby he had founded in Fulda. His remains are today in the Fulda cathedral. Relics are also housed in Louvain, Mechlin, Prague, Bruges, Erfurt and Eichfeld. Boniface was regarded as a saint in England soon after his death and thereafter in Germany and Holland. Within the Catholic Church his sainthood was officially confirmed by Pope Pius IX on June 11, 1874 and his feast day was extended to the church world wide. The German Lutheran church also remembers and respects Boniface as an early contributor to German Christianity.