SAINT BONIFACE

PATRON SAINT OF....

• Brewers
• Germany

Biography

• Born in Crediton England around the year 675 A.D.
• Wanted to be a priest at a young age
• His parents disapproved of him becoming a priest
• Family is disappointed in his choice and basically disowns him.

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• Wants to be like some of the other missionaries.
• First place he travels to is the Netherlands.
• War in Netherlands and ruler force Boniface to leave
• He goes to Rome and Pope Gregory II changes his name from Wynfrid to Boniface
• Went to the Netherlands again and was kicked out again.

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• Was sent to Germany
• Became the archbishop of Germany
• Went back to the Netherlands
• Was killed by robbers who thought he had money but only had papers

Hagiography
Near Christmas Eve Saint Boniface saw a tree that was used for pagans to worship one of their gods, Thor. The tree was called Donars's Oak.

So to prove that their god was weak, Saint Boniface chopped it down and used it to worship Jesus. This is said to have been the birth of the Christmas tree.

"This little tree, a young child of the
forest, shall be your holy tree tonight. It is the wood of peace… It is the sign of an endless life, for its leaves are evergreen. See how it points upward to heaven. Let this be called the tree of the Christ-child; gather about it, not in the wild wood, but in your own homes; there it will shelter no deeds of blood, but loving gifts and rites of kindness.”

"Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock. Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and to the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season.”

Prayer
"Saint Boniface, you faced discouragement and failure and learned from them. Help us to hear God's message in our moments of failure and to use what we learn to serve God better. Amen."

Saint Boniface is inspiring because he never gave up in trying to convert people from the Netherlands to Catholicism.

QUESTIONS

• Was St. Boniface the patron saint of Germany?
• Was he born in England?
• Did the pope change his name?
• What is his real name?
• Did he die in the Netherlands

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• Yes
• Yes
• Yes
• Yes
• Wynfrid

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