Name ______Date ______

Saint Boniface

Directions: Read the biography and answer the questions.

A young priest named Winfrid was a well-known Christian scholar and teacher in England in the seventh century. His reputation among his fellow monks made him the natural choice to take up the position of abbot overseeing all other monks in his monastery. Winfrid turned down this appointment and instead he responded to God’s call to be a missionary to Germania. Christianity already had a strong presence there and he expected to find great success, but instead he found many leaders were hostile towards Christians. He sought the help and protection Charles Martel, the grandfather of future Christian Emperor Charlemagne. Winfried reported his struggles to Pope Gregory II in Rome. There he was appointed as a bishop to Germany and took on a new name, Bishop Boniface. Struggles to convert the people there continued, but Saint Boniface never lost hope. He established many churches, monasteries, and convents. Many people were baptized due to his work. On a missionary trip for the Confirmation of new converts in 754, Saint Boniface and fifty-two companions were murdered. This great saint’s legacy lived on for centuries and he rightfully earned the title “Apostle to the Germans” to this day.

1. Why did Winfrid decline the opportunity to become the abbot of his monastery? ______

2. The name Boniface is either derived from the Latin words bonum facere (good work) or bonus fatum (good faith). How did Boniface show his good works and faith in his life? ______

3. Boniface was a missionary and shared the good news of God’s love with the people of Germania. Who needs to hear this message of God’s love the most in our world today? ______

©The Religion Teacher