*** *** *** St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604/605) was the respected prior of the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome when he was sent by St. Gregory the Great to lead a group of missionary monks to Anglo-Saxon England. Although Christian missionaries had preached there years before, the invading tribes forced a number of Christians west and into hiding. In time, Augustine’s mission would be prosperous. King Aethelbert of Kent allowed the group to preach, and eventually, the King and many of his people converted, to set the future course of Christianity in Britain.

— Known as “Apostle to the English,” St. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 597.