Saint Boniface (673-754)
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(CNA) Born in England (between the year 673 to 680) Boniface was educated at a Benedictine Monastery, becoming a Monk and was sent as a missionary to Germany.
Boniface was very bold in his faith and was well known for being very good at using the local customs and culture in his ministry to convert souls to Christ. In Germany, Boniface destroyed pagan idols and temples, subsequently constructing Churches on the sites — Boniface later was made Archbishop of Germany Mainz.
One story about Archbishop Boniface tells us about when he met a tribe in Saxony worshiping a Norse deity in the form of a huge oak tree according to SQPN Boniface walked up to the tree, removed his shirt, took an ax and without uttering a word, hacked down the 6 foot wooden idol. Subsequently Bonface stood at the trunk and inquired: “How stands your mighty god? My God is stronger than he.” The crowds reactions were mixed but some conversion to Jesus Christ begun as a result thereof.
Archbishop Boniface was martyred for Jesus Christ on this date in 754 while on a mission trip to Holland, where a gang of Pagans attacked and killed him, together with 52 of his companions.
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