The Axe and the Sword

If it were not Whitsun Monday, then we would be celebrating the feast of St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany.

Within a hundred years of St. Augustine of Canterbury arriving on the shores of England to establish the Catholic Church, a Benedictine named Winfred set out to bring the Franks and Teutons under the authority of the Rome. Despite the dangers of trying to convert barbarian tribes, Boniface courageously proclaimed Christ, while proceeding to destroy their idolatrous shrines and raise churches on their ruins. After success in southern Germany, he was called to Rome and consecrated bishop, returning to extend and organize the German church. Next he restored and reformed the Church among the Franks, before going to Holland where he was put to the sword whilst gathering converts for Confirmation. Beside his body was found a copy of St. Ambrose' s treatise on The Advantage of Death. His remains were removed to Utrecht, then Mainz and finally the abbey of Fulda, which was his most beloved of foundations.

The most famous incident in his life involved an oak dedicated to the Norse god Thor, who as the god of thunder was believed to strike anyone who dared destroy it. Undaunted, Boniface removed his shirt and with an axe in hand began to cut the sacred oak. The Teutons waited expecting him to be annihilated but nothing happened and they immediately accepted the Christian faith. Out of the hewn timber Boniface constructed a chapel dedicated to St. Peter.