Bishop · Remembered on May 27
St. Augustine of Canterbury
St. Augustine of Canterbury is remembered on May 27 in Bless’s calendar of saints. Traditionally invoked as patron of England.
Life
Prior of Gregory the Great’s own monastery in Rome, sent by him with forty monks to convert the English — a company so daunted by reports of the islanders that they begged to turn back; Gregory would not have it.
Landing in Kent in 597, they were received by King Ethelbert, whose queen was already Christian; within a year the king and thousands of his people were baptized. Augustine became the first archbishop of Canterbury, mother see of the English, following Gregory’s wise counsel to destroy idols but keep and consecrate what could be kept.
Patron of
Tradition invokes St. Augustine of Canterbury as patron of England.
Saints with the same patronage
- St. GeorgeEngland · April 23
Patronages are traditional, not an official list. All patron saints in Bless, A to Z.
In the calendar
The upcoming dates, through December 31, 2028, when Bless’s Today screen shows St. Augustine of Canterbury. Where the US calendar keeps another celebration that day, it is named instead and no rank is given.
Readings
No dates are left in Bless’s published calendar, which runs through December 31, 2028. St. Augustine of Canterbury keeps May 27 in Bless’s calendar of saints: see the saints of May.
All the saints of May Born on May 27? A saint for every day
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