View source for Saint Augustine of Canterbury

{{Saints
|SaintName=Saint Augustine of Canterbury
|SaintStage=Saint
|FeastDay=May 26
|SaintBirthPlace=Italy (possibly Rome)
|SaintDeathDate=604-05-26
|DeathPlace=Canterbury, Kingdom of Kent
|SaintCauseOfDeath=Natural causes
|NotableAddress1=Canterbury, Kingdom of Kent
|NotableAddress2=Rome, Papal States
|NotableAddress3=Unknown
|NotableAddress4=Unknown
|NotableAddress5=Unknown
|Beatifier=Unknown
|BeatificationLocation=Unknown
|Canonized=Yes
|Canonizer=Unknown
|CanonizationLocation=Unknown
|SaintMiracle1=Unknown
|SaintMiracle2=Unknown
|SaintMiracle3=Unknown
|Profession=Monk, missionary, archbishop
|ReligiousAffiliation=Roman Catholic
|Patronage=England
|Attributes=Episcopal vestments, cross, book
|PrimaryShrine=St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, England (destroyed)
|AdditionalVeneration=Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church
}}
'''Saint Augustine of Canterbury''' (d. May 26, 604) was a [[Saints|saint]] and missionary monk sent by [[Pope Gregory the Great]] to convert the Anglo-Saxons in England. Likely born in [[Italy]], possibly [[Rome]], he was prior of St. Andrew’s monastery before leading a mission of 40 monks to Kent in 596. Arriving in 597, he was welcomed by King Æthelberht of Kent, whose Christian wife, Bertha, facilitated his work. Augustine established a monastery at [[Canterbury]], converted Æthelberht, and baptized thousands, becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury. His mission laid the foundation for Christianity in England. Venerated in the [[Roman Catholic]], Anglican, and [[Eastern Orthodox]] Churches, his feast day is [[May 26]] in Rome and May 28 in England.<ref name="CatholicEncyclopedia">{{cite web |title=St. Augustine of Canterbury |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02084a.htm |website=Catholic Encyclopedia |publisher=New Advent |access-date=2025-05-11}}</ref><ref name="Wikipedia">{{cite web |title=Augustine of Canterbury |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterbury |website=Wikipedia |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=2025-05-11}}</ref>

Augustine’s efforts included founding dioceses in London and Rochester and building churches, like St. Martin’s in Canterbury. Despite challenges, including tensions with British Christians over customs, his mission transformed Kent into a Christian stronghold. His tomb at St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury, was a pilgrimage site until its destruction during the Reformation. As patron of England, his legacy endures in the English Church’s structure and missionary spirit.<ref name="Bede">{{cite book |last=Bede |title=Ecclesiastical History of the English People |editor=Leo Sherley-Price |year=1968 |publisher=Penguin Classics |location=London |isbn=978-0140445657}}</ref><ref name="Farmer">{{cite book |last=Farmer |first=David Hugh |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Saints |year=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0199596607}}</ref>