St. Augustine of Canterbury

Augustine of Canterbury (died May 26, 604) was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in 598. He is considered the "Apostle to the English", a founder of the English Church, and a patron of England. Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission to Britain to convert the pagan King Ethelberht of Kent to Christianity. In 597 Augustine landed on the Isle of Thanet and proceeded to Canterbury.

Augustine was consecrated bishop of the English, and converted many of the king's subjects. Roman Catholic bishops were established at London and Rochester in 604, and a school was founded to train Anglo-Saxon priests and missionaries. Augustine died in 604 and was soon revered as a saint. The Church of England remained in communion with the Holy See until it declared its independence in the sixteenth century.