Saint Boniface

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Saint Boniface : biography

c. 7th century – 5 June 754

Memorials

Saint Boniface’s feast day is celebrated on 5 June in the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Anglican Communion and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

A famous statue of Saint Boniface stands on the grounds of Mainz Cathedral, seat of the archbishop of Mainz. A more modern rendition stands facing the cathedral of Fritzlar.

The UK National Shrine is located at the Catholic church at Crediton, Devon, which has a bas-relief of the felling of Thor’s Oak, by sculptor Kenneth Carter. The sculpture was unveiled by Princess Margaret in his native Crediton, located in Newcombes Meadow Park. There is also a series of paintings there by Timothy Moore. There are quite a few churches dedicated to St. Boniface in the United Kingdom: Bunbury, Cheshire; Chandler’s Ford and Southampton Hampshire; Adler Street, London; Papa Westray, Orkney; St Budeaux, Plymouth (now demolished); Bonchurch, Isle of Wight; Cullompton, Devon.

Bishop George Errington founded St Boniface’s Catholic College, Plymouth in 1856. The school celebrates Saint Boniface on 5 June each year.

In 1818, Father Norbert Provencher founded a mission on the east bank of the Red River in what was then Rupert’s Land, building a log church and naming it after St. Boniface. The log church was consecrated as Saint Boniface Cathedral after Provencher was himself consecrated as a bishop and the diocese was formed. The community that grew around the cathedral eventually became the city of St. Boniface, which merged into the city of Winnipeg in 1971.

Saint Boniface also has a Roman Catholic church dedicated to him in the diocese of Lafayette in Indiana in the United States of America. It was started by German immigrants in 1853 and the present church building was completed in 1865. The parish was in the care of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscan Fathers) of the Cincinnati Province between 1875 and 1991 and now is staffed by diocesan priests. The strong influence of its German heritage is still felt in the parish through the many families who have attended St. Boniface for generations and its annual Germanfest. More recently, the parish has been home to many of Lafayette’s growing Mexican-American population.

St. Boniface Church, Chicago was established by German immigrants in 1865, with the current building dating from 1903. The church, although of significant architectural interest, fell into disuse in 1990 and its future is in doubt.

St. Boniface Catholic Church in Cold Spring, Minnesota reached its 130-year anniversary in 2008. There is another St. Boniface Roman Catholic church in Anaheim, California.

Wimbledon, North Dakota has a St. Boniface Catholic Church that was established in 1886 and is still an active parish.

St. Boniface Catholic Church in Stuart, Nebraska was established in 1899 and celebrated the parish centennial in August 1999. The parish is still going strong. The original frame church was built at a cost of about $1400.00 under the guidance of Father Emil Klemenz. In 1911 a new brick church was built to replace the frame structure. In recent years the building has been updated with an enclosed front entry and an elevator. The parish had three vocations to the priesthood. Father Leopold Blaschko offered his first Mass on 10 April 1917, Father Joseph L. Kaup offered his first Mass on 23 September 1943, and Father Adrian Laible offered his first Mass on 29 May 1958. Forty two young women became nuns.

Sources and writings

Vitae

The earliest "Life" of Boniface was written by a certain Willibald, an Anglo-Saxon priest who came to Mainz after Boniface’s death,This is not the Willibald who was appointed by Boniface as Bishop of Eichstatt: "The writer of the Life was a simple priest who had never come into direct contact with Boniface and what he says is based upon the facts that he was able to collect from those who had been Boniface’s disciples." Talbot 24. around 765. Willibald’s biography was widely dispersed; Levison lists some forty manuscripts.Levison xvii-xxvi. According to his lemma, a group of four manuscripts including Codex Monacensis 1086 are copies directly from the original.Levison xxxviii.