Saint Boniface ( 675? – 5 June 754
AD), born
Winfrid,
Wynfrith, or
Wynfryth in the kingdom of
Wessex in
Anglo-Saxon England, was a leading figure in the
Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the
Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He established the first organized Christianity in many parts of
Germania. He is the
patron saint of Germania, the first
archbishop of Mainz and the "Apostle of the Germans". He was killed in
Frisia in 754, along with 52 others. His remains were returned to
Fulda, where they rest in a sarcophagus which became a site of pilgrimage. Facts about Boniface's life and death as well as his work became widely known, since there is a wealth of material available—a number of
vitae, especially the near-contemporary
Vita Bonifatii auctore Willibaldi, and legal documents, possibly some sermons, and above all his correspondence.