Saint Willibrord

Life story

Willibrord was born around 658 in Northumbria, in the north of England. He grew up in monasteries, studying at Ripon under Bishop Wilfrid, and then crossed to Ireland, where he spent about twelve years at Rath Melsigi. There he joined a circle of monks who wanted to carry the Gospel to the Frisians and other Germanic peoples on the Continent.

Around 690 Willibrord set out for Frisia with eleven companions, under the protection of Pepin of Herstal, who held power among the Franks. Around 695 he travelled to Rome, where Pope Sergius I consecrated him archbishop of the Frisians and gave him the name Clement. He made Utrecht his base, built churches, founded monastic cells and trained local preachers. His work was disrupted under King Radbod, who held to the old religion, and resumed after Radbod's death. He also tried a mission in Denmark, without lasting results.

In 698 Willibrord founded the abbey of Echternach, on land given by Irmina of Oeren, in present-day Luxembourg. It became a centre of monastic life and manuscript copying. He died there on 7 November 739, aged about eighty-one, and was buried in the abbey. His biography was written by the scholar Alcuin some decades later. He is honoured as the apostle of the Netherlands and is also beloved in Luxembourg, where a traditional dancing procession at Echternach is held each Whit Tuesday.

Several of his own manuscripts survive, among them a calendar in his hand that records dates of his work, and the abbey he founded remained a destination for pilgrims for centuries. His tomb at Echternach is still venerated today.

Works and witness

• Studied at Ripon and lived many years at Rath Melsigi in Ireland
• Went to Frisia around 690 with eleven companions
• Consecrated archbishop of the Frisians by Pope Sergius I in 695
• Founded Echternach abbey in 698
• Alcuin wrote his biography after 780

Patron of

Luxembourg, Netherlands

Saints from the same country

Saint Peter Canisius, Saint Titus Brandsma, Saint George, Saint Patrick

References

• Vita Willibrordi (Alcuin)
• Martyrologium Romanum
• Encyclopaedia Britannica – Saint Willibrord

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.