ST. WILFRID (OCT. 12TH)

 

St. Wilfrid

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West)

Today, October 12th, we remember St. Wilfrid, an English bishop and saint. 

Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Gaul, and at Rome. 

He was a champion of Roman canonical order and papal primacy up and against the native Celtic Tradition of Christianity, and had huge disputes with kings, bishops and Archbishop Theodore of Tarsus during his lifetime. 

While controversial, St. Wilfrid consistently encouraged ascetical vocations and built many monasteries, introducing the Rule of St. Benedict to the British Isles, and was one of the most successful Romanizers of the English Church. 

While we now understand the errors of St. Wilfrid's overly papist approach, we are still thankful to God for the Saint’s faithfulness in the face of opposition and suffering, and the increase of Benedictine Monasticism in Britain through his life and work.

St. Wilfrid, pray for us!