Willibrord Of Utrecht

Born around 658 in Northumbria, Willibrord was the son of Wilgils, a recently converted Saxon. Educated at Ripon Abbey under Wilfrid of York, he became a Benedictine monk and was ordained a priest. He spent twelve years in Ireland at Rath Melsigi Abbey to further his education. In 690, he was sent to Frisia to evangelize the population. He is said to have landed at Gravelines, where a chapel was dedicated to him. After a first trip to Rome to obtain papal approval, he was consecrated missionary bishop on November 21, 695, in the church of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere. He established his episcopal see in Utrecht and traversed a vast territory, extending to Denmark where, in 725, he attempted to evangelize King Ongendus, but only succeeded in converting thirty children. A friend of Saint Lambert of Maastricht, he was a key figure in the Christianization of the Netherlands. He founded Echternach Abbey in 698, where he died on November 7, 739, and was buried, his tomb still being a place of pilgrimage. His skull is displayed in Aachen. He also signed the founding act of Murbach Abbey in 728. Willibrord is liturgically commemorated on November 7 and is the patron saint of the Netherlands, the Frisians, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and children with epilepsy. He is generally depicted as a beardless bishop.