Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today is the feast day of Saint Willibrord of Utrecht. I hope you will indulge me if I talk about this saint very briefly.

I am interest in Willibrord for several reasons. This past summer, I was fortunate to stay in the Hebrides at a tiny monastery, where I learned more about the lineage of Irish saints that moved eventually across the sea from Ireland whether by necessity or choice. There is quite a line of such Celtic saints: from Saint Ninian, who moved from Rome to be a missionary to the Pics; or Saint Finnian, who founded Clonard Abbey and taught Twelve Apostles of Ireland; to Saint Brendan, one of the Twelve who epitomized the Celtic model of pilgrimage by taking his famous voyage (to Iceland, to Africa, or the New World?); or Saint Columba, who founded an Abbey on a strange little island (Iona) ‘around the corner’ from the sea where no view of Ireland could be had; or Saint Oran, who purportedly allowed himself to be buried alive to consecrate the same island for God’s purposes (I have a little icon depicting Saint Oran gazing into his tomb). Many, many dedicated Christians gave everything (recalling Fr. Cutié’s sermon on Sunday) to bring the Gospel to these remote islands.

In the generations following these many Celtic saint-missionaries in the fifth and sixth centuries, yet another wave of missionary activity occurred at the dawning of the Middle Ages. Saint Willibrord became a Benedictine monk and spent many years at the Abbey of Rath Melsigi in Ireland. There he studied with Saint Egbert, the Archbishop of Lindisfarne, who organized missionary work in Frisia (modern Friesland in the Netherlands). Bede tells us that Willibrord was made bishop of Frisians in 695 in Rome at the Church of Saint Cecilia in Trastevere. I have visited this church recently, but did not know of this larger Celtic/Frisian link; it gave me shivers to make the connection!

Willibrord set out to Fresia with twelve companions (sounds familiar?) in 690, and he ministered to the Fresians and Danes primarily until his death. Eventually, he became the Archbishop of Utrecht. The Diocese of Utrecht is still in communion with the Church of England today!

Saint Willibrord died on this day in 739, which also happens to be my birthday. It’s always an honor to share any connection to holy persons! There is a long Christian tradition that suggests that a saint’s death date should be the same as his or her birthdate – implying a kind of wholeness in one’s life. Sharing this date with Willibrord can only inspire me to learn from his example, and it reminds me that I am not alone in my confession.

There are many such examples to stir up our faith, and we do well to learn and tell these stories frequently.

Yours in Christ,
Justin