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St. Willibrord of Utrecht, Apostle to the Frisians
VII/VIII Centuries
The apostle to the Frisians was born in Northumbria c. 658 and was
educated under Wilfred at Ripon. When Egfrid exiled his teacher,
Willibrord went to Rathnelsigi (Mellifont) in Ireland, where he became a
disciple of St. Egbert. In 690, Egbert sent Willibrord and 11 (or 12)
companions to evangelize Friesland, which Pepin II the Young had recently
conquered. The missionaries were successful in West Friesland but less
successful in northern territories, like Denmark. Sergius III consecrated
Willibrord archbishop of the Frisians in 695, and Pepin gave him land near
Utrecht, which became the seat of the see. Three years later, Willibrord
established a monastery at Echternacht, which became a second base of
missionary activity. When Radbod, Duke of the Frisians, regained control
of Friesland (715), he banished Willibrord and persecuted Christians. On
the death of Radbod in 719, Willibrord was restored to see see, into which
he introduced the
chorespicopi, or suffragan bishops, an office he
adopted from Celtic ecclesiology. Willibrord brought the practice of
Christian dating to the documents of the Frankish kingdom. Boniface of
Crediton assisted Willibrord in his missionary activities and continued
preaching to the Frisians after Willibrord's death in 739.
Karen Rae Keck
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