Synopsis

Augustine's Mission - The facts

The story starts in 583, in the market place in Rome where Gregory - soon to be Pope Gregory - witnessed a group of English slaves being auctioned. Moved by their fair complexions and dignified bearing, he took pity on them, bought them and in time converted them to Christianity. A few years later, on becoming Pope, he approached Augustine, a local, carefree monk, and asked him to travel to England in order to convert the people of Kent to Christianity.

Augustine, with reservations, eventually accepted the job and set off with forty volunteer monks. They journeyed first to France, crossing the back-breaking Alps on foot.

Sadly, Augustine's forty followers, worried about their likely reception in England, such an inhospitable country, soon became disheartened and very afraid. They persuaded Augustine to go back to Gregory to ask permission for them to return to Rome. Gregory, however, urged Augustine and his monks to continue, and with renewed faith, they went ahead with the journey.

They first travelled to Tours, from where they sailed down the Loire to the sea, round the coast of Britanny, and so to the coast of Kent.

In 597 they landed on Thanet Isle, but they were forced to wait there until Ethelbert, the King of Kent, gave them permission to proceed to the capital of his kingdom, Canterbury. Ethelbert came to meet them, and in open air, listened to what Augustine had to say.

The king agreed to give the monks hospitality in Canterbury and allowed them to preach. By Christmas, the monks had made so many converts that ten thousand people, including the king, were baptised on Christmas Day.

The monks went on to establish a monastery and a cathedral in Canterbury and by the time Augustine died, Christianity was so well established that, despite numerous upheavals in later years, England never again became a totally pagan country.