Which 6th-century saint is known as the 'Apostle of the English' and was sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert England?

Augustine of Canterbury is the 6th-century saint known as the “Apostle of the English,” sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert England.

Augustine was a Roman monk and prior of the monastery of Saint Andrew when Gregory selected him to lead a mission to the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. He landed in Kent in 597, where King Æthelberht allowed the missionaries to preach. The king soon converted, and Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury.

The mission established Canterbury as a major centre of English Christianity. Augustine also founded a monastery outside the city and helped establish the bishoprics of London and Rochester. His work was especially significant because Christianity already existed in parts of Britain, but the Gregorian mission targeted the pagan Anglo-Saxon rulers and their subjects.

A common mix-up is confusing him with Augustine of Hippo, the earlier North African theologian. Augustine of Canterbury is associated with the Gregorian mission, Canterbury, and the conversion of Kent. He probably died around 604 and was soon venerated as a saint.