Adapted from Various Sources.
St. Willibrord, First Bishop of Utrecht and Apostle of Friesland († 738; Feast – November 7)
St. Willibrord was born in the kingdom of Northumberland (northern England bordering Scotland),
towards the year 658, and placed by his pious parents, before he was seven years old, in the monastery of Ripon,
which was at that time governed by St. Wilfrid, its founder. Willibrord, by carrying the yoke of Our Lord with
fervor from his infancy, found it always easy and sweet, and the better to preserve the first fruits he had gathered,
made his monastic profession when he was very young. He had made great progress in virtue and sacred learning, when,
out of a desire for further improvement, in the twentieth year of his age, he went over to Ireland, with the consent
of his Abbot and brethren, where he joined Saints Egbert and Wigbert, who were gone thither before upon the same errand.
In their company our Saint spent twelve years in the study of the sacred sciences, and in the most fervent exercise
of all virtues. Though his constitution was weak, he outdid the most advanced in fervor and exactness; he was humble,
modest, and of an easy obliging temper, and his whole conduct was regular and uniform.
St. Egbert had long entertained an ardent desire of going to preach the Gospel to the inhabitants of those unhappy countries
in which barbarism and idolatry still reigned without control, and he had chiefly Friesland (northern Germany)
and the low German countries (Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg) in his eye. But he was diverted from that apostolical
design by persons of piety and authority, who engaged him to employ his zealous labors in the islands between Ireland and
Scotland, in all which he settled the true manner of celebrating Easter (the date of Easter having been hotly debated);
especially at Hij (Iona), where he died a little before St. Bede wrote his history (St. Egbert's feast is April 24).
His companion, the holy priest Wigbert, went in the meantime to Friesland; but after staying there two years
came back without having met with any prospect of success. This disappointment did not discourage St. Egbert and other
zealous promoters of this mission; but excited them to solicit the Divine mercy the more earnestly, with prayers and tears,
in favor of so many souls who were perishing eternally. St. Willibrord, who was then about thirty-one years of age,
and had been ordained a priest a year before, expressed a great desire to be allowed by his superiors to undertake this
laborious and dangerous charge. St. Egbert, by the known zeal and great talents of our Saint, and by his cheerfulness,
which sufficiently showed him prepared to encounter all difficulties in the prosecution of such a work, doubted not but
that God had reserved to him the conversion of that nation, and encouraged him in this zealous design. St. Willibrord was
joined by St. Swithbert and ten other English monks in this mission.
The Frisians, who had formerly occupied a large tract of country on the coasts of the North Sea, crossing the Rhine into
Belgic Gaul, had taken possession of those provinces about the mouth of the Rhine, which the Chatti, who were also
originally Germans, then held. Among all the German nations none maintained their liberty against the Romans with
greater success and courage than the Frisians. Procopius tells us that some of them came into Briton with the
English Saxons – and by their situation they were doubtless the most expert in maritime affairs. St. Ludger mentions
that St. Swithbert and the rest of these zealous preachers, were desirous to carry the light of the Faith to these people,
because their ancestors sprang from them. St. Eligius, Bishop of Noyon, had preached in part of Friesland,
and St. Wilfrid had sown there the seeds of our holy Faith in 678. But these seem to have been almost rooted out before
St. Willibrord's arrival in 690 or 691.
Alcuin says these missionaries landed at the mouth of the Rhine (the course of which has greatly changed
over the centuries), and traveled thence to Utrecht, a town built by the Romans at the great passage over the Rhine.
Pepin of Herstal, who was at that time Duke of the Franks and Mayor of the King's Palace, and had lately conquered part
of Friesland, received courteously St. Willibrord and his companions. But Willibrord set out for Rome, and cast himself
at the feet of Pope Sergius, begging for his apostolic blessing and authority to preach the Gospel to idolatrous nations.
The pope, charmed with his zeal and sanctity, granted him the most ample licenses for that purpose, and gave him a great
quantity of relics for the consecration of churches. With this treasure the Saint returned with all possible speed to
his province, considering the pressing necessities and dangers of so many souls which called for his compassion and relief.
St. Swithbert was soon taken from him and consecrated Bishop of the Bructeri, who inhabited the territory of Berg and the
neighboring country toward Cologne.
St. Willibrord, with his ten other companions, under the protection of Pepin, preached the Gospel with wonderful success in
that part of Friesland which had been conquered by the Franks; so that after six years, Pepin, by the advice of his bishops,
sent the Saint to Rome, with strong letters of recommendation that he might be consecrated to the episcopacy.
His humility made him endeavor that some other should receive that dignity, but to no avail. Pope Sergius, who still sat
upon the Chair of St. Peter, received him with great marks of honor, changed his name to Clement, with great solemnity
consecrated him Archbishop of the Frisians in St. Peter's Basilica, and gave him the pallium (a kind of stole symbolizing
an archbishop's authority) with authority to fix his See in whatever part of that country he should think most convenient.
The holy man stayed only two weeks in Rome, being impatient to return to his flock and regretting a single hour's absence
from them, if it were more than what was necessary to procure them greater advantages. He came back to Utrecht in that
same year, 696, and chose that city for his residence, Pepin having bestowed him with one of his castles.
St. Willibrord built two churches in Utrecht – the Church of Our Savior, in which he fixed his metropolitan See,
and that of St. Martin, which had already been in existence, but had been destroyed by pagans and had to be rebuilt.
Some authors think this church had been built by King Dagobert at the request of St. Wilfrid. It was St. Martins that
eventually became the cathedral; both churches were served by colleges of canons.
The Archbishop's indefatigable application to the conversion of souls seemed to prove that with the new
obligation he had received at his consecration – of laboring to enlarge the Kingdom of his Divine Master – he had acquired
fresh strength and a considerable augmentation of zeal. In the second year after his episcopal consecration,
assisted by the generosity of Pepin and the Abbess St. Irmina – who is said to have been a daughter of King Dagobert II
(who is noted as one of the earliest persons to consecrate himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary) – he founded the
Abbey of Echternach in the diocese of Trier, now in the Duchy of Luxembourg, which he governed until his death.
Alcuin relates that the Convent of Oeren, of which St. Irmina was Abbess, had been delivered from a pestilence by
water blessed by St. Willibrord, and by his offering Mass in the church (the Sacred Congregation of Rites has approved
a blessing of St. Willibrord's water for the Archdiocese of Cologne, which has also been used throughout the Catholic world.)
Pepin of Herstal, before his death, put away his concubine Alpais, by whom he had Charles Martel,
and was reconciled with his true wife Plectrudis. In his last will, which was signed by Pectrudis, he recommended to
St. Willibrord his nephews (without any mention of his natural son, Charles Martel), and bestowed on our Saint the
village of Swestram – now Susteren, Holland, near Sittard on the borders of Germany and Belgium. St. Willibrord built
a convent of nuns there.
Pepin of Herstal died in December of 714. A little before his death, Charles Martel's son, Pepin the Short –
afterwards King of the Franks – was born and baptized by St. Willibrord, who on that occasion is related by Alcuin to have
prophesied that the child would surpass in glory all his ancestors. Charles Martel in a short time became Mayor of the
Palace, and proved himself equally the first general and statesman of his time. In 723, he endowed with the royal
revenues belonging to his castle in Utrecht the monastery which St. Willibrord had built there, to serve his cathedral.
Charles Martel made several other donations of estates to serve the needs of churches built by our Saint.
By a charter, the prince conferred on him the royalties of the city of Utrecht with its dependencies and appurtenances,
which the Saint used to perpetuate the work of God.
Not content to have planted the Faith in the country which the Franks had conquered, St. Willibrord
extended his labors into West Friesland, which obeyed Radbod, King of the Frisians, who continued to be an obstinate
idolater; yet he did not hinder the Saint's preaching to his subjects, and he himself sometimes listened to him.
The new apostle penetrated also into Denmark, but Ongendus, who then reigned there, a monster of cruelty rather
than a man, was hardened in his malice, and his example had a great influence over his subjects. The man of God,
however, for the first fruits of this country, ransomed thirty young Danish boys, whom he instructed, baptized,
and brought back with him.
In his return he was driven by stormy weather upon the famous pagan island called Fositeland or Heligoland,
between Denmark and Friesland – a place then esteemed by the Danes and Frisians as most sacred in honor of the idol Fosite.
It was looked upon as an unpardonable sacrilege for anyone to kill any living creature on that island, to eat of anything
that grew on it, or to draw water out of a spring there without observing the strictest silence. St. Willibrord,
in order to undeceive the inhabitants, killed some of the beasts there for his companions to eat, and baptized three
persons in the fountain pronouncing the rite aloud. The idolaters expected to see them run mad or drop down dead;
but seeing no such judgment befall them, could not determine whether this was to be attributed to the patience of
their god, or to his want of power. They informed Radbod, who, transported with rage, ordered lots to be cast three
times a day for three days, and the fate of the missionaries to be determined by them. God so directed it that the
lots never fell on St. Willibrord; but one of his companions was sacrificed to the superstition of the people,
and died a martyr for Jesus Christ. The Saint, however, was allowed to safely leave the island.
He directed his course to Walcheren, one of the chief islands belonging to Zeeland, in southwestern Holland.
His charity and patience made considerable conquests to the Christian religion there, and he established several churches.
After the death of Radbod in 719, St. Willibrord was at full liberty to preach in every part of the country. He was joined
in his apostolic labors in 720 by St. Boniface, who spent three years in Friesland before returning to Germany.
St. Bede wrote in 731, Willibrord, surnamed Clement, is still living, venerable for his old age, having been bishop
for thirty-six years, and sighing after the rewards of the heavenly life, after many conflicts in the heavenly warfare.
He was, says Alcuin, of a becoming stature, venerable in his aspect, comely in his person, graceful and always cheerful
in his speech and countenance, wise in his counsel, unwearied in preaching and all apostolic functions, amidst which
he was careful to nourish the interior life of his soul by assiduous prayer, singing of psalms, watching and fasting.
Alcuin, who wrote about fifty years after his death, assures us that this apostle was endowed with the gift
of miracles, and relates that while he preached in the isle of Walcheren, where the towns of Vlissingen and Middelburg
are since built, going from village to village, he found in one of them a famous idol to which the people were offering
their vows and sacrifices, and full of holy zeal, he threw it down and broke it in pieces. In the meantime and idolater,
who was the priest and guardian of the idol, gave him a blow on the head with his backsword, with which, nevertheless the
Saint was not hurt; and he would not permit the would-be assassin to be touched or prosecuted. But the unhappy man was
soon after possessed by a devil, and lost his senses.
By the tears, prayers, and zealous labors of this apostle and his colleagues, the Faith was planted in
most parts of Holland, Zeeland, and all the rest of the Low Lands, whither St. Amand and St. Lebwin had never penetrated.
The Frisians, till then a rough and most barbarous people, were then civilized and became eminent for virtue and the
culture of the arts and sciences. St. Wulfran, Archbishop of Sens, and others, encouraged by the success of our
Saint's missions, were ambitious to share in so great a work under his direction.
St. Willibrord was exceedingly cautious in admitting persons to Holy Orders, fearing lest one unworthy or
slothful minister should defeat by scandal, all the good which the Divine Mercy had begun for the salvation of souls.
It is also mentioned of him, that he was very strict and diligent in examining and preparing thoroughly those whom he
admitted to Baptism, dreading the condemnation which those incur, who by sloth or carelessness open a door to the
profanation of our most tremendous mysteries. St. Willibrord is also renown for the schools which he established at Utrecht.
Being at length quite broken down with old age, he resigned the administration of his diocese to a coadjutor,
whom he consecrated to the episcopacy, and in retirement prepared himself for eternity. He died, according to the Chronicle
of Echternach, in 738, having preached the Gospel for fifty years. Alcuin says he spent forty-eight years in Friesland,
but he had already preached for two years in Ireland and Scotland. The Martyrologies place the date of his death on
November 7. He was buried, as he had desired, at the Monastery of Echternach, and his relics are enshrined there.
A true pastor, who is animated with fervor and zeal, allows himself no inactivity, whilst he can comfort,
instruct, exhort, or pray for the souls which are entrusted to his charge, and whose spiritual needs are continually
near his heart. He whose life is regular and methodical, and who is solicitous and earnest, easily and without anxiety,
finds time to do more than seems possible to the slothful. This every Christian may experience – and it is not through
misfortune that we have not enough time, but it is rather through sloth and thoughtlessness we waste it.
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