Today, June 5, is the memorial of Saint Boniface.
Born in 675, Boniface became a Benedictine monk at Exeter, and a missionary to Germany, assisted by Saint Albinus, Saint Abel, and Saint Agatha. They destroyed idols and pagan temples, and then built churches on the sites.
He became bishop then archbishop of Mainz, reformed the churches in his see, and built religious houses in Germany. He evangelized in Holland, but was set upon by a troop of pagans. He and 52 of his new flock, including Saint Adaler and Saint Eoban, were massacred in 754.
The story goes that when he was in Saxony, Boniface found a tribe worshiping a Norse deity in the form of a huge oak tree. Boniface got an axe and cut down the false god. He told them, “How stands your mighty god? My God is stronger than he.”