Bede

Who they were

Bede was born around 672-673 on the land of the monastery of Sts Peter and Paul at Wearmouth and Jarrow in Northumbria, and at seven his parents entrusted him to Abbot Benedict and then to Ceolfrid. He spent his whole life in the monastery: deacon at nineteen, priest at thirty, always 'learning, teaching or writing', his days marked by prayer and choral chant.

His Ecclesiastical History of the English People, finished in 731, is one of the great historical works of the early Middle Ages. His work on the date of Easter became the reference text for the whole Church. Pope Francis's motto, 'Miserando atque eligendo', comes from Bede's homily on the call of St Matthew: Jesus looked on him with mercy and chose him.

The miracles

There was never a formal cause: Bede has been honoured as a saint since his death, and was called 'the Venerable' for his wisdom. In 1899 Leo XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.

Why that counted as sanctity

Bede made his whole life in one monastery a service of God through prayer and study, handing on the Scriptures, the Fathers and the story of his people's conversion.

Connected on this site

• Benedict Biscop Saint Teacher
• Ceolfrith Saint Teacher
• Ceolwulf of Northumbria Saint
  “While Bede spent most of his life in the monastery, he travelled to several abbeys and monasteries across the British Isles, even visiting the Archbishop of York and King Ceolwulf of Northumbria.” — Wikipedia
• Gregory I Saint
  “He is considered by many historians to be the most important scholar of antiquity for the period between the death of Pope Gregory I in 604 and the coronation of Charlemagne in 800.” — Wikipedia