Birinus
British bishop
Feast: 3 December (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Birinus, consecrated bishop at Genoa, came to Britain in 634 on the advice of Pope Honorius I. Finding the West Saxons wholly pagan, he gave his ministry to them, and baptised their king Cynegils in 635, with St Oswald of Northumbria as sponsor.
As first Bishop of Dorchester (Oxfordshire) and Apostle of Wessex, he died on 3 December 650 and was buried in his own church; his remains were later moved to Winchester.
The miracles
There was never a formal cause: he has been honoured as a saint since before the Church's formal processes began.
Why that counted as sanctity
The apostle who brought the Faith to the West Saxons.
Connected on this site
- Oswald of Northumbria Saint“Finding the West Saxons wholly pagan, he gave his ministry to them, and baptised their king Cynegils in 635, with St Oswald of Northumbria as sponsor.” — this site's research
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Birinus
- Wikidata Q741447 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Birinus (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.