Ecgberht of Ripon
Anglo-Saxon saint
Feast: 24 April (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Egbert, a Northumbrian of noble birth, studied in Ireland. Near death from plague, he prayed for time to do penance and vowed lifelong exile from his country; he never returned, fasted rigorously, and lived to ninety. He sent St Willibrord and other missionaries to Friesland.
In 716 he went to Iona, and by his sweetness and humility led the monks to accept the Church's date of Easter. On Easter Day, 24 April 729, the first they kept with the rest of the Church, he said Mass, joined joyfully in their celebration, and died.
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
A monk whose gentle humility brought Iona into unity with the whole Church.
Connected on this site
- Adalbert of Egmond Saint Pupil
- Wigbert Saint Pupil
- Willibrord Saint Pupil
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - St. Egbert
- Wikidata Q764523 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Ecgberht of Ripon (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 21 September 2026. Corrections welcome.