Saint of the Day

01 · Read · A life to discover

St. Ansgar

Ansgar, also called Anschar or Oskar, was a Benedictine monk associated with Corbie and its foundation in Westphalia. He undertook missions to Denmark and Sweden, establishing Christian communities in places where their survival depended on changing political conditions.

His first Danish mission depended on the return of a Christian ruler and suffered when that ruler was again expelled. In Sweden he received permission to preach and helped establish a church. These beginnings were limited footholds, not evidence that the region immediately became Christian.

After the destruction of Hamburg, he had to rebuild the institutional basis of his work. The tradition also remembers hospitals, aid to captives, and generous almsgiving. His title Apostle of the North describes the lasting importance of these efforts despite their uneven immediate results.

He became bishop of Hamburg and continued his work after the city was destroyed in 845. His ministry subsequently connected Hamburg with Bremen. His legacy rests on sustained missionary work through setbacks, rather than on an immediate conversion of all Scandinavia. The Catholic calendar commemorates him on February 3.

This saint is included on this recurring date in the U.S. Roman Rite calendar published by the USCCB. This reading guide gives U.S. calendar saints priority; the Mass celebrated on a particular year’s date can differ because of Sundays, seasons or higher-ranking celebrations.