Denmark / Ansgar, 801–865, Feast Day: February 3

Born in northern France, Ansgar earned the title of “Apostle of the North” by accompanying the newly baptized King Harald home to Denmark, where he set up the first Christian missions in Scandinavia. He was invited to Sweden, where he erected the first Christian church in an area extremely hostile to the new faith. As the bishop of Bremen, Ansgar witnessed the destruction of all he had worked for when the Vikings leveled his churches. His visions assured him his work would not be in vain. Two hundred years after his death, missionaries succeeded in evangelizing these northern countries in his name.

Other patronages: Germany, Iceland, Sweden