Bede the Venerable

Bede was born around 672 or 673 on the lands of the twin monastery of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow in Northumbria, in what is now northeast England. Given to the monastery as a child of seven, he was formed in prayer, study, and the steady rhythm of monastic life, surviving even the plague that devastated his community. Ordained a deacon while still young and later a priest, Bede spent nearly all his days within the cloister, teaching, singing the liturgy, and writing with tireless devotion. His learning served the Church: he composed biblical commentaries, theological works, and careful studies of the calendar, helping Christians reckon the date of Easter and spreading the use of dating “in the year of our Lord.” His greatest work, the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, preserved the story of England’s conversion and earned him lasting honor as the Father of English History. Venerated as a model for historians and scholars, he was named a Doctor of the Church in 1899. His feast day is May 25.