Saint Adrian of Canterbury

Adrian was born in North Africa and became abbot of a monastery near Naples, admired for his knowledge of Scripture, Latin and Greek. In 667 Pope Vitalian chose him to be archbishop of Canterbury, but Adrian humbly refused and recommended the learned monk Theodore of Tarsus instead. The pope agreed on condition that Adrian go with him to England as his helper.

They arrived in 669–670, and Adrian became abbot of the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul, later called Saint Augustine's, in Canterbury. There he and Theodore built a famous school where students learned Scripture, Latin, Greek, astronomy, poetry and Church music; Saint Bede wrote that some of their pupils spoke Greek and Latin as well as their own language. Adrian taught for about forty years and died on January 9, 710.

He was buried in his abbey at Canterbury, and later generations honored him as one of the fathers of English learning. Teachers and schools in England invoke him, and his story is a reminder that Africa gave the early Church many great saints. The Roman Martyrology commemorates him on January 9.