Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time, Memorial Day in the U.S.
Optional Memorial of St. Augustine of Canterbury; traveled from Rome to England to evangelize the Anglo-Saxons; King Ethelbert set up a residence for Augustine and his monks in Canterbury, and was, himself, baptized a year later; Augustine heeded the missionary principles given him by Pope Gregory--purify rather than destroy pagan temples and customs, let pagan rites and festivals be transformed into Christian feasts, and retain local customs as far as possible; Augustine is known as the "Apostle of England." He died in 605