About Us
St. Dunstan
Archbishop of Canterbury and Restorer of Monastic Life
Feast day May 19th
St. Dunstan, a nobleman by birth, was born near Glastonbury, England around the year 910. He spent his early life at the court of the King of Wessex. His uncle, the Archbishop of Canterbury, urged him to enter the monastic life, but St. Dunstan delayed this decision until recovering from a severe illness.
Returning to Glastonbury as a monk, St. Dunstan lived a life of manual labor and prayer while developing great skill in music, illuminating manuscripts and metalwork. In 943, he was appointed Abbot of Glastonbury and established the abbey as a leading center of learning and scholarship. He instituted the Benedictine Rule and promoted strict reforms that were adopted by a new a class of educated clergy.
King Edgar appointed St. Dunstan chief minister and Archbishop of Canterbury in 960, and this enabled St. Dunstan to extend his monastic reforms throughout the English church. He died in the year 988 and was buried in his cathedral in Glastonbury. He was one of the most popular English saints during the Middle Ages and his cathedral was a popular place of pilgrimage.
