Background
His name is remembered for his organization of German lands into dioceses in Bavaria, Hesse, and Thuringia; his organization of the German church by means of synods; his founding of Benedictine monasteries, especially at Fulda and at Fritzlar; his unending struggle against heathen worship, customs, and superstitions; his long contests with heretics; his work in bringing the mission to the Continent into close relationship with the see of Rome; and his cooperation with the papacy in replacing the Merovingian kingship with that of the Carolingian line.
Seen through his letters and verses, still extant in their original Latin, Boniface appears as a man full of the love of learning; full of the warmth of friendship for kings, bishops, priests, and layfolk; and a man of intense devotion to the papal see. Often he felt the loneliness of exile, and he rejoiced when English missionaries joined him in his work abroad. In 754 or 755--the year is disputed--Boniface was killed in a pagan raid near Dokkum in Friesland. His relics rest at Fulda. The feast day of St. Boniface is June 5.