St Willibrord was a native of England. He moved to Co Carlow in Ireland in 678 AD. He studied at an abbey near Carlow town under St Egbert for twelve years. Willibrord was ordained a priest in 688AD. He is a patron saint of the Netherlands and of Luxembourg.
St Willibrord was born in Northumbria, England c. 658. Having been ordained to the priesthood in Carlow he was sent with 11 companions to bring Christianity to the Frisian people. Having built a cathedral in Utrecht in the Netherlands, St Willibrord moved to Luxemburg where he founded an abbey in town of Echternach.
Echternach became a centre for missionary activity. In 739 AD Willibrord died aged 81. He is buried in Echternach. There is a bronze statue of St Willibrord in Carlow Cathedral. It contains a relic of St Willibrord which was gifted to Carlow in 2017.
St Willibrord, who was a native of England, was ordained a priest in Carlow, Ireland and is a patron saint of the Netherlands and Luxemburg, died in the year 793 ADÂ On This Day.
