Mellitus, first Bishop at St Paul's,
Archbishop of Canterbury
24 April -- Commemoration
If celebrated as a Lesser Festival,
Common of Bishops, page 483
Mellitus was a Roman abbot and sent to England by the Pope,
Gregory the Great, to undergird the work of Augustine, who
consecrated him Bishop of the East Saxons with his see at
London and his first church that of St Paul. After some
local setbacks and having to reside in northern France, he
and his fellow bishops were recalled to England, but
Mellitus was unable to return to London. He was made
archbishop in the year 619 and died on this day in the year
624. He was buried close to Augustine in the Church of Ss
Peter & Paul in Canterbury.