An axe might be an unlikely symbol in a church, but it helps to depict St. Boniface, a Devonshire native who evangelized in Germany in the 8th Century. He is regarded to be among the “Makers of Europe,” since as Bishop of Mainz, he anointed Pippin King of the Franks, paving the way for Pippin’s son, Charlemagne, to revive a unified Christian dominion on the Continent. In 753, Boniface resigned his see to again be a missionary in Frisia. On June 5, 754, while waiting to convert a group of converts, he and his companions were murdered by a band of pagans. His body was buried near Mainz, in a monastery he had founded in 744.

You might suppose the pictured axe was used against Boniface, but it was actually used by Boniface. In at least one instance, he chopped down oak trees worshiped by the pagans he encountered. While his prophetic action maybe helped to make his point with some about the inefficacy of trees, it might also have incurred the wrath of those who killed him. No matter: this poor candidate for the Sierra Club belongs with Sidwell, Hubert, and George on our west wall, and we can be glad to have him back.