St Wulfram of Sens Biography, Feast Day, Date of Birth, Country of Birth, Profession, Place of Work, Date of Death, Place of Death, Beatification Date, Canonization Date

St Wulfram of Sens Biography

He was also known as:

• Wulfram of Fontenelle
• Offran 
• Oufran 
• Suffrain 
• Vuilfran 
• Vulfran 
• Wolframus 
• Vulfranno
• Vulphran 
• Wilfranus 
• Wolfram 
• Wolfran 
• Wulframnus
• Wulfran 
• Wulfrann 
• Wulfrannus 

St Wulfram of Sens was born in 640 AD. He was the son of an official in the court of King Dagobert. Courtier under Clotaire III. He was a Priest. A Benedictine.

Archbishop of Sens, France in 682, but in 685 AD he surrendered his see to Saint Amatus, whom he felt was the rightful bishop. Wulfram gave away his lands and evangelized the Frisians in Scandinavia with a group of monks for twenty years, remembered there as the Christian crew who “bore the White Christ” to these people.

Wulfram’s Life and Ministry

He converted the son of King Radbod. He was then allowed to preach the Gospel. Wulfram met with some success, although it was a rough and pagan land.

The children were sacrifices was to the heathen gods either by hanging or drowning in the sea. The people would cast lots at festivals to pick a victim, and the loser immediately faces hanging or cut to pieces.

Wulfram appeals to King Radbod to stop the slaughter, but the king says it was their custom, and he could not change it.

He challenged Wulfram to rescue the victims if he could; Wulfram then wades into the sea to save two children who have been tied to posts and left to die in the rising tide.

The turning point in the mission came with the rescue of Ovon. A guy known as Ovon has been picked by lot for sacrifice by hanging. Wulfram begs King Radbod to stop the killing, but the commoners were outrages at the sacrilege.

Wulfram eventually obtained an agreement that if Wulfram’s God saved Ovon’s life, Wulfram and God could have the man. Ovon is hung and swung from the rope for two hours, during which Wulfram prays.

When the heathens decided to leave Ovon for dead, the rope broke, Ovon fell – and was alive. Ovon eventually became Wulfram’s slave, his follower, a monk, and then a priest at Fontenelle.

The faith of the missionaries frightens and awes the people who now turn from their old ways and are baptized. Even King Radbod himself converts, but just before his baptism, Radbod asks where his ancestors were.

Wulfram’s Death

The King then says,”I will go to hell with my ancestors, rather than to be in heaven without them.” Later, near death, Radbod requests for Saint Willibrord to baptize him, but dies before the saint’s arrival.

Wulfram’s relics are translated from Fontenelle to Abbeville, and in 1062 AD, they are moved to Rouen, France. The life of Wulfram is written by the monk Jonas of Fontenelle eleven years after his death.