BONIFACE of Savoy, Blessed. — Born in the castle of Ste-Hélène-du-Lac in 1207 to Count Thomas I and Margaret of Geneva. He entered the Grande Chartreuse in Grenoble and in 1232 was elected Bishop of Belley. In 1241, through the influence of Queen Eleanor of England, his niece, he was transferred to the See of Canterbury. The election was confirmed in 1243 by Innocent IV, and in 1244 Boniface traveled to England, where he was ordained deacon and priest by the Bishop of Worcester. In 1245 he was consecrated bishop in Lyon by Pope Innocent IV and obtained from him support for settling the severe debts of the Church of Canterbury. Returning to England in 1247, he was enthroned on All Saints’ Day, 1248.
To remedy the many abuses among the English clergy, he undertook a pastoral visitation of his entire archdiocese and waged long, tenacious struggles against bishops and cathedral chapters. In 1258 he convened a council at Merton to affirm the rights of the English Church, especially in episcopal elections. At the same time, the barons were forcing the king to swear the Provisions of Oxford, while Boniface, in agreement with the barons in demanding that the king respect the terms of the Magna Carta, was elected head of the Council for the reform of the realm. When the radical barons insisted on sweeping reforms, however, he distanced himself from them and was subsequently compelled to withdraw from public affairs and return to France.
In 1265, after Henry III’s victory, Boniface was able to return to his see, but exhausted by his labors, on 20 October 1268 he took leave of the king and retired to his native Savoy. He died on 14 July 1270 in the castle of Ste-Hélène-des-Millieres, leaving a reputation for great simplicity and purity of life and for generosity toward the poor.
Gregory XVI confirmed the title of Blessed on 1 September 1838, by which Boniface had always been invoked, and approved his cult. His feast is celebrated on 29 July.