This blessed man (c. 650 – 717 A.D) was Bishop of Worcester and the Abbot of the monastery of Evesham which he established. He was from the royal family of the Kingdom of Mercia in the time when England was still composed of many different kingdoms. From his youth he committed himself to a life of holiness and to prayer with asceticism. He was ordained a priest and it was said of him that he had ‘built a pleasant mansion for the Holy Spirit in his heart’.
When the Bishop of Worcester, the saintly Ostfor, passed away in 693 A.D., it was Egwin who was chosen by the desire of the people and the clergy as the next bishop. The kingdom of Mercia had only been Christian for a few decades after the death of the pagan King Penda in 655 A.D., and Egwin worked hard in preaching and teaching to overcome the immoral habits and abuses of many of the people. Many of those with power and influence objected to his discipline and convinced King Aethelred of Mercia that he should be expelled.
He set off on a pilgrimage to Rome with some companions to seek justice from the Pope of Rome. Considering himself a penitent, he put chains on his ankles and threw the key into the River Avon which was nearby. As he approached the city of Rome with his companions the bells of the churches began to ring by themselves. Egwin stopped on a bridge to say the Hours of Prayer for that time of day and his attendants went down to the water to fish. He left them and went into the city where he prayed the Liturgy in the church of St Peter, and as he was leaving his attendants came up to him carrying a large fish they had caught. Preparing the fish for their meal, the servants discovered a key inside it, and it was miraculously the very key to his chains.
As the story became known, Egwin was summoned to meet the Pope of Rome, where he was honoured and where even the Pope sought his blessing. He described the difficulties in his See of Worcester and the Pope sent him back to his service as Bishop with letters commending him and ordering his restoration.
Egwin found himself well received on his return, and he asked King Aethelred to give him the secluded place called Hethomme, where he had thrown the key into the river and where he loved to go and pray. The King granted him his wish and Egwin built a small house for himself and established a few herdsmen there to watch the animals that grazed on his land.
One of these was a man called Eoves. He wandered far into the woods in search of an animal that had strayed from the herd. Deep in the woods he saw three women, one of whom was more beautiful than any he had ever seen. She held a book in her hand and was singing heavenly songs in which she was joined by her companions. Eoves was astonished and ran all the way back to the bishop’s house to describe what he had seen to Egwin.
Egwin set out barefoot to see for himself. Leaving those who had come with him he went forward alone and prostrated himself in prayer. Rising up he also saw the three women, one of whom was more beautiful and glorious than the rest. She was holding a book and a cross and blessed him. She also spoke to him saying, ‘This is the place I have chosen’. Then the women disappeared from his sight. Egwin took this as an appearance of the Virgin Mary, and that he should build a church in the very spot she had appeared.
A large clearing was made in the woods, and a church and monastery were constructed there, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. King Aethelred gave much support to the building of a monastery in his kingdom. In 704 A.D. he resigned his crown to his nephew, Kenred, and became a monk in the monastery of Bardney where he died. He is considered a saint himself and his feast is on May 4th. The new King Kenred, continued to support the construction of the monastery. But in 708 A.D. he determined to go on pilgrimage to Rome with King Offa of the East Saxons. It was a long and difficult journey to Rome. During their passage through the Alps the travellers were left without water. Egwin knelt in prayer and prayed earnestly for some time, and spring of water burst forth from the hard rocky ground.
When they reached Rome, the two kings became monks and never returned to their earthly kingdoms. The account of the appearance of the Virgin Mary was reported widely, and the Pope of Rome commended the construction of the monastery in obedience to her words. Egwin returned to Mercia and in 709 A.D. his church was consecrated at the place now known as Evesham, after the herdsman who first saw the appearance of the Virgin Mary. The Church and monastery were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, St Peter and St Paul, and All Saints. In 710 A.D. Egwin became the first Abbot of the monastery at Evesham.
He often had visions of the saints and of angels. It was said that he lived already in Heaven. He was granted the gift of healing, even though he suffered illness at the end of his life. He fasted and kept many austerities and was known to always be praying the psalms and asking the intercession of the saints. On December 30th, 717 A.D. he breathed his last.
From the beginning he was considered a saint, and a shrine was constructed over his tomb. This was replaced and made more impressive over the centuries. The Abbey was also rebuilt and became one of the great Churches of England. Many miracles were performed at his shrine and through his intercession. On one occasion, a monk Sperculf was praying alone in the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary when the doors of the Church opened by themselves and a process with great ceremony came in. He saw Egwin, and he was accompanying a woman with great honour and reverence into the chapel. He thought that this was a real procession and was confused. Looking more closely he saw that some of those who were singing in the procession were monks he knew and recognised who had passed away. This made him even more confused. He turned to one of those who had come into the church and asked what was happening, and was told, ‘Hold your peace, do you not know that our Lord St. Egwin is celebrating the holy mysteries for the blessed Mother of God, the Virgin Mary?’ The monk stood in awestruck wonder throughout this appearance until the heavenly assembly had completed its prayers and then it escorted the Virgin Mary from the church with equal honour.
The Abbey at Evesham prospered until 1538 A.D. when the last Abbot was replaced by one of the brothers in the monastery who had been conspiring with Thomas Cromwell, the Protestant official responsible for closing all the monasteries. This unworthy man paid Cromwell £400 pounds out of the monastery funds when he was made Abbot in name only and received a pension of £240 a year as his reward for closing the monastery. Almost immediately the great Abbey church was completely demolished with the shrine of St. Egwin. There are now only a few remnants in stone of the monastery that was established first in 709 A.D. Everything else has been destroyed by the Protestant movement that swept to power in the 16th century.