Born at Jarrow in Northumberland, England, Bede was entrusted as a young lad to the care of St. Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth. Having himself become a monk, Bede, “the most observant and the happiest of monks,” was also one of the most learned churchmen of his time. He wrote very full commentaries on Holy Scripture, which are often used in the Breviary. Leo XIII proclaimed him one of the Doctors of the universal Church. He died at Jarrow on May 25, 735.