Abbot at Canterbury and missionary.

Roman martyrology: In the city of Canterbury, St. Adrian, An abbot who was born in Africa, came to England from the city of Naples in Campania, and dedicated himself to educate egregiously large number of disciples with his skills in ecclesiastical sciences.

Etymology:  From the Latin Hadria, meaning “One who comes from the sea” (From the Adriatic Sea)

 SHORT BIOGRAPHY

An African by birth, died 710. In the mid 640‘s, his family fled to Naples, Italy ahead of Arab invasion; later he became Abbot of Nerida, a Benedictine monastery near Naples, when he was very young. Pope Vitalian intended to appoint him Archbishop of Canterbury to succeed St. Deusdedit, who had died in 664, but Adrian considered himself unworthy of so great a dignity, and begged the Pope to appoint Theodore, a Greek monk, in his place. The Pope yielded, on condition that Adrian should accompany Theodore to England and be his adviser in the administration of the Diocese of Canterbury.
Thanks to his leadership skills, the facility became one of the most important centers of learning. The school attracted many outstanding scholars from far and wide and produced numerous future bishops and archbishops. Students reportedly learned Greek and Latin and spoke Latin as well as their own native languages.

Adrian taught at the school for 40 years. He died there and was buried in the monastery. Several hundred years later, when reconstruction was being done, Adrian’s body was discovered in an incorrupt state.