Saint Ludger was born at Zuilen near Utrecht in 742. He was a missionary among the Frisians and Saxons, founder of Werden Abbey and the first Bishop of Münster in Westphalia. He has been called the “Apostle of Saxony”.
In 753 Ludger saw the great Apostle of Germany, Boniface, which, together with the subsequent martyrdom of the saint, made a deep impression on him. At his own request he was sent to the Utrecht Cathedral School (Martinsstift), founded by Gregory of Utrecht in 756 or 757, and made good progress. In 767 Gregory, who did not wish to receive episcopal consecration himself, sent Alubert, who had come from England to assist him in his missionary work, to York to be consecrated bishop. Ludger accompanied him to be ordained into the diaconate (as he duly was, by Ethelbert of York) and to study under Alcuin, but after a year he returned to Utrecht. Sometime later he was granted an opportunity to continue his studies at York, when he developed a friendship with Alcuin which lasted throughout life.
In 772 friction arose between the Anglo-Saxons and the Frisians, and Ludger – for the sake of his personal safety – left for home, taking with him a number of valuable books. He remained in the Martinsstift until the death of Gregory in 775, in honor of whose memory he wrote the biography Vita Gregorii. He was then sent to Deventer to restore the chapel destroyed by the pagan Saxons and to find the relics of Lebuinus, who had worked there as missionary, built the chapel, and died there in c. 775. Ludger succeeded, and returned to teach in the Martinsstift, after which he and others were sent north to destroy pagan places of worship west of the Lauwers Zee. He was appointed the Bishop of Myunstor in 802. He led a life with high piety and poverty. He was very compassionate with the poor. He had very strict disciplines during prayer. He died in 809.