The Irish monks did not confine their activities to the British Isles. Columbanus (543-615) led a company of twelve monks into Gaul. For a time his revival was popular among the princes as well as the general population. Irish missionaries evangelized and founded monasteries on both sides of the Rhine and beyond in Switzerland and even northern Italy. St. Gall in Switzerland and Bobbio in Italy became famous centers of monastic learning. Eventually, leadership passed from the Irish to Roman missionaries. Among these missionaries, no one accomplished as much as Boniface. First in pagan Frisia and Thuringia and then into Hesse, he wrestled with the pagan customs of the people, built Christian churches, and sent for monks and nuns from England. He was made a bishop and then archbishop, and is known in history as the Apostle to the Germans.
Impact: The evangelized tribes were, in many cases, nominal believers who retained many pagan customs. But, over time, churches took root and and Christianity thrived.