Page "Ansgar" Paragraph 1

Oscar was the son of a noble family, born near Amiens.

After his mother ’ s early death, Ansgar was brought up in Corbie Abbey, and made rapid progress in his education.

According to the Vita Ansgarii (" Life of Ansgar "), when the little boy learned in a vision that his mother was in the company of Saint Mary, his careless attitude toward spiritual matters changed to seriousness (" Life of Ansgar ", 1 ).

His pupil, successor, and eventual biographer Rimbert considered the visions of which this was the first to be the main motivation of the saint's life.