Devon County Council has voted to make St Boniface the Patron Saint of Devon. 

The council passed an amendment supporting the move in a full council meeting on May 23. The proposal was backed by a majority of councillors. 

The vote was held ahead of St Boniface Day on June 5 and follows an extensive campaign by the Boniface Link Association to have him officially made the county's Patron Saint. 

To mark the occasion, special services and a procession will be held on June 9 in Crediton, where St Boniface was born.  

The campaign to have St Boniface made the patron saint of Devon was supported by the Anglican Bishop of Exeter, the Rt Rev Robert Atwell, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Mark O'Toole.

Crediton Congregational Church, Crediton Methodist Church and the Rector of the Orthodox Parish of the Holy Prophet Elias also campaigned for his adoption as patron saint. 

St Boniface was born in 675 AD and was a key figure in the establishment of the Church in what is now modern day Germany. 

He was appointed Archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III before being martyred in 754 AD.