Willibald was an 8th-century Benedictine monk, missionary, and the inaugural bishop of Eichstätt. Born in the Kingdom of Wessex to a chieftain, he entered monastic life at a young age following a severe childhood illness. He is distinguished as the first known Englishman to travel to the Holy Land, having journeyed through Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, and Palestine. Later in life, he served at Monte Cassino before being sent to Germany by Pope Gregory III to assist Boniface in missionary work.