“Here he [St. Ansgar – 9th century] dwelt with a few companions and, as often as he could get free of preaching and ecclesiastical duties and the disturbances caused by the heathen, he dwelt here alone, but he never allowed his own convenience, or his love of solitude, to interfere with the interests of the flock that had been entrusted to him.”  (Ansgar, The Apostle of the North)