As the political influence of Rome grew, so did the importance of Latin, and it spread through most of Europe, Britain included. Latin later also became the language of the Roman Catholic Church. As to how Latin arrived in the British Isles, there is an anecdote about Pope Gregory meeting some ‘Angles’ at the slave market in Rome — slavery being wide-spread — and getting the idea to convert the Angles in Britain. To this end, he sent missionaries led by Augustine. The missionaries first appeared in the south of England in 597 and were welcomed by King Æthelbert of Kent