He was an important figure in the spread of Christianity in the north of Europe. At the insistence of Louis, in 822, he went to Rome and asked Pope Pascal I to become the papal legate to the North. He was licensed to preach to the Danes and he and Halitgar, bishop of Cambrai, and Willerich, bishop of Bremen, went there in 823. He made short subsequent trips, but all with little success. Ansgar was more successful a few years later.
