Mary the Mother of Jesus Miracles_BLay Saints 
 Miracles
100   200   300   400   500   600   700    800   900   1000    1100   1200   1300   1400  1500  1600  1700  1800   1900
1100 January 30 St. Aleaunie Abbot and soldier; patron of Burgos; credited with many miracles, one of them in favour
        of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.

1100 ST AUREA, VIRGIN rewarded by a vision of her three patron saints who assured her of God’s approval and
        promised her a crown of glory the fame of her penances and miracles spread, and her assistance and intercession
        were eagerly sought

1107 Saint Prochorus of the Caves native of Smolensk entered the Kiev Caves miracles of bread and salt for the poor
1107 St. Nicetas Bishop of Novgorod miracle worker
1109 Saint Nikita former Recluse of the Kiev Caves healing of many people
1114 Saint Alypius, one of the first and finest of Russian iconographers, was a disciple of St Nikon (March 23), and from his youth he lived a life of asceticism at Kiev Caves monastery. known for working miracles even in his lifetime.
1115 Godfrey of Amiens a zealous reformer, unrelentingly fought simony enforcing celibacy His tomb was illustrated
       by many miracles
OSB B (RM)
1118 July 08 St. Raymond of Toulouse July 8; a chanter and canon renowned for generosity; native of Toulouse,
        France many miracles were reported at his tomb.

1121 January 06 St. Erminold Benedictine abbot A large number of miracles are recorded at his tomb after death.
1123 St. Bertrand of Comminges Bishop A number of miracles are related of St Bertrand
1124 April 14  Caradoc of Llandaff Abbot monk musician reputation for holiness miracles both in this life and after
         his death numerous between 1185 to 1235
1124 Stephen (Etienne) of Grandmont (of Muret) God give Stephen ability read hearts: deacon austere life little
        food/sleep for 46 years conversions many obstinate sinners Feast Day

1127 St. Henry of Cocket Danish hermit gifts of prophecy telekinesis read souls
1127 April 05 St. Albert of Montecorvino Bishop; visions, miracle worker, heroic patience.
1127 April 30 Gualfardus a saddlerFamous for miracles during his life, St Gualfardus became even more famous for them after his death. those around him regarded him as a saint hermit in the Camaldolese priory of San Salvatore OSB (AC)
1128 May 16 Saint Ubald Baldassini Bishop of Gubbio; ordained cathedral deacon returned to Gubbio Dissuaded from
       the eremitical life by Peter of Rimini
Eugúbii sancti Ubáldi, Epíscopi et Confessóris, miráculis clari.
    At Gubbio, St. Ubaldus, bishop and confessor renowned for his miracles.
1130 May 15 Saint Isidore the Farmer celestial visions angels sometimes helped him appeared in a vision to King
        Alphonsus of Castile in 1211 show him an unknown path used to surprise and defeat the Moors patron of farmers
        his master saw angels and oxen helping him
1132 April 01 St. Hugh of Grenoble Benedictine, bishop; amazing modesty, took upon himself all the sins of others,
        the cross he carried was heavy laden holy and redemptive;
a great reputation for miracles
1134 ST ALLUCIO; shepherd in Pescia, Tuscany, Italy; devoted himself to establishment of shelters at fords, mountain-passes, and to similar public works, such as the building of a bridge over the Arno; A number of remarkable miracles were recorded of the saint and he was credited with bringing about reconciliation between the warring cities of Ravenna and Faenza
1134 Our Lady of Liesse miracles have been countless a favorite pilgrimage destination of the kings of France.
1136 St. Peter of Juilly Benedictine monk and preacher; originally from England, a friend of St. Stephen Harding and
        was his companion at Molesme
1136 Dec 22 Bd Jutta of Diessenberg, Virgin; led life of a recluse next to the monastery founded by St Disibod on the
       Diessenberg; the “noble woman” to whom was confided care of St Hildegard, when a child, Jutta who first taught
       her Latin, to read and to sing;
many startling miracles
1137 St. Ollegarius Augustinian bishop  Barcinóne, in Hispánia, beáti Ollegárii, primum Canónici, et póstea Epíscopi Barcinonénsis, et Archiepíscopi Tarraconénsis.
       At Barcelona in Spain, blessed Ollegar, who was first a canon and afterwards bishop of Barcelona and archbishop of Tarragona.

1139 St. John of Pulsano a hermit  in Sicily and monk famous his for preaching, prophecy, and miracles.
1139 June 20 John of Matera Benedictine monastery reputation for austerity, honoured by all for his wisdom, his miracles and his prophetical gifts popular preacher at Bari OSB Abbot (AC)
1141 July 19 Blessed Stilla of Abenberg; engaging herself in the relief of all unfortunates; reports of a number of
          miracles; daughter of Count Wolfgang II of Abenberg and sister to Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg, found
          Saint Peter's Church in Abenberg (near Nuremburg)V (AC)
1142 June 25 Saint William of Vercelli hermit on Monte Vergine founded monasteries through out Naples first miracle, the restoration of sight to a blind man.
1146 Saint Martin of Turov served as cook under the Turov bishops Simeon, Ignatius, Joachim (1144-1146), and
        George; Sts Boris and Gleb appeared to him, gave him a sip of water, and miraculous healing him of his illness
1146? BD AYRALD, jan 2 Bishop of MAURIENNE; “Here lies Ayrald, a man of noble blood, monk of Portes, glory of
        pontiffs, a light of the Church, stay of the unfortunate, shining with goodness and unnumbered miracles.”

1149 Oct 23 Bertrand of Grandselve, OSB Cist. Abbot often favored with heavenly visions (AC)
1150 St. Malachy O' More famous Bishop; wrote prophecies of the popes; miracle worker
In monastério Clarævallénsi, in Gállia, deposítio sancti Malachíæ, Connerthénsis in Hibérnia Epíscopi, qui multis virtútibus suo témpore cláruit; cujus vitam sanctum Bernárdus Abbas conscrípsit.
    In the monastery of Clairvaux in France, the death of St. Malachy, bishop of Armagh in Ireland, who won renown in his own days for his many virtues, and whose life was written by St. Bernard the Abbot.

1150 ST THEOBALD OF ALBA A number of miracles are reported to have taken place at his tomb and led to a great development of his cultus.
1153 Aug 20 St. Bernard of Clairvaux Abbot and Doctor of the Church eminently endowed with the gift of miracles
1154 February 14 BD CONRAD OF BAVARIA his sanctity being revealed by the marvels which occurred at his tomb
1154 ST LAMBERT, BISHOP OF VENICE instructing the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the
         laying-on of hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles.  feast day May 26

1154 June 08 At York in England, St. William, archbishop and confessor, who, among other miracles wrought at his
        tomb, raised three persons from the dead
1154 + February 20 St. W
ulfric  hermit Many miracles were attributed to his intercession, quieted wildest beasts healer
           incorrupt
1156 December 27 Blessed Walto of Wessobrünn his goodness and ability to work miracles OSB, Abbot (AC)
1157 St. William of Maleval Hermit carefree years of licentious military life experienced conversion of heart  gift of
        working miracles and of prophecy

1157 Jan 19 St. Henry of Sweden an Englishman Bishop of Uppsala residing at Rome miracles at tomb 
1158 July 16 Blessed Milo of Selincourt abbot of Donmartin in 1123 and bishop of Thérouanne;  miracles reported at his tomb in 1131 one of the ablest opponents of Gilbert de la Porrée, O. Praem. (PC) July16
1159 June 07 Robert of Newminster described as "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgment," studied in Paris
        OSB Cist. Abbot (RM)
Miracles were reported at his tomb
Born at Gargrave, Yorkshire, England, in 1100; died at Newminster in 1159.
1160 August 03 Bl. Waltheof Cistercian abbot undaunted cheerfulness humility, simplicity, and kindness  unbounded generosity incorrupt Many miracles recorded during lifetime Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to feasts of Christmas, Passiontide, Easter, visions of heaven and hell.  
1160 June 17 St. Raynerius Hermit and Benedictine monk led a dissolute life until undergo­ing a conversion after pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Returning home, he entered the Benedictine abbey of St. Andrew at Pisa where he lived as a conventual oblate;  His great reputation is primarily due to the numerous cures which were worked by him during his life and after his death. From the use he made of holy water in his miracles of healing he received the nickname of De Aqua,
1160 Jan 19 St. Henry of Sweden an Englishman Bishop of Uppsala residing at Rome miracles at tomb
 Item sancti Canúti, Regis et Mártyris.       Also St. Canute, king and martyr.
1160 May 31 St. Mechtildis nun and Benedictine abbess  mystical gifts and miracles
1163 April 21 Blessed Fastred of Cambron abbot-founder of Cambron obligation to poverty OSB Cist. Abbot (AC)
Œttingæ Véteris, in Bavária, sancti Conrádi a Parzham, Confessóris, Ordinis Minórum Capuccinórum, caritáte et oratióne insígnis; quem, miráculis clarum, Pius Papa Undécimus Sanctórum número adscrípsit.
    At Wertingen in Bavaria, St. Conrad of Parzham, confessor, of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, outstanding both for prayer and for love of neighbour.  Being renowned for miracles, Pope Pius XI enrolled him among the number of the saints.

1164 May 23 St Leontius the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov Uncovering of the relics
1164 June 18 St. Elizabeth of Schonau Benedictine abbess gifted mystic known for ecstasies, prophecies, and diabolical visitations visions in 3 books
Schonáugiæ, in Germánia, sanctæ Elísabeth Vírginis, ob monásticæ vitæ observántiam célebris.
    At Schongau in Germany, St. Elizabeth, virgin, celebrated for her observance of the monastic life.

1170 December 17 St. Wivina Benedictine abbess built a convent many miracles of healing took place at her tomb
1170 Thomas Becket (of Canterbury) BM (RM)
1173 HAZRAT KHWAJA QUTBUDDIN BAKHTIYAR KAKI, April 30 r.a. 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.]
1175 St. Helen of Skovde Widow; gave all her possessions to the poor; Like Jesus, the innocent Lamb, St. Helen was
        put to death; many miracles were reported at her tomb.
May 08 HERE 1175  St. Peter of Tarantaise (not Pope Innocent V) Cistercian archbishop reformer purging clergy of
     corrupt & immoral members, aiding poor, promoting education Trusted advisor by popes and kings;
The author of
     his life, his constant companion at this period, testifies to numerous miracles which he wrought, mainly in curing the sick and
     multiplying provisions in time of famine.

1178 BD PONTIUS OF FAUCIGNY, ABBOT small pieces of bone, said to have been the occasion of miracles
1179 St. Hildegarde visions and prophecies called Scivias
1180 November 14 St. Lawrence O'Toole Augustinian archbishop of Dublin 1172 convened synod at Cashel General
      Lateran Council in Rome in 1179 unbounded charity Corpus on the Crucifix before the kneeling prelate spoke
      papal legate many miracles were reported at his tomb fought against King Henry II

1182 April 19 Blessed Bernard the Penitent Many miraculous cures occurred at his tomb OSB Monk (AC)
1184 June 23 April 14  Benedict the Bridge-Builder shepherd Eighteen miracles took place body found incorrupt 500
         yrs (AC)

1186 Our Holy Father Nikita Stylites monastery close to Pereyaslavl body in chains shut himself up in a pillar -- healer
1189 February 16 St. Gilbert of Sempringham a priest chose to share his wealth with the poor miracles wrought at his
        tomb were examined and
approved  built 13 monasteries (9 were double)
1190  Saint John the Anchorite
1192 February 03 St. Margaret of England Cistercian nun Miracles followed her burial
1193 June 24 St. Bartholomew of Farne miracle works Feast Day 24th June
1193 St Thorlac, Bishop Of Skalholt; daily rule of life, which began with the singing of the Credo, Pater noster, and a hymn directly he awoke; he recited a third of the psalter every day, and had an especial devotion to the titular saints of the churches in which he ministered; formed a community of canons regular, of which he was abbot; Two books of the miracles of Thorlac Thorhallsson were written down within a few years of his death.
1193 St. Barlaam Hermit of Russia on the Volga River; His burying-place was the scene of miracles, and his relics were solemnly enshrined in 1452.
1194 Hugh of Bonnevaux possessed singular powers of discernment and exorcism OSB Cistercian, Abbot (AC)
 Gratianópoli, in Gállia, sancti Hugónis Epíscopi, qui multis annis in solitúdine vitam exégit, et miraculórum glória clarus migrávit ad Dóminum.  feast day ap 01
       At Grenoble in France, Bishop St. Hugh, who spent many years of his life in solitude, and departed for heaven with a great reputation for miracles.

1196 June 09 St. Richard of Andria Bishop of Andria, Italy patron of that see known for miracles & his extraordinary sanctity
1197 Mar 27 Blessed William Tempier Bishop Many miracles occurred at his tomb, became a pilgrimage site B (AC)
1199 November 13 Homobonus of Cremona life of the utmost rectitude integrity; known for his charity concern for poor devoted profits to relief some he looked after in his own house. (RM)

1100 St. Aleaunie Abbot and soldier; patron of Burgos; credited with many miracles, one of them in favour of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.
born in Laudun, Poitou, France, also called Adelelmus and Lesmes.

1100 ST ADELELMUS, OR ALEAUME, ABBOT
THIS holy Benedictine, a Frenchman by birth, after following a career of arms, was moved to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome. On his way he came under the influence of St Robert, abbot of the monastery of Chaise-Dieu, and determined to become a monk himself. He completed his pilgrimage, and then returned to Chaise-Dieu, where he took the religious habit, and may later on have been chosen abbot. However, at the instance of Constance of Burgundy, Queen of Castile, who had heard much of his holiness and miracles, he was induced to come to Burgos, where her husband eventually built a monastery for him. Adelelmus took an active part in the war against the Moors, and was credited with many miracles, one of them in favour of Queen Edith, widow of St Edward the Confessor.
We have a Latin life of St. Adelelmus written shortly after his death by a French monk Rodulph, who went to Burgos for the purpose of compiling it. It has been printed by Florez, España Sagrada, vol. xxvii, pp. 841—866 (and cf. pp. 554 seq.), and there is an abridgement which will be found in Mabillon, vol. vi, Pt, 2, PP. 896—902. St Adelelmus’s feast is kept in the diocese of Burgos, of which he is a patron; his name in Spain is Lesmes.
Aleaunie chose a military career, going on duty before making a pilgrimage to Rome. During this journey he met St. Robert and was converted to the religious life, becoming a Benedictine. Queen Constance of Castile, impressed with his holiness, invited Aleaunie to Burgos, Spain. There King Alfonso IV built him a monastery. Aleaunie became abbot of the new foundation, but when the Moors fought against the king, Aleaunie used his prior skills and joined in the war. After his death, Aleaunie, called Lesmes in Spain, became a patron of the city of Burgos.
1100 ST AUREA, VIRGIN rewarded by a vision of her three patron saints who assured her of God’s approval and promised her a crown of glory the fame of her penances and miracles spread, and her assistance and intercession were eagerly sought
WHEN Spain lay under the Moorish yoke it became the custom for those Christians who desired to live the religious life to build their monasteries in desolate mountain fastnesses where their conquerors seldom troubled to molest them. One of these was San Millán de Ia Cogolla above the Upper Ebro in the diocese of Calahorra. It was primarily a Benedictine abbey for men but, as was not unusual at the time, there was a settlement for women a short distance away, and these women were under the direction of the abbot of La Cogolla. Down below, in the village of Villavelayo, lived a couple, Garcia Nunno, or Nunnio, and Amunia his wife, with their daughter Aurea. Constant study of the Holy Scriptures and meditation on the lives of St Agatha, St Eulalia and St Cecilia determined her to devote herself to God in the religious life, and she sought admittance to the convent of San Millán. Receiving the habit she lived a life of complete abnegation as a solitary. Aurea was rewarded by a vision of her three patron saints who assured her of God’s approval and promised her a crown of glory the fame of her penances and miracles spread, and her assistance and intercession were eagerly sought. She became the victim of a painful disease, dying in her mother’s arms, in the presence of the monk who wrote her life. Her mother, who did not long survive her, was buried by her side.
The evidence is not very satisfactory. Mabillon in the Annales says nothing of St Aurea but a summary account is in the Bollandist Acta Sanctorum, March, vol. ii.
1107 Saint Prochorus of the Caves native of Smolensk entered the Kiev Caves miracles of bread and salt for the poor
 monastery under the igumen John (1089-1103). He was a great ascetic of strict temperance. In place of bread he ate pigweed (or orach), and so he was called "pigweed-eater." Every summer, he gathered pigweed and made enough bread from it to last him for a whole year. He also ate prosphora from church now and then, and his only drink was water. Seeing the patience of St Prochorus, God transformed the usual bitterness of the pigweed into sweetness.

During the saint's lifetime, a famine threatened Russia. Prochorus began to gather the pigweed even more zealously and to prepare his "bread". Certain people followed his example, but they were not able to eat this weed because of its bitterness. Prochorus distributed his pigweed bread to the needy, and it tasted like it was made from fine wheat. Only the bread given with the blessing of St Prochorus was edible, and even pure and light in appearance. If anyone tried to prepare this bread himself, or take it without the saint's blessing, it was not fit for consumption. This became known to the igumen and the brethren, and the fame of Prochorus spread far and wide.

After a certain while there was no salt at Kiev, and the people suffered because of this. Then the saint gathered ashes from all the cells, and began to distribute it to the needy. Through his prayers, the ashes became pure salt. The merchants, who hoped to take advantage of this shortage of salt for their own profit, became angry with St Prochorus for distributing free salt to the people.

Prince Svyatopolk confiscated the salt from Prochorus. When they transported it to the prince's court, everyone saw that it was just ordinary ashes. After three days, Svyatopolk gave orders to discard it. St Prochorus blessed the people to take the discarded ashes, and they were again changed into salt.  This miracle reformed the fierce prince. He began to pray zealously, made peace with the igumen of the monastery of the Caves, and highly esteemed St Prochorus. When the last hour of the saint approached, the prince left his army and hastened to him, even though he was at war.

He received his blessing and with his own hands, carried the body of the saint to the cave and buried him. Returning to his army, Svyatopolk easily gained victory over the Polvetsians, turning them to flight and capturing their supply carts. Such was the great power of the prayer of St Prochorus.
The righteous one died in the year 1107, and was buried in the Near Caves. He is also commemorated on September 28 and on the second Sunday of Great Lent.
1107 St. Nicetas Bishop of Novgorod miracle worker.
A native of Kiev, Ukraine, he became a monk in the Monastery of the Caves, but then embraced the life of a hermit. According to custom, Nicetas was much plagued by demonic torments and returned to the monastery. Named in 1095 to the office of bishop of Novgorod, he acquired a reputation for performing miracles.

1107 ST NICETAS, BISHOP OF Novgorod
Nicetas (Nikita), a native of Kiev, while still a young man became a monk in the monastery of the Caves there and conceived the ambition of becoming a solitary. In spite of the contrary advice of the abbot and other experienced monks he insisted on shutting himself away. Whereupon he was subjected to a remarkable tempta­tion. An evil spirit of angelic appearance suggested that he should give himself to reading instead of prayer. The first book to which Nicetas devoted himself was the Old Testament: he learned much of it by heart and received preternatural insight, so that people came to the monastery to consult him. The older monks warned him of what would come of studying only Jewish books: he came to dislike the New Testament, and would neither read it nor hear it read. But the prayers of his brethren at last brought him to his senses, he lost his deceptive wisdom, and humbly began his monastic life all over again, becoming a model for the whole community.

In 1095 Nicetas was made bishop of Novgorod, and in that charge his holiness was manifested by miracles: he was said to have put out a great fire by his prayers and to have obtained rain in time of drought. He was bishop for twelve years before he died, and about four hundred and fifty years later his relics were translated to the cathedral of the Holy Wisdom at Kiev. In the Russian use of the Byzantine Mass, St Nicetas of Novgorod is commemorated at the preparation of the holy things.

See Martynov’s Annus ecclesiasticus graeco-slavicus in Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xi. For other examples of dissuasion from the solitary life and of the significance of the Old Testament in early Russian Christianity, see Fedotov, The Russian Religious Mind (1946).
Nicetas of Novgorod B (RM)  Left to his own devices and preferences, Nicetas gave in to the temptation to read rather than pray. This is a danger to many who would abuse a good thing (learning, good works) and omit a better one (prayer, contemplation), for the one tends to serve the creature, rather than God. Learning tempered by prayer and charity leads to wisdom; by itself, it tends to hubris. So intense was his study of the Old Testament that Nicetas came to despise the New. It was only the prayers of his abandoned brothers in the monastery that saved poor Nicetas.
Finally he overcame the dangers of misapplied study, rejoined his community, and, in 1095, was made bishop of Novgorod (Attwater2, Coulson).
1109 St. Dominic de la Calzada Hermit aided pilgrims to Compostela the famed shrine in Spain; his grave, which he had made himself, became famous for miracles.
In civitáte Calciaténsi, in Hispánia, sancti Domínici Confessóris.
    In the city of Calzada in Spain, St. Dominic, confessor.
1109 ST DOMINIC OF THE CAUSEWAY
ST DOMINIC DE LA CALZADA, “of the Causeway”, was so called from the road which he made for pilgrims on their way to Compostela. He was a native of Villoria in the Spanish Basque country, and as a young man had made several unsuccessful attempts to become a Benedictine, his uncouth appearance and his ignorance causing him to be rejected wherever he applied. He then went to live as a solitary in a hermitage of his own construction, surrounded by a garden which he cultivated. When St Gregory of Ostia came to preach in north-eastern Spain, Dominic attached himself to him, and remained with him until St Gregory’s death. Bereft of his master, Dominic was again cast upon his own resources. Not far from his former hermitage lay the wilderness of Bureba through which many of the pilgrims had to pass to reach the shrine of St James. It was virgin forest and was dangerous not only because no proper road traversed it, but also because the undergrowth and trees afforded a lurking place for bandits. Here Dominic took up his abode. Having built himself a cabin and an oratory, he set about felling trees and building a good road. So successful were his efforts that settlers began to gather round him; with their help he was able to construct also a hospice and a bridge. He died about the year 1109, and his grave, which he had made himself, became famous for miracles. The town of S. Domingo de la Calzada which grew up round his shrine was at one time important enough to he the seat of a bishopric, now transferred to Calahorra.
The account in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii, is derived mainly from a set of breviary lessons and from a life compiled by Louis de Ia Vega in 1606. See also the Encyclopedia Europeo-Americana, vol. xviii, p. 1846.

He was born in Biscay and became a hermit in Rioja. Dominic devoted his time to creating a causeway for pilgrim travelers. The site of his hermitage, La Calzada, became a shrine.

Dominic of the Causeway, Hermit (RM) (also known as Dominic de la Calzada) Born at Victoria, Biscay. The Benedictines turned Saint Dominic, a Basque, away when he repeatedly tried to join the order at Valvanera. All the saint could achieve in following his vocation to live as a monk was to become a hermit near Rioja. He later moved his hermitage to one of the routes taken by pilgrims visiting the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. There he had the simple, extremely useful notion of building a road (calzada or causeway), a bridge, and a hospice, solely to ease their journey.
The spot where he lived is now called La Calzada and itself has become a great pilgrimage shrine (Benedictines, Bentley).
1109 Saint Nikita former Recluse of the Kiev Caves healing of many people
Fell asleep in the Lord in 1109, after serving as Bishop of Novgorod for thirteen years.

Bishop Nikita was glorified as a saint during the reign of Tsar Ivan Vasilievich, and his holy relics, dressed in full vestments, were uncovered on April 30, 1558. That day was marked by the healing of many people. His relics now rest in the cathedral of the holy Apostle Philip in Novgorod.

St Nikita of Novgorod is also commemorated on January 31, the day of his repose, and on May 14.
1115 Godfrey of Amiens a zealous reformer, unrelentingly fought simony enforcing celibacy His tomb was illustrated by many miracles OSB B (RM)
Suessíone, in Gálliis, sancti Godefrídi, Ambianénsis Epíscopi, magnæ sanctitátis viri.
    At Soissons in France, St. Godfrey, bishop of Amiens, a man of great sanctity.
(also known as Geoffrey, Gottfried)  Born near Soissons, France, c. 1066; died near Soissons.

When he was 5 years old, Godfrey was placed in the care of the abbot of Mont-Saint-Quentin. He became a monk and was eventually ordained a priest.
In 1096 he became the abbot of the decayed Nogent-sous-Coucy in Champagne, where the brethren had dwindled to six and the buildings and discipline were similarly dilapidated. Under his rule the monastery prospered, and as a result, he came to the notice of the archbishop of Rheims who asked him to take over the famous Abbey of Saint-Remi at Rheims. Godfrey refused. He made a disturbance and vehemently added during an assembly, "God forbid I should ever desert a poor bride by preferring a rich one!"
Despite his strong feelings, he was appointed bishop of Amiens in 1104, but he insisted upon continuing to live very simply. When he thought the cook was treating him too well, he took the best food from the kitchen and gave it away to the poor and the sick.
He was a zealous reformer, unrelentingly fought simony enforcing celibacy, and supported the organization of communes. But, because he was an excessively stern ruler, his life was threatened more than once, including by a disgruntled woman.
His scrupulousness caused great resentment among the laxer clergy. He became disheartened by their behavior and withdrew to the Carthusian monastery at Grande-Chartreuse. A council ordered him to return to his diocese--his people refused to allow him to retire. But on his way to visit his metropolitan, he died the following year at Saint Crispin's abbey in Soissons, where he was buried. His name was not found in calendars before the 16th century (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Walsh, White).
In art Saint Gottfried is a bishop with a dead hound at his feet. Sometimes he is shown serving the sick or embracing a leper (Roeder).


SAINT GODFREY or GEOFFROY Bishop of Amiens (ca. 1066-1115)
Saint Godfrey was born about 1066 at Molincourt in France of a distinguished Christian family. He arrived late in the lives of his parents, who had begged the prayers of the holy abbot of Mount Saint Quentin, desiring to have a child they could consecrate to God. Their prayers and those of the religious of the monastery of Mount Saint Quentin were answered in the same year. The child was baptized by the Abbot and later confided to him to be educated. Eventually Godfrey’s father entered a monastery of Our Lady which he had enriched by his alms; and his mother spent her declining years in various good works.

Godfrey was given the charge of taking care of the sick, and exercised it with such great charity that he was also named hospitaller, to receive the poor at the gate. For assistance in that second duty he had his older brother Odon, who after many years in the military career had come to join him in the religious life. His brother would later die a holy death in the same abbey of Mount Saint Quentin.

When Saint Godfrey was 25 years old his abbot told him to prepare for the priesthood. He received the Sacrament of Holy Orders from the bishop of Noyon, in which diocese the abbey of Mount Saint Quentin is situated. Not long afterwards, the abbey of Our Lady of Nogent, whose abbot was incapacitated by illness, voted to obtain Godfrey in that office, and the abbot of Mount Saint Quentin consented to the sacrifice of his dear spiritual son for that purpose. The pleas of the disciple based on his youth and inexperience were not heeded, and in 1095 he became Abbot of Nogent, where the buildings were crumbling and only six monks and two young novices remained. He renovated the edifices and built a hostelry for pilgrims and the sick poor; and in this hostelry he himself continued to labor on their behalf. Soon the monastery filled up with vocations, drawing even two illustrious abbots from elsewhere, who desired to serve under this master.

When a severe drought was devastating the fields and flocks of the region, the bishop of Soissons, Hugh de Pierrefonds, went to Godfrey to ask his counsel; the holy abbot prescribed a fast in the manner of Ninevah — even the animals were to participate. On the first day of the fast, when the abbot rose to preach in the vast Church of Saint Steven, before the assembled people, the sky suddenly darkened, and so heavy a rain fell that the people were not a little inconvenienced on returning home.

When the aged bishop of Amiens died soon afterwards, its residents chose Godfrey to be their bishop, and went to a legate of the Holy See to ask him to intercede with the abbot to obtain his consent. When this decision was related to Godfrey he would have fled, but the order of the legate prevented his flight. Moreover, he had already had a vision of Saint Firmin, first Bishop of Amiens and martyr, advising him of this forthcoming new responsibility. He therefore submitted to the clear designs of Providence. After Saint Godfrey obtained a beautiful new reliquary for the relics of Amiens’ first bishop, the confidence of the people in their patron Saint, Saint Firmin, redoubled. A prayer to him by Saint Godfrey, asking for sunshine on the day of the translation of the relics, was the occasion; a fog so heavy one could scarcely see, lifted, and the sun at once shone brilliantly in the sanctuary.

As bishop he did not cease to take care of the poor and the sick. When some lepers came to him he commanded his cook to prepare food for them; four hours later nothing had yet been done, and he himself went to the kitchen and found a large, prepared salmon which he took to the famished lepers. The cook remonstrated with him, and the Saint told him that it was injustice to allow the poor to die of hunger while unworthy bishops enjoyed food that was too succulent.

When troubles occasioned by the contemporary quarrel over investitures devastated the city of Amiens, the holy bishop thought it well to resign his office and retire to the Grand Chartreuse, and did so. The archbishop of Rheims, however, could not approve such an action, and reproached the residents of Amiens when they brought up the question of a successor. The affair was referred to a Council to be held at Soissons in January of 1115. A letter was sent by the Council to the religious of Saint Bruno, begging them not to retain the bishop of Amiens, but to send him back to his see; and Godfrey with tears resigned himself to obeying the orders of the king and the Council. His declining years were not exempt from sufferings; the city of Amiens was decimated by a fire which spared only the church of Saint Firmin, the episcopal palace and a few houses of the poor. The people had not listened to the exhortations of their bishop when their prevarications enkindled the wrath of God. He died on November 8, 1115, in perfect serenity, having given his farewell blessing to the religious of the monastery of Soissons, where he had been taken, after falling ill during a journey there.
His tomb was illustrated by many miracles.
Source: Les Petits Bollandistes: Vies des Saints, by Msgr. Paul Guérin (Bloud et Barral: Paris, 1882), Vol. 13.

1118 St. Raymond of Toulouse a chanter and canon renowned for generosity; native of Toulouse, France many miracles were reported at his tomb
He was known originally as Raymond Gayrard. After the death of his wife, he became a canon of St. Sernin, Toulouse, helping to rebuild the church which became a popular place for pilgrims. After his death on July 3, many miracles were reported at his tomb
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1121 St. Erminold Benedictine abbot A large number of miracles are recorded at his tomb after death.
Erminold was given to Hirschau Monastery, in Wurzburg Germany, as a small child. In 1110, he became the abbot of Lorsch, resigning and returning to Hirschau when his election was disputed. In 1117, Erminold became abbot of Pruffening There he was assaulted by a lay brother and slain on January 7.
1121 ST ERMINOLD, ABBOT A large number of miracles are recorded at his tomb after death.
THE medieval Life of St Erminold represents a. rather unsatisfactory type of spiritual biography. The writer seems to have been intent only on glorifying his hero, and we cannot be quite satisfied as to his facts. Erminold, brought to the monastery of Hirschau as a child, spent all his life in the cloister. Being conspicu­ous for his strict observance of rule, he was chosen abbot of Lorsch, but a dispute about his election caused him to resign within a year. In 1114, at the instance of St Otto of Bamberg, he was sent to the newly founded monastery of Prufening, and there he exercised authority, first as prior, and from 1117 onwards as abbot. He is described in local calendars and martyrologies as a martyr, but his death, which took place on January 6, 1121, resulted from the conspiracy of an unruly faction of his own subjects who resented the strictness of his government. One of them struck him on the head with a heavy piece of timber, and Erminold, lingering for a few days, died on the Epiphany at the hour he had foretold. He was famed both for his spirit of prayer and for his charity to the poor. A large number of miracles are recorded at his tomb after death.

See Acta Sanctorum, January 6 and also the MCH., Scriptores, vol. xii, pp. 481—500.

1114 Saint Alypius, one of the first and finest of Russian iconographers, was a disciple of St Nikon (March 23), and from his youth he lived a life of asceticism at the Kiev Caves monastery. known for working miracles even in his lifetime.
He studied the iconography of the Greek masters, and from the year 1083 beautified the Caves monastery church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos.

If he learned that in some church the icons had become worn, he took them with him and restored them without charge. If people happened to pay him for his work, he set aside one third to purchase supplies for painting icons, one third as alms for the poor, and the remainder for his own needs.

St Alypius was never famous, and he painted icons only to serve God. He was ordained a hieromonk, and was known for working miracles even in his lifetime. St Alypius healed a Kievan man suffering from leprosy and decay of the body by anointing the wounds of the sick man with the paints he used for the painting of icons. Many of his icons were glorified by miracles, and sometimes angels helped him in the holy task of painting icons.

A certain man of Kiev who had built a church, once gave two monks of the Caves a commission to have icons painted for it. The monks concealed the money and said nothing to St Alypius about it. After waiting a long time for the work to be completed, the man went to the igumen to complain about St Alypius. Only then did they discover that he had not been told of the commission. When they brought the boards provided by the customer, it turned out that beautiful icons had already been painted on them.

When the church was consumed by fire, all of the icons remained unharmed. One of these icons (the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos), known as the Vladimir-Rostov Icon (August 15), was taken by Great Prince Vladimir Monomakh (1113-1125) to a church he had built at Rostov.

Another time, when St Alypius lay deathly ill, an angel painted an icon of the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos for him. On August 17 (around the year 1114), an angel came to receive the soul of St Alypius, and he was buried in the Near Caves. The first three fingers of St Alypius's right hand were positioned together, and the last two were bent to the palm. It seems that he died while signing himself with the Sign of the Cross.

One of the icons painted by St Alypius survives from the time of Sts Anthony and Theodosius of the Kiev Caves, and is now preserved in the State Tretyakov Gallery. This is the Sven Icon (May 3 and August 17).

A twentieth century icon in the church of the Pskov Caves Monastery of the Dormition depicts St Alypius holding a copy of the "Assuage My Sorrows" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (January 25 and October 9).

1123 St. Bertrand of Comminges Bishop A number of miracles are related of St Bertrand.

1123 ST BERTRAND, Bishop of COMMINGES
IN its more than a thousand years of existence before it was suppressed the see of Comminges (now included in Toulouse) was governed by several men well known in history, but no one of them is more famed locally than St Bertrand, who was bishop for fifty years in the eleventh—twelfth century. At first he had no other aim than to be a military lord like his father, but he soon turned to the ecclesiastical state, received a canonry at Toulouse, and became archdeacon: it was remarked that he owed his dignities neither to requests nor bribes. About 1075 he was called to govern the diocese of Comminges, and having rebuilt both the temporal and spiritual fortifications of his episcopal city he proceeded to a thorough reformation of the whole diocese, living with his canons under the Rule of St Augustine as an example for the secular clergy. His zeal was not always acceptable. When he went to preach in the Val d’Azun he met with a very hostile reception, and it required all his efforts to calm the people. However, they afterwards were so sorry for the way they had received their bishop that they promised to give in perpetuity to the see of Comminges all the butter that was made in Azun every year during the week before Whitsunday. This tribute was rendered, not always willingly, up to the time of the Revolution.

   St Bertrand several times had to face violent opposition even out of his own territory: in 1100 he was at the synod at Poitiers when King Philip I was excommunicated and the synodal fathers were stoned, and at the consecration of the cemetery of St Mary at Auch, when the aggrieved monks of Saint-Orens tried to set fire to the church.

      A number of miracles are related of St Bertrand, one of which gave rise to the Great Pardon” at his church in Comminges. In a feud between the counts of Comminges and Bigorre, Bertrand’s diocese was overrun by the troops of Sans Parra of Oltia, who carried off all the cattle they could lay their hands on. To save his people from ruin the bishop implored their leader to restore the booty, but he refused unless he was paid its value. “All right, said St Bertrand. “Bring them back. I’ll pay you before you are dead.” Some time after Bertrand himself was dead, Sans Parra was captured by the Moors in Spain. One night he had a dream in his dungeon of Bertrand, who said he had come to redeem his promise and led him out of prison to a spot near his home. This happening is commemor­ated locally on May 2 every year, and Pope Clement V, who had been bishop of Comminges, granted a plenary indulgence to be gained at the then cathedral church of St Bertrand every year that the feast of the finding of the Holy Cross falls on a Friday. St Bertrand was canonized some time before 1309, probably by Pope Honorius III.

In the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. vii, Pt 2, is printed a life said to be the work of Vitalis, a notary of Auch, who was a contemporary. See also P. Bedin, St Bertrand de Comminges (1912).
Bishop of Comminges in the diocese of Toulouse, France. The son of a military officer, he became a canon in Toulouse. About 1075, he became bishop of Comminges, a role he would have for almost half a century. He managed the affairs of the faithful and was known for miracles. It is believed that he was canonized before 1309.
1124 Caradoc of Llandaff Abbot monk musician reputation for holiness miracles quieted wildest beasts healer incorrupt (AC)
(also known as Caradog) Born at Brycheiniog, Wales; feast day formerly April 13.
Caradoc, the son of moderately wealthy parents, had been employed as a musician (chiefly playing the harp) at the court of Prince Rhys ap Tewdr (Tudor) of southern Wales. He also looked after the prince's greyhounds. One day these escaped, through no fault of Caradoc's. The ill-tempered prince was so angry that he threatened to mutilate Caradoc. The saint replied, "If you so lightly regard my long and laborious service, I shall from now on serve a prince who rewards a small service bountifully and who does not prefer greyhounds to men." He broke of the head of his lance and used the shaft as a walking stick to travel to the bishop of Llandaff, who received him as a monk.

After some time in a monastery at Saint Teilo, Caradoc built himself a little hut close to abandoned church of Saint Kyned (Llangenydd) in Gower on Barry Island. There he could spend more time in solitude and prayer. His reputation for holiness caused him to be called to holy orders by the archbishop of Menevia, and he was ordained to the priesthood before retiring to Ary island off the Pembrokeshire coast with companions.

He still loved animals, and could quieten the wildest beasts. But he also suffered much from his fellow human beings: during the English invasion under Henry I and once being carried off by Norwegian pirates. They, fearing the wrath of God, set them back on land the following day. The archbishop of Menevia moved him again, this time to the cell of Saint Ismael (St. Isell's in Haroldston), Pembrokeshire. At another time a ruthless marauder named Richard Thanehard stole his cattle. Thereafter Thanehard became dangerously ill, sought Caradoc's healing touch, and was restored to health. Through all these dangers and trials, Caradoc never despaired, and died peacefully.

He was buried with honor in the cathedral of Saint David's, where part of his shrine survives. His body was claimed to be incorrupt. William of Malmesbury tried unsuccessfully to take a finger as a relic. Gerald of Wales attempted to have Caradoc canonized; Innocent III opened an inquiry into his life and miracle. Although Caradog was never formally canonized, he has been venerated since the early 13th century. The church of Lawrenny is dedicated to him (Benedictines, Bentley, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth).

In art, Saint Caradoc is portrayed dressed in chain mail with a church in one hand and a lance in the other. He may sometimes be shown with a harp (Roeder). Today he is venerated at Llandaff (Roeder)
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1124 Stephen (Etienne) of Grandmont (of Muret) God give Stephen the ability to read hearts deacon austere life, with little food or sleep for 46 years conversions of many obstinate sinners, OSB, Abbot (RM)
Born in Thiers, Auvergne, France, 1046; died 1124; canonized by Pope Clement III in 1189 at the request of King Henry II of England.

     Saint Stephen was the son of the virtuous viscount of Thiers. His life from infancy presaged uncommon sanctity. Father Milo, then the dean of the church of Paris, was appointed his tutor. At age 12, Stephen accompanied his father, lord of the district, to the tomb of Saint Nicholas of Bari. He fell ill at Benevento and remained there to continue his education under Milo, who had become Benevento's archbishop.
 At the appropriate time, he ordained Stephen a deacon. Following Milo's death, Stephen pursued his studies in Rome for four years. In the meantime his parents died.

    In 1076, on his return to France, Stephen renounced inheritance to become a hermit in the mountains of Ambazac at Muret (northeast of Limoges). He led an austere life, with little food or sleep for 46 years. He wore a metal breastplate (one of his attributes in art) instead of the usual hairshirt.
When he was not employed in manual labor, he lay prostrate on the ground in profound adoration of the majesty of God.

The sweetness which he felt in divine contemplation made him often forget to take any refreshment for two or three days together. Stephen remained deacon throughout life, never seeking presbyterial ordination.
As with many of the holiest hermits, disciples gathered about him.
  There on the mountain-top he founded a congregation of Benedictine hermit-monks using the model he observed in Calabria; thus, its rules was based on his sayings. Although he was strict with himself, he was mild to those under his direction, and proportioned their mortifications to their strength. But he allowed no indulgence with regard to the essential points of a solitary life, silence, poverty, and the denial of self-will. He behaved himself among his disciples as the last of them, always taking the lowest place, never suffering any one to rise up to him; and while they were at table, he would seat himself on the ground in the midst of them, and read to them the lives of the saints. He ruled but never seems to have become a monk himself.
The order is conspicuous for its intransigent insistence on total renunciation. Stephen compared monastic life to life in a prison. "If you come here, you will be fixed to the cross and you will lose your own power over your eyes, your mouth, and your other members. . . . If you go to a large monastery with fine buildings, you will find animals and vast estates; here, only poverty and the cross." To those wishing to join his community, he would say: "This is a prison without either door or hole whereby to return into the world, unless a person makes for himself a breach. And should this misfortune befall you, I could not send after you, none here having any commerce with the world any more than myself."

God give Stephen the ability to read hearts. The author of his now lost vita, the fourth prior Stephen de Liciaco, gives a long history of miracles which he wrought. But the conversions of many obstinate sinners were still more miraculous; it seemed as if no heart could resist the grace which accompanied his words. Saint Stephen died at Muret. In his last hours he was carried into the chapel, where he heard mass, received extreme unction and the viaticum.
His disciples buried him privately, but news of his death drew many to his tomb, which was honored by innumerable miracles.

    Four months after his death, the priory of Ambazac, dependent on the great Benedictine abbey of St. Austin, in Limoges, put in a claim to the land of Muret. The disciples of the holy man immediately gave up the ground without any contention, and retired to Grandmont, taking Stephen's remains with them. It is from this site that the congregation received the name Grandmontines.
     With its austere rule it never became widespread; however, the successors to Stephen's spirit gained the admiration of many. Abbot Peter of Celles, calls them angels, and testifies that he placed an extraordinary confidence in their prayers (Epistle 8). John of Salisbury, a contemporary author, represents them as men who, being raised above the necessities of life, had conquered not only sensuality and avarice, but even nature itself (Poly. l. 7, c. 23).
   The rule of the Grandmontines consists of seventy-five chapters. The prologue reminds its members that the rule of rules, and the origin of all monastic rules, is the gospel: they are but streams derived from this source, and in it are all the means of arriving at Christian perfection pointed out. It recommends strict poverty and obedience, as the foundation of a religious life; forbids compensation for their Masses or to open their oratory to outsiders on Sundays or holy days, because on these days each should attend his parish church. Its religious are forbidden to engage in any lawsuit or to eat meat even in time of sickness. The rule prescribes rigorous fasts, with only one meal a day for a great part of the year.
     The rule abounds with great sentiments of virtue, especially concerning temptations, the sweetness of God's service and his holy commandments, the boundless obligation each has to love God and the incomprehensible advantages of praising Him, and the necessity of continually advancing in fervor. It speaks of good works as the flowers of the garland of which our lives should be composed.
   King Saint Henry II was one of the admirers of the order. He founded several monasteries for the Grandmontines in France and England, and petitioned the Vatican for Stephen's canonization.
austerity of Saint Stephen inspired Armand de Rancé &Charles de Foucauld (Benedictines Encyclopedia Farmer Husenbeth).
1127 St. Henry of Cocket Danish hermit gifts of prophecy telekinesis read souls
island off the coast of Northumbria, England. He lived under the director of the monks of Tynemouth.
1220 {butler sts mistake see 1127) ST HENRY OF COCKET THE Danes were indebted in part for the light of faith, under God, to the example and labours of English missionaries. Henry was born in that country, and from his youth gave himself to the divine service with his whole heart.
When he came to man’s estate he sailed to the north of England. The little island of Cocket, which lies on the coast of Northumberland, near the mouth of the river of the same name, had been the home of anchorets even in St Bede’s time, as appears from his life of St Cuthbert. This island belonged to the monastery of Tynemouth, and St Henry undertook to lead in it an eremitical life. His only daily meal, which he took after sunset, was bread and water; and this bread he earned by tilling a little garden. He died in his hermitage on January 16, 1127, and was buried by the monks at Tynemouth in their church.
His life by Capgrave is printed in the Acta Sanctorum for January 16. Cf. also Stanton,  Menology, pp. 22—23. There seems to be no evidence of public cultus.

Born in Denmark; died 1127. The Danish Henry went abroad because he wanted to live as a hermit. If he had remained at home, he would have been duty-bound to marry. He settled on Cocket Island, off the coast of Northumberland, under the obedience of the monks of Tynemouth, daughter-house of Saint Alban's, to whom the island belonged. On this same island Saint Cuthbert used to meet Saint Elfleda, abbess of Whitby.

Henry lived the typical life of a hermit: gardening to provide his own food and practicing austerities. After many years on the island, a party of Danes tried to persuade him to return to Denmark. There were many suitable places in his homeland where he could practice his eremitical life. But after a night of prayer in which Henry experienced a locution from the corpus on the cross, he decided to stay where he was.

Word of his holiness spread. More and more visitors flocked to the island, attracted by his special gifts of prophecy, telekinesis, and reading souls. One interesting example of the last: He reproved and punished a man who had refused his wife sexual intercourse during Lent, although the man had not confessed it.

When Henry fell ill and his state continued to deteriorate due to lack of care, he became increasingly cheerful and endured his suffering alone. Finally, he rang his hermit's bell for help. By the time help arrived, Henry was dead, holding the bellrope in one hand and a candle in the other. In spite of strong resistance from the islanders, who wanted to keep their saint, the monks of Tynemouth took his body back to the monastery and buried him in the sanctuary, near their patron Saint Oswin. There is no early reference to his cultus, but his name can be found in later martyrologies (Benedict)
1127 St. Albert of Montecorvino Bishop; visions, miracle worker, heroic patience.
1127 ST ALBERT, BISHOP OF Montecorvino although bereft of physical vision he was endowed with second sight and the, gift of prophecy
IN the early days of Montecorvino in Apulia, when it was developing into a town, the father of St Albert took up his residence there with his little son. Albert grew up to be so highly esteemed that upon the death of the bishop he was unanimously chosen to be his successor. After a time he lost his sight, but although bereft of physical vision he was endowed with second sight and the, gift of prophecy. Albert’s fame became widespread mainly owing to two miracles with which he was credited. On a hot summer’s day he had asked for a drink of water which his servant fetched from the spring. “My son”, said the bishop, when he had tasted it, “I asked for water and you have given me wine.” The man declared that he had offered him water, and brought him some more. That also became converted into wine. Soon afterwards a citizen, taken captive and imprisoned, called upon the name of the bishop; and a heavenly visitant carried him off from his prison in the Abruzzi and set him down near Montecorvino. The following morning he went to thank the bishop, who said, “Do not thank me, my son, but give thanks to God, who with His great might raises up the downtrodden and releases the fettered”.
In St Albert’s old age he was given as vicar a priest called Crescentius. He was an unscrupulous man whose one hope was that the aged prelate would die soon that he might succeed him. Instead of assisting the old bishop he and his satellites persecuted him by playing cruel practical jokes. The good man bore all with patience, although he prophesied that Crescentius would not long enjoy the bishopric he coveted.
The people of Montecorvino loved their pastor to the end. When it was known that he was dying, men, women and children gathered round weeping. The old saint gave them his benediction with a parting injunction that they should live in piety and justice and then passed away as though in sleep.
The only account of St Albert which we now possess was written three or four hundred years after his death by one of his successors in the united dioceses of Montecorvino and Vulturaria. This was Alexander Gerardinus, a prolific author as Ughelli shows. However, he seems only to have put into more classical form a life of Albert which was compiled by Bishop Richard, the next but one to follow him at Montecorvino. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, and by Ughelli, Italia Sacra, vol. viii (1662), cc. 469—474.

Born into a Norman family, Albert was brought to Montecorvino as a child. He demonstrated holiness at an early age and attracted many in the region. Blinded while still young, probably from some physical condition, Albert was nevertheless made bishop of Montecorvino. He was able to fulfill his duties and to perform many miracles. Albert was also known for his visions.
Albert of Montecorvino B (AC) Born in Normandy; died . Albert and his parents moved from Normandy to Montecorvino, where he became bishop. In his old age, Albert was blind and was given a coadjutor who treated him with amazing indignity and cruelty. The saint bore this, as all his trials, with heroic patience (Attwater2, Benedictines)
1127 Gualfardus a saddler; Famous for miracles during his life, St Gualfardus became even more famous for them after his death. those around him regarded him as a saint hermit in the Camaldolese priory of San Salvatore OSB (AC)
1127 ST GUALFARDUS or WOLFHARD
ABOUT the year 1096 there arrived at Verona, in the train of a party of German merchants, a saddler from Augsburg called Gualfardus (Wolfhard), who took up his abode in the city. All that he earned by his trade, apart from what was necessary for bare subsistence, he gave to the poor, and he led so holy a life that he was regarded with veneration. Shocked to find himself treated as a saint, he secretly left Verona to seek a spot where he could serve God unobserved by men.
   In a forest on the river Adige he lived as a hermit for years, until he was recognized by some boatmen whose vessel ran aground near his hut. The Veronese induced him to return into their midst and he eventually became a hermit-monk of the Camaldolese priory of the Holy Redeemer. There he spent the last ten years of his life. Famous for miracles during his life, St Gualfardus became even more famous for them after his death.

No other source of information seems available beside the short Latin life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. iii.

(also known as Wolfhard) Born in Augsburg, Germany; feast day formerly on May 11. Saint Gualfardus was a saddler, who plied his trade in Verona, Italy, until those around him began to regard him as a saint. Then he retired to live as a hermit in the Camaldolese priory of San Salvatore near Verona (Benedictines). In art, Gualfardus is a Benedictine hermit with a stone coffin near him (Roeder). He is venerated in Augsburg, Germany, and Verona, Italy, and, because of his profession, is the patron of saddlers (Roeder)

1128 Saint Ubald Baldassini Bishop of Gubbio ordained cathedral deacon returned to Gubbio Dissuaded from the eremitical life by Peter of Rimini
Eugúbii sancti Ubáldi, Epíscopi et Confessóris, miráculis clari.
    At Gubbio, St. Ubaldus, bishop and confessor renowned for his miracles.
1100 ST UBALD, BISHOP OF GUBBIO
WE are fortunate in possessing an excellent and reliable biography of Ubald Baldassini, bishop of Gubbio, compiled by Theobald, his immediate successor. The saint, descended from a noble family in Gubbio, became an orphan at an early age and was educated by his uncle, also bishop of the same see, in the cathedral school. Having completed his studies, he was ordained priest and appointed dean of the cathedral, young though he was, that he might reform the canons amongst whom grave irregularities were rampant. The task was no easy one, but he succeeded before long in persuading three of the canons to join him in a common life. Then, that he might obtain experience in the management of a well-conducted household, he resided for three months with a community of regular canons which had been established by Peter de Honestis in the territory of Ravenna. The rule which they followed he brought back to Gubbio, and within a short time it was accepted by the whole chapter. A few years later, after their house and cloisters had been burnt down, Ubald thought it a favourable moment to retire from his post into some solitude. With this object in view he made his way to Fonte Avellano where he communicated his intention to Peter of Rimini. That great servant of God, however, regarded the plan as a dangerous temptation and exhorted him to return to the post in which God had placed him for the benefit of others. The saint accordingly returned to Gubbio, and rendered his chapter more flourishing than it had ever been before. In 1126 St Ubald was chosen bishop of Perugia; but he hid himself so that the deputies from that city could not find him; then he went to Rome, threw himself at the feet of Pope Honorius II and begged that he might be excused. His request was granted but when, two years later, the see of Gubbio fell vacant, the pope himself directed that the clergy should elect Ubald.
In his new office the saint displayed all the virtues of a true successor to the apostles, but perhaps his most distinguishing characteristic was a mildness and patience which made him appear insensible to injuries and affronts. On one occasion workmen repairing the city wall encroached upon his vineyard and were injuring his vines. He gently drew their attention to this. Thereupon the foreman, who probably did not recognize him, became abusive and pushed him so roughly that he fell into a pool of liquid mortar, he rose up, splashed all over with lime and dirt, and without a word of expostulation returned to his house. Eyewitnesses, however, reported the incident and the citizens clamoured loudly that the foreman should be punished. So great was the popular indignation that a severe sentence seemed a foregone conclusion, when St Ubald appeared in court and claimed that, since the offence had been committed against an ecclesiastic, it came under his jurisdiction as bishop. Then, turning to the culprit, he bade him give him the kiss of peace in token of reconciliation, and, after a prayer that God would forgive him that and all his other trespasses, he directed that the man should beset at liberty.
The saint often defended his people in public dangers. The Emperor Frederick Barbarossa during his wars in Italy had sacked the city of Spoleto and threatened to subject Gubbio to a similar fate. Ubald met the emperor on the road and diverted the tyrant from his purpose. During the last two years of his life, the holy bishop suffered from a complication of painful diseases which he bore with heroic patience. On Easter day 1160, although very ill, he rose to celebrate Mass, and, that he might not disappoint his people, preached and gave them his blessing. He was carried back to bed, from which he never rose again. At Pentecost, as he lay dying, the whole population of Gubbio filed past his couch, anxious to take a last farewell of one whom each individual regarded as his dear father in God. Ubald died on May 16, 1160, and the people who flocked to his funeral from far and wide were eye-witnesses of the many miracles God performed at his tomb.

The life by Bishop Theobald is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. iii, and there is a further collection of miracles in vol. vii. A modern Italian biography was published by Gianpaoli in 1885. On the curious confusion between St Ubald and the “St Theobald” who is honoured as the patron of Thann, in Alsace, see H. Lempfrid in Mittheilungen d. Gesellschaft f. Erhalt. d. gesch. Denkmäler im Elms,, vol. xxi (1903), pp. 1—128.

Born of a noble family in Gubbio Italy, was orphaned in his youth, and was educated by his uncle, the Bishop of Gubbio. Ubald was ordained, was named deacon of the cathedral, reformed the canons, and then left a few years later to become a hermit. Dissuaded from the eremitical life by Peter of Rimini, he returned to Gubbio and in 1126, was named Bishop of Perugia but refused the honor.
He became Bishop of Gubbio in 1128 and persuaded Emperor Frederick II not to sack Gubbio, as he had Spoleto during one of his forays into Italy. Ill the last two years of his life, Ubald died at Gubbio on May 16, and was canonized in 1192.

Ubaldus Baldassini B (RM) Born in Gubbio near Ancona, Umbria, Italy; died there in 1160; canonized in 1192. While dean of the cathedral in his home town, Ubaldus induced the canons of the chapter to live a common life together, under the rule given by Peter degli Onesti to his community at Ravenna. Ubaldus himself wanted to be a hermit, but was advised otherwise, and, in 1128, he had to accept the bishopric of Gubbio. He was an admirable bishop, noted for his patience and forbearance. His character was remarkable for its combination of gentleness and courage with which he succeeded in disarming the tyrannical Frederick Barbarossa. His shrine is still a place of pilgrimage (Benedictines, Delaney).

In art, Saint Ubaldus is depicted as a bishop giving a blessing as angels carry his crozier. On his book is written Sacerdos et Pontifex et virtutum opifex pastor bone, etc. The devil may be shown fleeing the blessing (Roeder). Ubaldus is invoked against demoniac possession, migraine, neuralgia, and for sick children (Roeder).


1130 Saint Isidore the Farmer celestial visions angels sometimes helped him appeared in a vision to King Alphonsus of Castile in 1211 show him an unknown path used to surprise and defeat the Moors patron of farmers his master saw angels and oxen helping him
Saint Isidore was born at Madrid, Spain, in the latter half of the twelfth century. For the greater part of his life, he  was employed as a laborer on a farm outside the city. Many marvelous happenings accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued long after his holy death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields. Saint Isidore was canonized in 1622. In 1947, he was proclaimed the patron of the National Rural Life Conference in the United States.

Prayer : God, through the intercession of Saint Isidore, the holy Farmer, grant that we may overcome all feelings of pride. May we always serve You with that humility which pleases You, through his merits and example.
Saint Isidore Patron of National Rural Conference in the United States

Saint Isidore was born at Madrid, Spain, in the latter half of the 12th century. For the greater part of his life he was employed as a laborer on a farm outside the city. Many marvelous happenings accompanied his lifelong work in the fields and continued long after his holy death. He was favored with celestial visions and, it is said, the angels sometimes helped him in his work in the fields. Saint Isidore was canonized in 1622.  In 1947, he was proclaimed the patron of the National Rural Conference in the United States.

Isidore the Farmer (RM) (also known as Isidoro, Isidro) Born in Madrid, Spain, 1070; died there in 1130; canonized in 1622; feast day formerly on May 10 and March 22, and October 25 in the U.S.A.

 Saint Isidore's feast is celebrated in Madrid, Spain, with ringing church bells and streets decorated for a procession in his honor. The saint was poor into a peasant family and baptized Isidore in honor of the famous archbishop of Seville. His unreliable biography was written about 150 years after his death and many concern the miracles associated with his name.

Isidore was a day laborer, working on the farm of the wealthy John de Vergas at Torrelaguna just outside Madrid. He married a poor girl, Maria de la Cabeza (Torriba), and had a son who died while still a baby. Thereafter, the couple took a vow of continence to serve God.
Isidore's life is a model of simple Christian charity and faith. He prayed while at work, and he visited many churches in Madrid and the area while on holidays. He shared what he had--even his meals--with the poor, often giving them the more liberal portions.

He was steady and hard-working, but a complaint was made against him to his employer that he arrived late to work because he attended early morning Mass each day. When charged with his offense, he did not deny it and explained to his employer: "Sir, it may be true that I am later at my work than some of the other laborers, but I do my utmost to make up for the few minutes snatched for prayer; I pray you compare my work with theirs, and if you find I have defrauded you in the least, gladly will I make amends by paying you out of my private store."

His employer said nothing, but remained suspicious, and, being determined to find out the truth, rose one morning at daybreak and concealed himself outside the church. In due course, Isidore appeared and entered the building, and afterwards, when the service was over, went to his work. Still following him, his employer saw him take the plough into a field, and was about to confront him when, in the pale, misty light of dawn, he saw, as he thought, a second plough drawn by white oxen moving up and down the furrows. Greatly astonished, he ran towards it, but even as he ran it disappeared and he saw only Isidore and his single-plough.
Saint Isidore
When he spoke to Isidore and enquired about the second plough he had seen, Isidore replied in surprise: "Sir, I work alone and know of none save God to whom I look for strength." Thus the story grew that so great was his sanctity that the angels helped him even in his plowing. It was characteristic of Isidore's whole life. He was a simple ploughman, his speech clear and direct, his conduct honest as the day, his faith pure and steadfast. He was a poor man, but gave away what he could, with a good and generous heart, and with such sympathy and goodwill that his gifts seemed doubly blessed. Indeed, he could never neglect doing a kindness to man or beast.

 One snowy day, when going to the mill with corn to be ground which his wife had gleaned, he passed a flock of wood-pigeons scratching vainly for food on the hard surface of the frosty ground. Taking pity on the poor animals, he poured half of his sack of precious corn upon the ground for the birds, despite the mocking of witnesses. When he reached the mill, however, the bag was full, and the corn, when it was ground, produced double the expected amount of flour.

In such simple tales we find reflected the spirit of Saint Isidore, who never ruled a diocese or was martyred for his faith, but who as truly served God in the fields and on the farm as those in higher places and who bore more famous names.
St. Isidore Folk image of Saint Isidore courtesy of Saint Charles Borromeo Church
His saintly wife survived Isidore for several years. Forty years after his death, his body was transferred to a shrine, and his cultus grew as a result of miracles attributed to his intercession. He is said to have appeared in a vision to King Alphonsus of Castile in 1211, and to have shown him an unknown path, which he used to surprise and defeat the Moors. His canonization occurred at the insistence of King Philip III, who attributed his recovery from a serious illness to Isidore's intercession (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Gill, Tabor, White) .

In art, Saint Isidore is portrayed as a peasant holding a sickle and a sheaf of corn. He might also be shown (1) with a sickle and staff, (2) as an angel ploughs for him, (3) giving a rosary to children by a well, mattock on his feet, water springing from the well, (4) striking water from dry earth with an angel plowing in the background (Roeder), (5) before a cross, or (6) with an angel and white oxen near him (White).
In Spanish art his emblems are a spade or a plough (Tabor). He is the patron of Madrid, Spain (Roeder), farmers and farm laborers, and the U.S. National Catholic Rural Conference (White).
1134 ST ALLUCIO; shepherd in Pescia, Tuscany, Italy; devoted himself to establishment of shelters at fords, mountain-passes, and to similar public works, such as the building of a bridge over the Arno; A number of remarkable miracles were recorded of the saint and he was credited with bringing about reconciliation between the warring cities of Ravenna and Faenza

ALLUCIO, patron of Pescia in Tuscany, was a shepherd and herdman, who on account of the great interest he took in the almshouse of Vat di Nievole was ap­pointed master of it.  He became in effect its second founder, and further devoted himself to the establishment of shelters at fords, mountain-passes, and so on, and to similar public works, such as the building of a bridge over the Arno.  He staffed the hospices with young men, who were afterwards known as the Brothers of St Allucio.  A number of remarkable miracles were recorded of the saint and he was credited with bringing about reconciliation between the warring cities of Ravenna and Faenza. In 1182, forty-eight years after his death, the relics of St Allucio were enshrined and the almshouse was given his name. Pope Pius IX confirmed the cultus by the granting of a new proper Mass for the saint.

The cult of St Allucio seems to be adequately attested by documents, one of which takes the form of a public instrument summarizing the principal episodes of his life. They are given in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. x. See also DHG., vol. ii, c. 617, and a popular account by D. Biagioti (1934).

Director of the almshouse in Valdi Nievole. Allucio also built shelters in mountain passes and at rivers. The group with which he worked became the Brothers of St. Allucio. A miracle worker known throughout the region, Allucio ended the war between the city states of Ravenna and Faenza.

Allucio of Pescia (AC); cultus confirmed by Pius IX. Born in the diocese of Pescia in Tuscany, Italy, Allucio began life as a herdsman. Eventually his fellow citizens entrusted him with the direction of an almshouse at Val di Nievole and he became, in fact, the second founder of that charity, as well as a hospice at Campugliano. He had some followers who were named the Brethren of St. Allucio. (Benedictines, Encyclopedia).
1134 Our Lady of Liesse miracles have been countless a favorite pilgrimage destination of the kings of France.
Aug 18 - Coronation of Our Lady of Liesse (France, 1857)
In 1134, three brothers, knights from the French region of Laon, left on a voyage. The sultan of Egypt captured them and took them prisoner. Hoping at all costs to make them apostatize, he went so far as to send his remarkably beautiful daughter to seduce them. But while discussing the Gospel with the prisoners, believing she would defeat them, Ismenia was defeated. She asked the knights to carve the image of Mary for her.
The knights prayed to the Blessed Virgin so that she would guide their hands.
During the night, the Virgin sent angels bearing her radiant image of piety. The next day, when Ismenia returned the dungeon was filled with dazzling light and a delicious perfume exuded from the statue. The princess believed immediately and took the statue to her apartments, never taking her eyes off the statue while the knights cried out: Our Lady of Liesse!

The following night, Ismenia heard the statue say: "Trust me, Ismenia! I have prayed to my Son for you. You will be his faithful servant. You will free my three beloved knights. You will be baptized and through you, France will be enriched by countless graces. Through you my name will become famous and later, I will receive you forever in paradise."

Ismenia helped the prisoners escape and fled with them. All four of them were overtaken by a deep sleep, and during their sleep angels transported them to France. When they awoke, the three knights were in their country, near their castle in Marchais. Ismenia was baptized and they all agreed to have a chapel built at the site where they had woken up, in honor of Our Lady of Liesse.
Since then miracles have been countless.
Louis VII came as a pilgrim in 1146 and Our Lady of Liesse became a favorite pilgrimage destination of the kings of France.
1136 St. Peter of Juilly Benedictine monk and preacher; originally from England, a friend of St. Stephen Harding and was his companion at Molesme.
Later, he was named confessor and chaplain to the nuns of Juilly les Nonnais who were under the care of St. Humbeline, sister of St. Bernard of Clairvaux. Peter also possessed a reputation for being a brilliant preacher and a miracle worker
1136 Bd Jutta of Diessenberg, Virgin; led life of a recluse next to the monastery founded by St Disibod on the Diessenberg; the “noble woman” to whom was confided care of St Hildegard, when a child, Jutta who first taught her Latin, to read and to sing; many startling miracles
Bd Jutta was sister to Count Meginhard of Spanheim, and she led the life of a recluse in a small house next to the monastery founded by St Disibod on the Diessenberg. She was the “noble woman” to whom was confided the care of St Hildegard, when she was a child, and it was Jutta who first taught her Latin,  to read and to sing. Other disciples came to her, and these were formed into a community over which she presided as prioress for some twenty years. “This woman”, says St Hildegard, “overflowed with the grace of God like a river fed by many streams. Watching, fasting, and other works of penance gave no rest to her body till the day that a happy death set her free from this mortal life. God has given testimony to her holiness by many startling miracles.” The relics of Bd Jutta drew crowds of pilgrims to the Diessenberg, and their forthcoming removal was one of the grounds of the opposition of the monks to St Hildegard’s transference of her community to Bingen. 

No life of Bd Jutta seems to have been printed, but a manuscript account is in existence copied from the great legendarium of the Augustinian canons of Bödeken. See the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. xxvii (1908), p. 341; and also J. May, Die hl. Hildegard (1911).
1137 St. Ollegarius Augustinian bishop  Barcinóne, in Hispánia, beáti Ollegárii, primum Canónici, et póstea Epíscopi Barcinonénsis, et Archiepíscopi Tarraconénsis.
       At Barcelona in Spain, blessed Ollegar, who was first a canon and afterwards bishop of Barcelona and archbishop of Tarragona.
1137 ST OLLEGARIUS, OR OLDEGAR, Archbishop OF TARRACONA miracles

THE father of Ollegarius (Olaguer in Spanish) and his mother both came of noble Visigothic families. Catalonia was suffering severely from the ravages of the Saracens, and it was apparently as a votive offering for protection from their incur­sions that Ollegarius was dedicated by his parents to God and to St Eulalia in the church of which that saint was patroness in Barcelona. At the age of fifteen the boy was made over to the canons attached to the church, and with him was given an endowment of vineyards, buildings and other property. In those days it was not essential that a canon should be a priest, or even a celibate, and therefore it did not seem extraordinary that the youth should be appointed provost when he had scarcely reached manhood—the importance of his family and his personal piety would sufficiently justify such a choice. When he had been raised to the priesthood he was sent to France to the monastery of St Adrian, in which canons regular had lately been installed, and was made prior, the first of several such offices that he held. The story goes that, the bishopric of Barcelona falling vacant in 1115, Count Raymond was desirous of appointing Ollegarius, but the holy man shrank from to the office of prior general in Palestine, retaining it for not more than three years, taking the office and withdrew into hiding. The count, not to be beaten, went to Rome to obtain confirmation of his choice, and, fortified with a papal bull and accompanied by a legate, he tracked Ollegarius to his retreat amongst the canons of Maguelonnes and overcame his resistance. The new bishop proved himself both a zealous overseer and an able administrator, and was soon translated to the archi­episcopal see of Tarragona.

In 1123 Ollegarius went to Rome to attend the first Council of the Lateran, where he asked Pope Callistus II and the assembly to enact that the privileges which were being offered to those who would take part in the crusades in Palestine should be extended to those who would fight the Moslems in Spain. His petition was granted, and he returned home as apostolic delegate charged to preach a crusade against Moors. Success crowned his efforts, and Count Raymond succeeded in obtaining sufficient reinforcements to inflict severe losses on the Moors and to drive them from some of their strongholds. Ollegarius also did much to encourage and extend in his diocese the newly formed Order of Knights Templars. His metro­politan city of Tarragona had been almost entirely destroyed by the Moors, and he set to work to rebuild and restore it. Ollegarius also made the care of the sick poor, and in particular the mentally afflicted, the, object of his special solicitude. Al­though he was closely bound to the ruling family, he did not hesitate to denounce Count Raymond III when the count sought to reimpose an unjust tribute which his father, Raymond Berengarius, had remitted. At a synod in 1137 the archbishop, who was old and in failing health, was suddenly taken ill. He was carried from the council-chamber to his bed, from which he never rose again.

There is a Latin life, or rather two separate lives, of Ollegarius which have been printed by Florez in his España Sagrada, vol. xxix, pp. 472—499, together with a collection of the saint’s miracles. In Spain, and especially in Catalonia, his memory was at one time cherished very devoutly, and he was the subject of many popular biographies, such as that of Jaime Rebullosa, Vida y Milagros del d. Olaguer (1609). See also the Acts Sanctorum, March, vol. i.
Born 1060 Also known as Olaguerand and Olegari,. A native of Barcelona, Spain, he was the son of Visigoth parents.
After entering the Augustinian canons, he became prior at St. Aidan’s monastery and was ordained. In 1115, he was appointed bishop of Barcelona, but it took a papal bull to compel him to accept the office. The following year, he was transferred to Tarragona and elevated to the rank of archbishop. Ollegarius attended the first General Council of the Lateran in 1123, and Pope Callistus II made him a papal legate with the mission of preaching a crusade against the Moors of Spain. As archbishop, Ollegarius rebuilt most of Tarragona, which had been long neglected after its sack and occupation by the Moors, and promoted the work of the Knights Templar in the region.
Ollegarius (Oldegar, Olegari) of Tarragona, OSA B (RM) Born at Barcelona, Spain, in 1060; died at Tarragona in 1137. Ollegarius joined the Augustinian canons regular and was prior in several houses in France before being promoted to the see of Barcelona in 1115. The following year he was transferred to the archbishopric of Tarragona.
That diocese he successfully raised from the condition of neglect and decay
into which it had fallen during the Moorish domination (Benedictines).

1139 St. John of Pulsano a hermit  in Sicily and monk famous his for preaching, prophecy, and miracles.
Also John of Matera, a hermit and monk. Born in Matera in the Kingdom of Naples, he entered the Benedictines near Taranto, but was disliked because of his austerities. He then joined the community of St. William of Vercelli for a time, leaving to preach at Ban. John spent time as a hermit in Sicily and was imprisoned. He escaped and went to Capua. In his later years, John founded a monastery at Pulsano. He was famous for preaching, prophecy, and miracles
.
1139 John of Matera Benedictine monastery reputation for austerity, honoured by all for his wisdom, his miracles and his prophetical gifts popular preacher at Bari OSB Abbot (AC)
ST JOHN OF MATERA, ABBOT OF PULSANO (A.D. 1139)
THE founder of the Benedictine congregation of Pulsano was born at Matera, a town in the Basilicata, part of the kingdom of Naples. While yet a boy John longed to be a hermit, and on reaching manhood he left his father's house and made his way to an island off Taranto, where he joined a monastery in the capacity of shepherd. His austerity, however, and his refusal to join his brethren in any form of recreation, made him unpopular, so he left them and went, first to Calabria, then on to Sicily. Afterwards, in obedience to what he regarded as a divine admonition, he returned to the mainland, and at Ginosa for two and a half years he maintained unbroken silence, without making his presence known to his parents, whom war had compelled to take refuge in the vicinity. He now had a vision of St Peter, who bade him rebuild a ruined church dedicated in his honour about a mile from Ginosa. This task he successfully accomplished with the help of a few companions who rallied round him. But then he was accused of having discovered and appropriated hidden treasure, and was brought up before the governor of the province, by whom he was committed to prison. He managed to escape-liberated, it is said, by an angel-and reached Capua.
He was not permitted to remain there. An inward voice bade him return to his own land, and he entered the community of St William of Vercelli on Monte Laceno. John stayed with them until their dwellings were destroyed by fire. The rest then moved to Monte Cagno, but John went to Bari, where he preached to the people with wonderful effect. His very success seems to have aroused jealousy and he found himself once more under accusation-this time on a charge of heresy. He was able, however, to clear himself triumphantly. He then returned to Ginosa, where he was welcomed by his former disciples, and he conducted in St Peter's church what appears to have been a very fruitful mission. His wanderings were now nearly at an end. Still directed by the voice which had led him in the past, he betook himself to Monte Gargano, and at Pulsano, three miles from the spot hallowed by the appearance of St Michael, he built a monastery. Disciples flocked to join his community, which soon numbered sixty monks, over whom he ruled until his death. Honoured by all for his wisdom, his miracles and his prophetical gifts, he passed to his rewrap on June 20, 1139. Other religious houses were afterwards affiliated to his, and the congregation of Monte Pulsano was at one time a recognized part of the great Benedictine family. It has long since disappeared.
There is a Latin life in tolerably full detail, which seems to have been written before the end of the twelfth century. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. v. A metrical account, of which the Bollandists have only extracted a specimen, may be read in full in G. Giordano, Chroniche de Monte Vergine (1640), pp. 520-527. A life has been published in more recent times (1930-) by M. Morelli, and see Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lvii (1939), pp. 174-176.
(also known as John of Mathera or Pulsano) Born at Matera in the Basilicata; died at Pulsano, Italy, 1139. Early in his life John entered a Benedictine monastery, where he earned a reputation for austerity. For a while he joined Saint William at Monte Vergine, but left him to become a popular preacher at Bari. Later founded a community at Pulsano near Monte Gargano, the first of a series of foundations that coalesced into a new Benedictine congregation (Benedictines, Encyclopedia). In art, Saint John is an abbot driving away the devil with a rod (Roeder).
1141 Blessed Stilla of Abenberg; engaging herself in the relief of all unfortunates; reports of a number of miracles; daughter of Count Wolfgang II of Abenberg and sister to Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg, found Saint Peter's Church in Abenberg (near Nuremburg)V (AC)
Cultus confirmed in 1927. Stilla, daughter of Count Wolfgang II of Abenberg and sister to Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg, found Saint Peter's Church in Abenberg (near Nuremburg). She was buried therein and venerated as a saint (Benedictines).

Blessed Stilla was born at Abenberg, near Nuremberg, towards the end of the eleventh century, of the family of the counts of Abenberg, which gave many priests, bishops and holy men to the Church.  Stilla had built at her own expense, on a hill adjoining her home, a church which was consecrated and dedicated in honour of St Peter in 1136; she visited this church every day, and therein, in the presence of St Otto, Bishop of Bamberg, she took a vow of virginity.  She lived the life of a nun within her father's household, engaging herself in the relief of all unfortunates, and she hoped in time to build a monastery wherein she might end her days.   But death overtook her first.  Her brothers wanted to bury her at Heilsbronn, but the two horses drawing the funeral car could not pull it in that direction, turning always towards the church
of St Peter, where therefore they buried her.  The tomb became a place of pilgrimage, and in 1897 the bishop of Eichstatt was able to establish that the veneration of Stilla had gone on since before 1534.   This cultus was confinned in 1927.
A short account of Bd Stilla, with reports of a number of miracles, will be found in the Acta Sanctorum, July, vol. iv.  The decree confirming the cultus and containing a summary of her life is printed in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis, vol. xix (1927), pp. 140-142 .
1142 Saint William of Vercelli hermit on Monte Vergine founded monasteries through out Naples first miracle, the restoration of sight to a blind man.
In território Guléti, prope Nuscum, sancti Guliélmi Confessóris, Patris Eremitárum Montis Vírginis.
    In the territory of Guletto near Nusco, St. William, confessor, founder of the hermits of Monte Vergine.
ST WILLIAM OF VERCELLI, ABBOT OF MONTE VERGINE     (A.D. 1142)
THE founder of the religious congregation known as the Hermits of Monte Vergine came of a Piedmontese family and was born at Vercelli in 1085. After the death of his parents, whom he lost in infancy, he was kindly cared for by relations, but at the age of fourteen he abandoned his home and set out as a poor pilgrim for Compostela in Spain. Not satisfied with the hardships such a journey entailed, he had two iron bands fastened round his body. How long William remained in Spain is not recorded. We hear of him next in 1106, when he was at Melfi in the Italian Basilicata, and then at Monte Solicoli, on the slopes of which he remained for two years, leading a penitential life with a hermit. To this period belongs St William's first miracle, the restoration of sight to a blind man. The cure made him famous, and to avoid being acclaimed as a wonder-worker he left the neighbourhood to stay with St John of Matera. They were kindred spirits and became close friends. It was St William's intention to proceed on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and he would not allow himself to be deterred by John's assurance that God had other work for him to do. He actually started, but he had not got far when he was attacked by robbers. He took this as a sign that John was right, and relinquished his journey.
He now betook himself to a height between Nola and Benevento, which was then called Monte Virgiliano-possibly after the great Virgil, who is said to have sojourned there. At first William attempted to live there as a hermit, but he was soon joined by would-be disciples, both priests and laymen. He formed them into a community and from the church which he built in 1124, under the name of our Lady, the mountain has derived its present name of Monte Vergine. The rule he instituted was most austere: no wine, meat or dairy produce was allowed, and on three days of the week only vegetables and dry bread. After the first fervour had cooled, murmurs arose and there was a general demand for relaxation. William had no desire to constrain the malcontents, though for himself any relaxation seemed unthinkable. He therefore chose a prior to rule the community, and then departed with five faithful followers. With St John of Matera, who now joined him, he made a second settlement at Monte Laceno, in Apulia. Here, however, the barrenness of the soil, the exposed position and the high altitude made life a misery to all but the most hardy, and even they could with difficulty hold out through the winter. St John had more than once urged removal, when a fire which destroyed their huts compelled them to descend into the valley. There the two holy men parted: John to go east and found one monastery at Pulsano on Monte Gargano, and William to found another on Monte Cognato in the Basilicata.
When that community was well established St William treated it as he had treated the monastery at Monte Vergine-he gave it a prior and left it to govern itself. At Conza, in Apulia, he founded a monastery for men, and at Guglietto, near Nusco, he established two communities, one of men and the other of women. King Roger II of Naples afterwards drew him to Salerno, in order that he might have the benefit of his counsel and help. St William's beneficent influence over the monarch was, however, resented by some of the courtiers who lost no opportunity of discrediting and decrying him as a hypocrite and a humbug. With the knowledge of the king, they set a trap by sending to him, on some specious excuse, a woman of loose life, charged with the task of luring him to sin. William received her in a room at one end of which a great fire was burning; and as soon as she began to exercise her blandishments he walked away to the fireplace, parted the glowing coals with his bare hands, and then stretched himself down at full length in the space he had cleared, inviting her to lie down with him. Her horror was only exceeded by her amazement, when he presently arose, completely unharmed. The miracle led to her conversion: she gave up her life of sin and took the veil in the convent of Venosa. As for King Roger, he continued to patronize William's foundations, and endowed other houses which he placed under the saint's control.
St William died at Guglietto on June 25, 1142. He left no written constitutions, but a code of regulations bringing the order into conformity with the Benedictine rule was drawn up by the third abbot general, Robert. The only monastery of William's foundation which exists at the present day is that of Monte Vergine. It now belongs to the Benedictine congregation of Subiaco, and has a much venerated picture of our Lady of Constantinople, to which pilgrimages are frequently made.
There is a biography, not devoid of personal touches, which purports to have been written by the saint's disciple, John of Nusco. It is printed from a faulty manuscript in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. vii. A better text, which fills certain lacunae in the earlier copy. was discovered in the present century at Naples and was edited by Dom C. Mercuro in the Rivista Storica Benedettina, vol. i (1906), vol. ii (1907), and vol. iii (1908), in several articles, which include an historical commentary, as well as the document itself. Cf· also P. Lugano, L'Italia Benedettina (1929), pp. 379-439; and E. Capobianco, Sant' Amato da Nusco (1936), pp. 145-164.
William of Vercelli, founder, born 1085 in Vercelli Italy he was brought up as an orphan became a hermit on Monte Vergine, Italy after a pilgrimage to Compostella and attracted so many followers that a monastery was buillt. By 1119 his followers were united in the Benedictine congregation, the Hermits of Monte Vergine (Williamites) which he headed. The austerity of his rule led to dissension among his monks to restore peace he left and was taken under the protection of Roger I of Naples who built a monastery for him in Salerno. He founded monasteries through out Naples, and died at the Guglielmo monastery near Nusco Italy. He is also called William of Monte Vergine.
William of Vercelli (Monte Vergine), Abbot (RM) Born at Vercelli, Italy, 1085; died at Guglietto (near Nusco), Italy, June 25, 1142; feast day formerly celebrated on April 25.
Saint William was born to noble parents. He was orphaned while still an infant and was raised by relatives. When he was 14, William made a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella, Spain. William was at Melfi in 1106 and then spent two years as a hermit on Monte Solicoli, where he imposed rigorous penances on himself.
Thereafter he decided to go on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. His friend, Saint John of Matera tried to dissuade him but William insisted on going. After abandoning a pilgrimage to Jerusalem when attacked by robbers, he became a hermit on Monte Virgiliano (Vergine) between Nola and Benevento and attracted so many disciples that he organized them into a community that by 1119 became known as the Hermits of Monte Vergine (in honor of the Blessed Virgin), and he built a monastery. Under his Rule, based on that of Saint Benedict, the monks led a life of extreme austerity, with special emphasis on fasting and manual labor.
When objections arose against the strictness of his rule based on that of Saint Benedict, he and his friend Saint John of Matera with five followers founded a community on Monte Laceno in Apulia, one of the most inhospitable places in the region. The soil was so poor that almost nothing could grow in it and in winter the weather was so bitter that the monks, who were living in wooden huts, could barely survive. William was urged to move to a more sheltered location, but refused. When fire destroyed their hermitages, William moved to Monte Cognato in the Basilicata. Again he left and founded monasteries at Conza, Guglietto, and Salerno opposite the palace where he became advisor to King Roger I of Naples. He died at Guglietto, while visiting the nuns of San Salvatore. Though his other foundations have disappeared, his monastery at Monte Vergine still exists (Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint William is depicted in art as an abbot near a wolf wearing a saddle. He may also be portrayed as he saddles the wolf that killed his ass, as a pilgrim, or with Christ appearing to him (Roeder). He is venerated at Benevento, Giuleto (near Nusco), Nola, and Vercelli (Roeder)
.
1146 Saint Martin of Turov served as cook under the Turov bishops Simeon, Ignatius, Joachim (1144-1146), and George; Sts Boris and Gleb appeared to him, gave him a sip of water, and miraculous healing him of his illness
This last hierarch made St. Martin retire because of his age. But the old man did not want to leave the monastery (the bishops lived at the monastery of Sts Boris and Gleb), and so he accepted monasticism.
In his former work he had often overexerted himself and therefore often fell ill.
One time St. Martin lay motionless and in moaning with sickness. He fervently called on Sts Boris and Gleb for help, and on the third day the saints appeared to him, gave him a sip of water, and healed him of his illness. After this miraculous healing, St. Martin survived for another year .
1146? BD AYRALD, Bishop of MAURIENNE; “Here lies Ayrald, a man of noble blood, monk of Portes, glory of pontiffs, a light of the Church, stay of the unfortunate, shining with goodness and unnumbered miracles.”
THE identity of this holy bishop is involved in much confusion and obscurity. His cultus was confirmed in 1863, and in the decree published on that occasion a summary of his life is given.
If we may credit this account, he was a son of William II, Count of Burgundy. Of his three brothers, one was elected pope under the name of Callistus II; another, Raymond, became king of Castile; and the third, Henry, count of Portugal. Ayrald himself, however, according to the same summary, entered the Carthusian Order at Portes, and was made prior. From this life of seclusion he was called away to rule the see of Maurienne, but we are told that he still paid long visits to his old monastery to renew his spirit of fervour, and that he died at a comparatively early age. While one Carthusian chronicler, Dom-Le Vasseur, is in substantial agreement with this account, assigning January 2, 1146, as the date of Ayrald’s death, another, Dom Le Couteulx, contradicts it at almost every point. The fact seems to be that in the twelfth century there were three different bishops of Maurienne named Ayrald or Ayrard. One of these, either the first or the third, but not the second, had been a Carthusian monk at Portes.
In honour of the bishop who was beatified and with whom we are here concerned, the following epitaph was engraved of old upon his tomb in the cathedral of
Maurienne:
Hic jacet Airaldus, claro de sanguine natus, Portarum monachus, Pontificumque decus;
Ecclesiae lumen, miserorum atque columen, Virtute et signis splendidus innumeris.
“Here lies Ayrald, a man of noble blood, monk of Portes, glory of pontiffs, a light of the Church,
stay of the unfortunate, shining with goodness and unnumbered miracles.”

A lively controversy, of which a full bibliography may be found in U. Chevalier’s Repertoire—Bio-bibliographie, has been carried on regarding the identity of Bd Ayrald. See especially C. F. Bellet, Un problème d’hagiographie (1901), and Truchet, Le B. Ayrald (1891); also Le Vasseur, Ephemerides, vol. i, pp. 3—6; Le Couteulx, Annales Ord. Carth., vols. i, 382 seq., and ii, 43 seq. cf. Historisches Jahrbuch, 1903, p. 142, and 1904, p. 279.
1149 Bertrand of Grandselve, OSB Cist. Abbot often favored with heavenly visions (AC)
Died July 11, 1149. Cistercian abbot of Grandselve for 20 years. He was often favored with heavenly visions (Benedictines).
1150 Saint Igor, Great Prince of Kiev The Transfer of Relics of  The Kievan Great Prince Igor Ol'govich The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles.
In holy Baptism George (September 19), in the year 1146 suffered defeat and was taken captive by prince Izyaslav, who imprisoned him in one of the monasteries of Russian or Southern Pereyaslavl' (now Pereyaslavl'-Khmel'nitsk). Far removed from the vanities of this world, and grievously ill, he began to repent of his sins and asked permission to be tonsured a monk. On January 5, 1147 Bishop Euthymius of Pereyaslavl' tonsured him into monasticism with the name Gabriel. Soon he recovered his health and transferred to the Kiev Theodorov monastery, where he became a schemamonk with the name Ignatius, and devoted himself entirely to monastic efforts.

But a storm of fratricidal hatred raged over Kiev. The Chernigov princes, cousins of Igor, plotted to entice Izyaslav of Kiev into a joint campaign with the aim of capturing, or even killing him. The plot was uncovered when the prince was already on the way to Chernigov. The Kievans were in an uproar in learning of the ruse of the Chernigovichi, and they stormed into the place where the innocent St Igor was. St Igor was brutally murdered on September 19, 1147.

The Lord glorified the sufferer with miracles. With the blessing of Metropolitan Clement Smolyatich, Igumen Ananias of the Theodorov monastery buried the passion-bearer in the church of the Kiev Simonov monastery. On June 5, 1150, when the Kiev throne had become occupied by Yuri Dolgoruky, his confederate and the murdered Igor's brother, the Chernigov prince Svyatoslav Ol'govich, solemnly transferred the holy relics of St Igor to Chernigov his native region, where they were placed into a reliquary in the Savior cathedral church. Then also the Feastday in memory of the saint was established.

PEREYASLAVL, a town of Russia, in the government of Poltava, 26 m. S.E. of the city of Kiev, at the confluence of the Trubezh and the Alta, which reach the Dnieper 5 m. lower down at the town's port, the village of Andrushi. Pop. 14,609. Besides the town proper there are three considerable suburbs. Though founded in 993 by Vladimir the Great of Moscow in memory of his signal success over the Turkish Pechenegs, Pereyaslavl has now few remains of antiquity. The town has a trade in grain, salt, cattle and horses, and some manufactures - tallow, wax, tobacco, candles and shoes.

From 1054 Pereyaslavl was the chief town of a separate principality. As a southern outpost it often figures in the 11th, 2th and 13th centuries, and was plundered by the Mongols in 123 9. In later times it was one of the centres of the Cossack movement; and in 1628 the neighbourhood of the town was the scene of the extermination of the Polish forces known as "Tara's Night." It was by the Treaty of Pereyaslavl that in 1654 the Cossack chieftain Bogdan Chmielnicki acknowledged the supremacy of Tsar Alexis of Russia.
1150 St. Malachy O' More famous Bishop; wrote prophecies of the popes; miracle worker
In monastério Clarævallénsi, in Gállia, deposítio sancti Malachíæ, Connerthénsis in Hibérnia Epíscopi, qui multis virtútibus suo témpore cláruit; cujus vitam sanctum Bernárdus Abbas conscrípsit.
    In the monastery of Clairvaux in France, the death of St. Malachy, bishop of Armagh in Ireland, who won renown in his own days for his many virtues, and whose life was written by St. Bernard the Abbot.
1148 ST MALACHY, ARCHBISHOP OF ARMACH
DURING the ninth century Ireland began to feel the effects, which had followed invasion in other countries. Heathen barbarians who, under the general name of Ostmen, ravaged the maritime districts, the Danes in particular making permanent settlements at Dublin and elsewhere, infested it in its turn. Wherever their power prevailed they massacred, demolished monasteries and burned their libraries. In these confusions the civil power was weakened; local kings con­tending with a foreign enemy and among themselves lost much of their authority. Through long and unavoidable intercourse between the natives and the oppressors of religion and law, relaxation of religion and morals gradually took place; and Ireland, though doubtless not sunk in iniquity to the degree which English and other foreign churchmen (including St Bernard) supposed, had definitely become a very distressful country by the time of the civil war which succeeded the final defeat of the Danes at Clontarf in 1014.

It was in this state of the nation that was born, in 1095, Mael Maedoc Ua Morgair, whose name is anglicized as Malachy O’More. The boy was brought up at Armagh, where his father taught in the school. Throughout his school-days Malachy was quiet and religious, and after the death of his parents he put himself under a hermit, Eimar. St Celsus (Cellach), Archbishop of Armagh, judged him worthy of holy orders and obliged him to receive the priesthood when he was twenty-five. At the same time the archbishop commissioned him to preach the word of God to the people and to extirpate evil customs, which were many and grievous in that church. It was a case of “setting fire to brambles and thorns and laying the axe to the root of worthless trees”, says St Bernard in his life of the saint, and great was the zeal with which St Malachy discharged this commission. But fearing lest he was not sufficiently instructed in the canons of the Church to carry on a thorough reformation of discipline and worship, he went to St Malchus, Bishop of Lismore, who had been educated in England, at Winchester, and was known for his learning and sanctity. Malachy was courteously received by this good old man and diligently instructed by him in all things belonging to the divine service and to the care of souls, and at the same time he employed his ministry in that church.

The great Abbey of Bangor in county Down lay at that time desolate, held with its revenues by an uncle of St Malachy as lay-abbot and coarb of St Comgall. This uncle in 1123 resigned it to his nephew that he might restore and settle it in regular observance. But the lands of the abbey St Malachy resigned to another, in spite of protests. St Bernard praises his spirit of poverty herein shown, but observes that he “carried his disinterestedness or spirit of holy poverty too far, as subsequent events proved”. With ten members of Eimar’s community Malachy rebuilt the house, of wood in the Irish manner, and governed it for a year; “a living rule and a bright mirror, or as it were a book laid open, in which all might learn the true precepts of the religious life”. Several miraculous cures, some of which St Bernard recounts, added to his reputation. St Malachy in his thirtieth year was chosen bishop of Connor, where he found that his flocks were Christians in not much more than name (they had been right in the line of the Danish raids). He spared no pains to turn these wolves into sheep. With his monks he preached with an apostolic vigour, mingling sweetness with a wholesome severity; and when the people would not come to church to hear him, he sought them in the fields and in their houses. Some of the most savage hearts were softened into humanity and a sense of religion; the saint restored the frequent use of the sacraments, filled the diocese with zealous pastors, and settled the regular celebration of the canonical hours, which since the Danish invasion had been omitted even in cities, in which it was of service to him that from his youth he had applied himself to the study of church music. But in 1127 a chief from the north swept over Antrim and Down, driving the community from Bangor, where the bishop still lived. So St Malachy with some of his monks withdrew first to Lismore and then to Iveragh in Kerry, and there settled down again to their monastic life.

In 1129 St Celsus of Armagh died. The metropolitan see had been hereditary in his family for generations, and to break so bad a custom he ordained on his deathbed that Malachy of Connor, sending him his pastoral staff, should succeed him. But the kinsmen of Celsus proceeded to install his cousin Murtagh and for three years Malachy refused to try and occupy the see. St Malchus then overruled his objections, by the papal legate, Gilbert of Limerick, and others, and protesting that when he had restored order he would at once resign, he went from Iveragh to Armagh. So far as he could he took over the government of the diocese, but he would not enter his city and cathedral lest he should cause disorder and bloodshed by so doing. Murtagh died in 1134, after naming Niall, brother of St Celsus, to succeed him. Both sides were backed by armed force, and Malachy’s determined to see him enthroned in his metropolitan church. A gathering held for this purpose was surprised by a band of Niall’s supporters, but they were scattered by a thunderstorm so violent that twelve of his men were killed by lightning. But though he took possession of his see, St Malachy could still not rule it in peace, for Niall when he had to leave Armagh carried with him two relics held in great veneration; the common people believed that he was true archbishop who had them in his possession. These were a book (probably the “Book of Armagh”) and a crozier, called the Staff of Jesus, both supposed to have belonged to St Patrick. Therefore some still adhered to him, and his kindred violently persecuted Malachy. One of the chief among them invited him to a conference, with a design to murder him. The saint, against the advice of his friends, went thither, offering himself to martyrdom for the sake of peace; but his courage and calm dignity disarmed his enemies, and a peace was concluded. Nevertheless it continued to be necessary for St Malachy to have an armed bodyguard, until he recovered the Staff and the Book and was acknowledged as archbishop by all. Having broken the tradition of hereditary succession to the see and restored discipline and peace, he insisted upon resigning the archiepiscopal dignity, and ordained Gelasius (Gilla), the abbot of Derry, in his place. He then returned to his former see in 1137.

Here Malachy divided the diocese, consecrated another bishop for Connor, and reserved to himself that of Down. Either at Downpatrick or, more probably, on the ruins of the Bangor monastery he established a community of regular canons, with whom he lived as much as the external duties of his charge would permit him. Two years later, to obtain the confirmation of many things, which he had done, he undertook a journey to Rome. One of his motives was to procure the pallium for the two archbishops namely, for Armagh and for another metropolitical see which St Celsus had settled at Cashel. St Malachy crossed to Scotland, made his way to York, where he met St Waltheof of Kirkham (who gave him a horse), then came into France and by way of Burgundy reached the abbey of Clairvaux. Here he met St Bernard, who became his devoted friend and admirer and afterwards wrote his life. Malachy was so edified with the spirit that he discovered in the Cis­tercian monks that he desired to join them in their penance and contemplation and to end his days in their company. At Ivrea in Piedmont he restored to health the child of his host, who was at the point of death. Pope Innocent II would not hear of his resigning his see. He confirmed all Malachy had done in Ireland, made him his legate there, and promised the pallia if they were applied for in solemn form. On his way home he called again at Clairvaux, where, says St Bernard, “he gave us his blessing a second time”. Not being able to remain himself with those servants of God, he left there four of his companions who, taking the Cistercian habit, came back to Ireland in 1142 and instituted the abbey of Mellifont of that order, the parent of many others. St Malachy went home through Scotland, where King David entreated him to heal his son Henry, who lay dangerously ill. The saint said to the sick prince, “Be of good courage you will not die this time.”  Then he sprinkled him with holy water, and the next day Henry was perfectly recovered.

At a great synod of bishops and other clergy held on Inishpatrick, off Skerries, in 1148, it was resolved to make formal application for pallia for the two metropolitans, and St Malachy himself set off to find Pope Eugenius III, who was then in France. He was delayed by the political suspicions of King Stephen in England, and when he reached France the pope had returned to Rome. So he turned aside to visit Clairvaux, where St Bernard and his monks greeted him with joy. Having celebrated Mass on the feast of St Luke, he was seized with a fever and took to his bed. The monks were active in waiting on him; but he assured them that all the pains they took were to no purpose, because he would not recover. He insisted that he should go downstairs into the church that he might there receive the last sacraments. He begged that all would continue their prayers for him after his death, promising to remember them before God, and he commended also to their prayers all the souls which had been committed to his charge; then, on All Souls’ day, in the year 1148, he died in St Bernard’s arms. He was buried at Clairvaux.

   St Bernard, in his second discourse on this saint, says to his monks, “May he protect us by his merits, whom he has instructed by his example and confirmed by his miracles”; and in the requiem Mass at his funeral he boldly sang the post-communion prayer from the Mass of a confessor-bishop. Pope Clement III in 1190, the first papal canonization of an Irishman, confirmed this “canonization by a saint of a saint”. His feast is kept by the Cistercians, the Canons Regular of the Lateran, and throughout Ireland; St Malachy did for the unification of the Church in his own land something of what St Theodore did for England 500 years earlier.

An account of St Malachy would not be complete without a reference to the so-called prophecies about the popes, attributed to him. They consist of the attribution of certain conditions and characteristics to the popes, from the time of Celestine II (1143—44) until the end of the world under “Peter the Roman”, under the form of symbolical titles or mottoes. They were first heard of, and given to the world by Dom Arnold de Wyon, O.S.B., in 1595, who attributed them to St Malachy but did not say on what grounds or even where they had been found. A Jesuit in the seventeenth century maintained they had been forged by a supporter of Cardinal Simoncelli during the conclave of 1590, but in 1871 Abbé Cucherat wrote a book in which he said that they had been revealed to St Malachy at Rome, who had communicated them in writing to Pope Innocent II, and they had lain forgotten in the papal archives for 450 years till they were found by Dom de Wyon. There can be no doubt that these “prophecies” are in themselves spurious, and had nothing to do with St Malachy. Even a cursory examination shows that the mottoes for the popes up to Gregory XIV (1590) are precise in wording and un­mistakably “fulfilled”, often by reference to their Italian family names; while for the succeeding popes they are vague and general, and cannot always be made to fit even by ingenuity and distortion of words. The motto corresponding to Pope Pius XII is Pastor angelicus, “angelic shepherd”, which is sufficiently general; but St Pius V was a “woodland angel” and Benedict XIV a “rustic animal”

Apart from the panegyrical and perhaps at times rather misleading life written by St Bernard—a critical text is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, November, vol. ii—not much information regarding Malachy is obtainable from other sources. There are, however, some letters of St Bernard addressed to him, others describing his death, and two sermons of the same saint. The Anglican dean of St Patrick’s, Dublin, published an excellent translation of the life, with valuable notes. H. J. Lawlor, in 1920 J. F. Kenney in his Sources for the Early History of Ireland describes this book as probably the best study of the organization of the early church in that country. See also the lives of St Malachy by O’Hanlon (1854), O’Laverty (1899), A. J, Luddy (1930) and J. O’Boyle (1931), as well as L. Gougaud, Christianity in Celtic Lands, pp. 401—408. On the alleged prophetic pope-mottoes, now completely discredited, see Vacandard in the Revue apologétique (1922), pp. 657—571, and Thurston, The War and the Prophets (1915), pp. 120-161. Other spurious prophecies have also been fathered upon St Malachy see in particular P. Grosjean in the Analecta Bollandiana, vol. li (1933), pp. 318—324, and vol. liv (1936), pp. 254—257. The best work on St Malachy is Fr A. Gwynn’s study in the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, 5th series, vol. lxx (1948), pp. 961—978, and following issues.

  Also listed as Mael Maedoc ua Morgair or Maolrnhaodhog ua Morgair, Malachy was born in Armagh, Ireland, in 1095. He was ordained by St. Cellach or Celsus of Armagh in 1132 and studied under Bishop St. Maichius of Lismore. Malachy reformed ecclesiastical discipline and replaced the Celtic liturgy with the Roman when he served as abbot of Bangor. In 1125 he was made bishop of Connor, using Bangor as his seat. He also established a monastery at Iveragh, Kerry. He was named archbishop of Armagh in 1129. In 1138, he resigned and made a pilgrimage to Rome. He visited St. Bernard at Clairvaux, France, wanting to be a monk there, but returned to Ireland to found Mellifont Abbey, also serving as papal legate to Ireland. He returned to Clairvaux and died on November 2 in St. Bernard’s arms. St. Bernard declared him a saint, an action confirmed in 1190 by Pope Clement III. Malachy is known for many miracles, including healing the son of King David I of Scotland. Malachy’s prophecies did not appear until 1597. Tradition states that Malachy wrote them while in Rome and that they were buried in papal archives until 1597, when Dom Arnold de Wyon discovered them. Serious doubts remain as to the true authorship of the prophecies.

Malachy O'More B (RM)
(also known as Maolmhaodhog ua Morgair)
Born in Armagh, County, Down, Ireland, in 1094; died Clairvaux in 1148; canonized in 1190 by Pope Clement IV--the first papal canonization of an Irish saint; feast day in Ireland is November 4.
God, in His great goodness and mercy, has given us the Sacraments to strengthen us all our days--from our birth and rebirth in Baptism, to restoration in Reconciliation, to sustenance in the Eucharist, and ultimately fortification for the final journey through the Anointing of the Sick.
Our dear Lord has cared for us more tenderly than an earthly mother does her child--for His love is constant. But God uses the instruments of His holy priests to bring His Presence into the world in these life-giving Sacraments. Saint Malachy was known for his devotion to the Sacraments.
Saint Bernard honored Malachy and regarded him as a special friend. Saint Charles held him up before the eyes of his priests as a model in administering the Sacraments to the dying, for like that zealous pastor of souls, he sought out the needy in the remotest villages and cottages of his diocese, giving the holy sacraments to all alike and renewing the fervor of the people in receiving them.
Malachy was born Mael Maedoc Ua Morgair. His father's name was O'Morgair (Irish: Maol-Maodhog). He was a teacher in the schools of his native city. His father died in Limerick in 1102, when Malachy was seven. His mother, who brought up her son in the love and fear of God, was a most pious woman. Saint Bernard tells us:
    "His parents, however, were great both by descent and in power, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth (2 Samuel 7:9). Moreover, his mother, more noble in mind than in blood, took pains at the very beginning of his way to show her child the ways of life: esteeming this knowledge of more value to him than the empty knowledge of the learning of this world. For both, however, he had aptitude in proportion to his age."
He first studied at the schools where his father had taught, making great progress in virtue and learning. After the death of his parents, wishing more perfectly to learn the art of dying to himself and living wholly for God, he put himself under the discipline of Eimar (Imar O'Hagan), a holy recluse in a cell near the cathedral.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux says of him: "He submitted himself to the rule of man, condemning himself while alive to the grave, that he might attain the true love of God. Not being like those who undertake to teach others what they have never learned themselves, seeking to gather and multiply scholars, without ever having been at school, becoming blind guides of the blind. His obedience as a disciple, his love of silence, his fervor in mortification and prayer, were the means and marks of his spiritual progress."

When he had learned himself, he persuaded his master to accept others to the same discipline, so that a large community grew up around the church at Armagh. The archbishop, Ceolloch, judged him worthy to receive Holy Orders and ordained him a priest at age 25, though the canonical age at that time was 30.
Before fulfilling his preaching mission, he was instructed by the 74-year-old Saint Malchus, the bishop of Waterford and Lismore. Malachy acted as a minister in his church at the same time.
Malachy's sister had become wayward after the death of their mother and he had sworn never to visit her while she lived in sin. At this time she died and, according to Saint Bernard, Malachy began seeing her spirit. He offered up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass on hearing of her death. Some thirty days after having ceased to offer up the Mass for her:
"He heard in a dream by night the voice of one saying to him that his sister was standing outside in the courtyard, having tasted nothing for forty days. On awakening he soon realized the kind of food for want of which she was pining away."
So, his prayers and Masses for her soul continued. Soon he saw her at the threshold of the church; but clad in black. Later on he saw her clad in grey; within the church, but not allowed to the altar. At last she was seen a third time, with the throng of the white- robed and in apparel that shone (McNabb).
Ireland had been converted from paganism to Christianity in the 5th century. In the three succeeding centuries the land became the principal seat of learning in the whole of Europe. The great change was brought about during the period when the Roman Empire was breaking up, when invasions of pagan nations seized upon the greater part of Europe.
Ireland was remote and guarded by the seas: she was the only country not overrun. For at least 300 years students flocked from the continent to seek instruction in the science of the saints, as well as in secular learning, so that she became known as the "Island of Saints and Scholars." In the 9th century, however, the country was also invaded in turn by the Danes, who burned and sacked the monasteries doing irreparable damage.
The Normans followed these hordes of barbarians, ravaging on their way the maritime districts of England and Scotland. Nothing seemed to escape their depredations. The monks were put to the sword, the churches demolished, the precious libraries committed to the flames.
The result of this long oppression showed itself in later years by a great relaxation of piety and morals. Ignorance and vice succeeded the Christian virtues and knowledge. At the beginning of the 11th century the country had in some places, especially in the north and east, sunk back to its former paganism and ignorance, through the accumulation of so many evils.

The same thing happened in other parts of Europe, where the relics of paganism lingered, in remote places, even into modern times. The great abbey of Bangor, County Down, founded by Saint Comgall in 550, lay in a desolate condition. In the days of its glory as many as 3,000 monks were assembled at its schools. It was there that Saint Columban had studied; from there many others like him had gone forth to France and Italy, to set up religious houses and propagate the faith.
The archbishop appointed Malachy his vicar, sending him to preach the word of God to the people, to overcome superstition, to correct the many abuses that had grown up over the years. Like a flame amid the forest, he swept forward to burn out once more the noxious weeds, to plant in their place the belief and practice of the faith. He made regulations in ecclesiastical discipline and restored the recitation of the canonical hours, which had been omitted since the Danish invasions.
More than all else, he gave back the Sacraments to the common people, sending good priests among them to instruct the ignorant. He visited Lismore, where the bishop had a great reputation for sanctity and learning. Having learned all he needed and completed his plans, he returned to Armagh in 1123.
His uncle, a lay-abbot of the Abbey of Bangor, County Down, resigned the abbey to Malachy in the hopes that he might return it to regular observance. Malachy, however, in a spirit of humility that cause great objection, turned its lands and most of its revenues over to someone else.
With ten members of Eimar's community of hermits, he rebuilt the house and ruled it for a year, during which time miracles were attributed to him. At Bangor he established a seminary for priests, though the abbey never regained its former size or importance.
In all the monastic observances he was very zealous and a model to his priests. Soon after this great work, at age 30, Malachy was chosen to be bishop of the diocese of Down and Connor (Antrim). Malachy set about to lead the see's nominal Christians to a genuine devotion, searching them out on foot in their homes and fields to bring them to church.
He was now able to fill the diocese with well-instructed priests, who revived the fervor of the people; in fact, he renewed all things in Christ. In all his actions he breathed a spirit of patience and meekness; both priests and people followed his lead as with Saint Charles in later centuries.
When the Church was gaining ground again, establishing once more her rightful position, the secular princes made trouble in Ulster. The city of Connor was sacked; Malachy was obliged to flee with his community of monks first to Lismore and then to the Iveragh in Kerry. They made a settlement in the vicinity of Cork, which explains how Malachy came to be venerated there, too.
On April 1, 1129, Saint Ceolloch, age 50, died at Ardpatrick, Limerick. In a vision Saint Malachy saw a woman of great stature and reverend mien, who on being asked, said she was the Bride of Ceolloch. Then she gave to Malachy a bishop's staff and disappeared. A few days later Saint Malachy received from the dying Ceolloch a letter naming him archbishop of Armagh and sending him the bishop's staff, which Saint Malachy recognized as the staff given to him in the vision.
As in England then the secular arm had great power, often forcing unworthy men into positions of the Church to hold the revenues, causing many evils, more especially the neglect of the common people. Ceolloch's see had become hereditary over the years, and he wished to break that tradition by leaving it to Malachy. Saint Ceolloch's relatives, however, installed his cousin Murtagh. Malachy refused to make efforts to occupy the see.
Still delaying after three years, declining the promotion because he feared further bloodshed on the part of Ceolloch's kin, Malachy was threatened with excommunication if he refused the appointment. The Papal Legate Gillebert (Gilbert), who was also bishop of Limerick, and Malebus (Saint Malchus), bishop of Lismore, assembled a synod.
When told he must obey, Malachy submitted saying, "You drag me to death. I obey in the hopes of martyrdom, but on this condition: that if the business succeeds and God frees His heritage from those who are destroying it--all being then completed, and the Church at peace, I may be allowed to go back to my former bride and friend, poverty, and to put another in my place!"
In this way Malachy declared that he would stay only long enough to restore order, and he refused to enter the city or the cathedral, ruling from outside, because he did not wish to incite trouble by his presence. This condition was agree to and Malachy set north again for Ulster.
In 1134, Murtagh died, naming a layman Nigellus (Niall), Ceolloch's brother, as successor. The secular authorities refused to recognize the authority of the new archbishop. Both sides were supported by troops, and armed conflict broke out between the followers of the two, but Malachy finally obtained possession of his cathedral.
To give weight to his own authority Nigellus seized two precious relics from the cathedral, the Crozier of Saint Patrick, called the "staff of Jesus," made of gold studded with precious stones, and the Book of the Gospels, which had been handed down from the time of Ireland's patron saint. These men persecuted Saint Malachy, putting obstacles in his way at every turn.
Twelve of Nigellus's supporters were killed by lightning when they tried to surprise their adversaries during a thunderstorm. Two years after Malachy returned to Armagh his opponents invited him to a conference, and though the saint was warned of their evil designs, he went with a few companions to meet his rivals.

His mildness and courage disarmed his enemies; they who intended to threaten now rose up to do him honor. Peace was concluded between them; Nigellus was deposed, the relics restored, and the saint took possession of the see and its benefices. They happy event occurred in 1133, when Malachy was 38--five years after the death of the former incumbent.
Having rescued Armagh from oppression, restored discipline, and peace, Malachy insisted on resigning according to the covenant made, appointing a worthy prelate in his place. Though Down and Connor had been united in one diocese, they were again divided in 1137, the saint taking possession of his original see (in 1441 the two diocese were reunited).
As bishop of Down he established the community Ibracense, a congregation of Augustinian canons, with whom he lived. This community acted to spread the custom of following a regular way of life.
Now that more peaceful times blessed the country, our saint decided to make a journey to Rome; he wished to receive confirmation of the many works he had commenced, as well as to receive the pallium for the archbishop of Armagh and for another see to be created (Cashel), but had not received confirmation from Rome.
The next year the saint set out for Rome, passing through England visiting York, then a great center of learning, where he met Saint Waltheof of Kirkham, who gave him a horse. Then he crossed to France where he broke his journey at Clairvaux to visit Saint Bernard. The two saints became great friends. (Saint Bernard wrote Malachy's biography.)
Saint Malachy was so taken with all that he saw, with the wonderful spirit of piety and discipline of the monks, their large number, their order and peace, that he wished to remain there for good but the pope would not consent. Pope Innocent II received him with great honor; he confirmed all his work in Ireland, appointed him legate and promised to send the pallium to Armagh if they were applied for with all formality.
On his return journey, Malachy again visited Clairvaux, leaving some of his companions there to learn the way of life and the rule of the Cistercians. He would have them return later to establish the order in their own country. The order was afterward established at Mellifont (Millifont), County Louth, becoming the parent of many other houses.
Malachy took the shortest route to the north by way of Scotland, where he miraculously restored to health Henry, the son of King David (son of Saint Margaret). Malachy told the prince, "Be of good courage; you will not die this time," and sprinkled him with holy water. The following day the dangerously ill boy was well.

Arriving in Ireland again, he was welcomed by the people and priests as their father returned. As the newly-appointed legate, he discharged his office by holding synods and enforcing further regulations for abolishing abuses. Malachy continued to work many miracles on the sick and afflicted.
He added further to the abbey of Bangor, building a stone church similar to what he had seen on the continent. He repaired the cathedral at Down, which was famous for the joint tomb of Saints Patrick, Columkille, and Brigid.
The pope died before the pallia were sent. Two other popes were elected and died that year. Saint Malachy convened the bishops in a synod in 1148 and received from them a commission to make a fresh application to the Apostolic See to obtain pallia for the two metropolitans. Malachy set off to see Pope Eugenius III, who was in France. Slowed by the political strategies of King Stephen in England, by the time he reached France, the pope had returned to Rome.
On his second journey to Rome, he passed through Clairvaux a third time in 1148. As he approached the Alps in October, the weather was hot and sultry; he fell ill with a fever. He was given medical attention by the monks, who with Saint Bernard, loved him as a dear friend. As his fever grew worse, he told them that their pains were in vain because he would not recover. He demanded that he be taken downstairs to the church so that he might receive the last sacraments. He died in Saint Bernard's arms on November 2 at the age of 54.
The body of the saint was buried in the Lady Chapel at Clairvaux. Saint Bernard exchanged Saint Malachy's tunic for one of his own. Thereafter he wore this tunic of his dead friend whenever he chanted Mass on great feasts. At Malachy's Requiem, Saint Bernard used the post-Communion prayer for a Confessor Bishop, rather than for the dead--thus, one saint canonized another.
Many miracles were worked at the tomb in addition to the ones attributed to him as he walked the earth. Saint Bernard records some after saying, "his first and greatest miracle was himself. His inward beauty, strength, and purity are proved by his life; there was nothing in his behavior that could offend anyone."

Nevertheless, many are the recorded miracles wrought by Malachy. In Ivrea in the Piedmont, Italy, Malachy cured his host's child on his return from Rome. He exorcised two women in Coleraine, and another at Lismore. In Ulster a sick man was immediately cured by lying on the saint's bed. A sick baby was healed instantly in Leinster. In Saul, County Down, a woman whose madness was so great that she was tearing her limbs with her teeth was cured when he laid hands on her. At Antrim a dying man recovered the use of his tongue and his speech on receiving the holy Viaticum. A paralyzed boy was cured in Cashel and another near Munster. At Cork he raised from a sick bed one whom he named bishop of the city; in another unnamed place a notorious scold was cured when she made her first confession to Malachy. On an island where the fishermen had suffered for a lack of fish, he knelt by the shore and prayed--the fish returned.

He succeeded in replacing the Celtic liturgy with the Roman and is famous as a pioneer of Gregorian reform. His was the first papal canonization of an Irish saint.
When the first Cistercian pope, Blessed Eugenius III, asked his old abbot Saint Bernard for guidance as the pontiff, the holy doctor answered that he should study the life and follow the example of Saint Malachy:
    "From the first day of his conversion to the last of his life he lived without personal possessions.
    "He had neither manservants nor maidservants; nor villages nor hamlets; nor, in fact, any revenues, ecclesiastical or secular, even when he was bishop.
    "There was nothing whatever assigned for his episcopal upkeep for he had not a house of his own. But he was always going about all the parishes, preaching the Gospel and living by the Gospel...When he went out to preach he was accompanied by others on foot; bishop and legate that he was he too went on foot. That is the apostolic rule; and it is the more to be admired in Malachy because it is too rare in others...
    "They lord it over the clergy--he made himself the servant of all.
    "They either do not preach the Gospel and yet eat; or preach the Gospel in order to eat--Malachy imitating Paul, eats that he may preach the Gospel.
    "They suppose that arrogance and gain are godliness--Malachy claims for himself by right only toil and a burden.
    "They count themselves happy if they enlarge their borders--Malachy glories in enlarging charity.
    "They gather into barns and fill the wine-jars that they may load their tables--Malachy foregathers men into deserts and solitudes that he may fill heaven.
    "They though they receive tithes and first-fruits and oblations besides customs and tribute by the gift of Caesar and countless other revenues, nevertheless take counsel as to what they may eat and drink--Malachy having nothing enriches many out of the store- houses of faith.
    "Of their desire and anxiety there is no end--Malachy, desiring nothing, knows not how to be solicitous for tomorrow.
    "They exact from the poor that they may give to the rich--Malachy implores the rich to provide for the poor.
    "They empty the purses of their subjects--he for their sins loads altars with vows and peace offerings.
    "They build lofty palaces, raise towers and ramparts to the skies-- Malachy, not having whereon to lay his head, does the work of an evangelist.
    "They ride on horses with a throng of men who eat bread for nought, and that is not theirs--Malachy girt around by a throng of holy brethren goes on foot bearing the bread of angels.
    "They do not even know their congregation--he instructs them.
    "They honor powerful men and tyrants--he punishes them.
    "O apostolic man! whom so many and such striking signs of apostleship adorn. What wonder that he has wrought such wonder, being so great a wonder himself." --Saint Bernard of Clairvaux


What is known as the "Prophecy of Saint Malachy" consists of enigmatical oracles, taken from Scriptures, each of which is supposed to contain some reference to the pope from Celestine to the end of the world. The prophecy's symbolic terms are very accurate until 1590, but extremely vague thereafter, leading to the conclusion that it is a 16th forgery (Attwater, Delaney, Lawlor, Murray, White).
He is portrayed in art presenting an apple to a king, thus restoring his sight; or instructing a king in a cell (White).
1132 St. Hugh of Grenoble Benedictine bishop amazing modesty took upon himself all the sins of others the cross he carried was heavy laden holy and redemptive; a great reputation for miracles
 Gratianópoli, in Gállia, sancti Hugónis Epíscopi, qui multis annis in solitúdine vitam exégit, et miraculórum glória clarus migrávit ad Dóminum.
      At Grenoble in France, Bishop St. Hugh, who spent many years of his life in solitude, and departed for heaven with a great reputation for miracles.

Detail from "St. Hugo of Grenoble in the Carthusian Refectory"
By Francisco de Zurbarán; Museo de Bellas Artes, Seville
Courtesy of the Web Gallery of Art 

1132 ST HUGH, Bishop OF GRENOBLE
ST HUGH was born at Châteauneuf, near Valence in the Dauphine, in the year 1052. His father, Odilo, after being twice married, became a Carthusian, and died at the age of 100, receiving viaticum from his son in whose arms he passed away.
   After an education begun in Valence and completed with distinction in foreign centres of learning, Hugh was presented to a canonry in the cathedral of Valence though still a layman—such benefices at that period being often conferred on young students without orders. Very young, good-looking, and extremely bashful, he soon won all hearts by his courtesy and by the modesty which led him to conceal and underrate his talents and learning.
The bishop of Die, another Hugh, was so charmed by his namesake when he came to Valence that he insisted upon attaching him to his household. The prelate soon proved the young Canon’s worth by entrusting him with some difficult negotiations in the campaign then directed against simony; and in 1080 he took him to a synod at Avignon, called to consider, amongst other matters, the disorders which had crept into the vacant see of Grenoble. The council and the delegates from Grenoble severally and collectively appear to have looked on Canon Hugh as the one man who was capable of dealing with the disorders complained of; but though unanimously elected it was with the greatest reluctance that he consented to accept the office. The legate himself conferred on him holy orders up to the priesthood, and took him to Rome that he might receive consecration from the pope.
The kindness of the reception he met emboldened the young bishop elect to consult St Gregory VII about temptations to blasphemy which sometimes beset him, causing him great distress and, as he considered, rendering him unfit for the high office to which he was called. The pontiff reassured him, explaining that God permitted these trials to purify him and render him a more fitting instrument for the divine purposes. These particular temptations continued to assault him until his last illness, but he never yielded to them in any way.
The Countess Matilda gave the twenty-eight-year-old bishop his crozier and some books, including the De officiis ministrorum of St Ambrose and a psalter to which were appended the commentaries of St Augustine. Immediately after his consecration. St Hugh hurried off to his diocese, but he was appalled by the state of his flock. The gravest sins were committed without shame; simony and usury were rampant; the clergy openly flouted the obligation to celibacy; the people were uninstructed; laymen had seized church property and the see was almost penniless. It was indeed a herculean task that lay before the saint.
  For two years he laboured unremittingly to redress abuses by preaching, by denunciations, by rigorous fasts and by constant prayer. The excellent results he was obtaining were patent to all but to himself: he only saw his failures and blamed his own incompetence. Discouraged, he quietly withdrew to the Cluniac abbey of Chaise-Dieu, where he received the Benedictine habit. He did not remain there long, for Pope Gregory commanded him to resume his pastoral charge and return to Grenoble.
   Coming out of his solitude, like another Moses from the mountain, he seemed—so men declared—to preach with greater fervour and success than before. It was to St Hugh of Grenoble that St Bruno and his companions addressed themselves when they decided to forsake the world, and it was he who granted to them the desert called the Chartreuse which gave its name to their order. The bishop became greatly attached to the monks it was his delight to visit them in their solitude, joining in their exercises and performing the most menial offices. Sometimes he would linger so long in these congenial surroundings that St Bruno was constrained to remind him of his flock and of his episcopal duties. These periods of retreat were the bright oases in a hard and anxious life.
With the clergy and the common people St Hugh was most successful, but the nobles continued to withstand him to the end. Moreover, for the last forty years of his life he suffered almost unremittingly from headaches complicated by gastric trouble, and was tormented by severe temptations. Nevertheless occasionally he was granted sensible spiritual consolations which filled his heart with joy.
During his sermons it was not unusual to see the whole congregation in tears, whilst individuals would be moved to make public confession on the spot. Of sin he had the utmost horror, and his loathing of detraction was so great that he disliked the duty of listening to official reports and closed his ears to the news of the day. Temporal things always seemed to him dull and irksome as compared with the heavenly things on which his heart was set.

He besought pope after pope to release him from office. One and all refused point-blank. Honorius II, to whom he pleaded his age and infirmities, replied that he preferred to retain him as bishop of Grenoble—old and ill— rather than have any younger or stronger man in his place.
A generous almsgiver, St Hugh in a time of famine sold a gold chalice as well as rings and precious stones from his church treasury; and rich men were stirred by his example to give liberally to feed the hungry and supply the needs of the diocese. Although at the end of life his soul was further purified by a lingering illness of a very painful character, Hugh never uttered a word of complaint, nor would he speak of what he endured. His only concern was for others. His humility was all the more striking because everyone approached him with the utmost reverence and affection. In reply to someone who asked, “Why do you weep so bitterly—you who never offended God by any wilful sin?” he replied, “Vanity and inordinate affections alone are enough to damn a soul. Only through God’s mercy can we hope to be saved, and should we ever cease to implore it?”
A short time before his death he lost his memory for everything but prayer, and would recite the psalter or the Lord’s Prayer without intermission. St Hugh died on April 1, 1132, two months before attaining the age of eighty, having been a bishop for fifty-two years.  Pope Innocent II canonized him two years later.

The main authority for the life of St Hugh is the Latin biography by Guigo, prior of the Grande Chartreuse, who died only five years after the saint himself. This life is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, and elsewhere. See also Albert du Boys, Vie de St Hugues (1837); Bellet in the Bulletin Soc. Archéol. Drôme (1894), xxviii, 5-31 and Marion, Chartulaire de l’Eglise de Grenoble (1869). Hugh is reckoned amongst ecclesiastical writers chiefly on the strength of this cartulary, or collection of charters, copies of which, accom­panied by curious historical notes, are preserved in Grenoble Library. The bishop is often associated with St Bruno as co-founder of the Grande Chartreuse.

b. 1053 Benedictine bishop of Grenoble, France, patron of St. Bruno. He was born in the Dauphine region and became a canon of the cathedral in Valence. In 1080, while attending a synod in Avignon, Hugh was named bishop of Grenoble. He attempted a massive reform of the diocese, but, discouraged, retired to Chaise Dieu Abbey, and became a Benedictine. Pope St. Gregoiy VII ordered him back to Grenoble. Hugh gave St. Bruno


Hugh of Grenoble, OSB B (RM) Born near Valence in the Dauphiné, France, in 1052; died in Grenoble, France, on April 1, 1132; canonized by Pope Innocent II in 1134.
What an amazing modesty Saint Hugh possessed! You may shrug your shoulders, of course. The 20th century is without modesty and doesn't appreciate it. There is something about the modesty of Saint Hugh that governed and colored his life, yet repels and confounds us. We have lost the taste for that virtue in a world where we live like haggling beasts: industrious, envious, quarrelsome, wretched beasts!

By contrast Saint Hugh took to heart Saint Paul's admonition: "Let love be sincere . . . love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. . . . do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation" (Romans 12:9, 16). And again Paul urges: "Do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves. . . ." (Philippians 2:3). the land on which the Grande Chartreuse was founded, thus starting the Carthusians. Hugh died on April 1 and was canonized by Pope Innocent II.

When Hugh of Grenoble was born at Châteauneuf, the French churchmen were very undisciplined. He was the son of the second marriage of Odilo, a knight of excellent reputation, who later became a Carthusian monk. His father lived to the venerable age of 100, before he died in his son's arms after having received viaticum from him. Odilo's goodness inspired his son to greatness. As a youth, Saint Hugh was a pupil of Saint Bruno at Rheims. He later studied in the best foreign centers for education.

Good looks and a diffident manner, added to his abilities, seem to have helped Hugh's swift rise in ecclesiastical office. He won all hearts through his courtesy and modesty that led him to underrate his own talents and learning. Hugh, though a layman, was made a canon of Valence Cathedral at age 25, and set out to reform the church. Bishop Hugh of Die soon saw the young man's zeal and appointed the young man to his household. This bishop was particularly keen to stamp out simony (that is sale for personal gain of positions in the church) and Hugh played a huge part in his campaign.  In 1080, the bishop took Hugh to a council at Avignon. One of the purposes of the council was to sort out the disorders that had arisen in the diocese of Grenoble, whose bishop had just died.
 
To Hugh's surprise, the participants decided that this 27-year-old was by far the best person to be consecrated bishop. He protested that he was only a layman.  "But I repeat to you that I am not worthy of it!" sighed Hugh.
"What fairy tale is this that you're telling me?" asked the papal legate, Bishop Hugh of Die. "Who is asking you to act on your own strength? Count first on God, who will give you help."
Nevertheless, the bishop ordained him and then took him to Rome where the pope consecrated Hugh as bishop though he was barely 30.

Hugh discovered that diocese of Grenoble was in a far worse state than he had imagined. Although the clergy had taken vows of celibacy, many of them lived more or less openly with women. Influential laymen had seized most of the property of the church. Hugh manfully set about putting matters aright. He was unpopular with the nobility, whose confiscation of church property the bishop dealt with firmly. Only Hugh, however, failed to see the excellent results of his policies. Two years after his consecration, believing that he had vainly opposed these disorders, as well as simony and usury, through sermons, threats, example, fast, and prayers, Hugh left the city and withdrew to the abbey of Chaise- Dieu (Cluniac).

This was the first of several times he despaired because of his lack of progress and went to live as a monk. "But I repeat to you that I can't do anything that's good and worthwhile!" he complained gently to those who wanted him to give up this sudden Benedictine vocation and his seeming lack of faith. Each time the pope insisted that he must take up the struggle again.
"Very well, granted. You can't do anything, my son," Pope Saint Gregory VII said to him, "but you are bishop, and the sacrament can do everything." Each time Hugh obeyed. This first time it took a year of discussion before Hugh returned to Grenoble with a crushing sense of his unworthiness and inferiority.

Bishop Hugh of Grenoble sustained the papacy in its dispute with Emperor Henry V, and was persecuted for his loyalty. Grenoble was in the emperor's territory, but his flock rallied to his support.
It was then, in 1084, that Saint Bruno and his companions came in search of silence, solitude, and a perpetual conversation with God on the fringes of the scandals of the world. Hugh was waiting for them. He rolled up his cassock and, like a guide, led them through the craggy rocks of the desert called the Chartreuse. He gave this land to the monks who built there the famous monastery of Grande Chartreuse.
The charter Hugh gave them still exists.

Hugh knew the way to the Grande Chartreuse very well, and often visited the monks. He came so often, in fact, and liked it so much that Saint Bruno often had to send him away, reminding him of his flock and episcopal duties. When he visited them in their solitude, Hugh would join in their exercises and perform the most menial tasks. Hugh saw himself as a bad bishop and wanted nothing more than to stay in the monastery. Hugh's close association with the Carthusians has ensured the custom that the diocesan bishop was always expected (contrary to other monastic orders) to guide and cherish Charterhouses in their diocese.

During his 52-year episcopacy, Hugh vainly tendered his resignation to each pope--Gregory VII, Gelasius II, Calixtus II, Honorius II, Innocent II, and others--and they refused him because of his outstanding ability. He never ceased imploring them to release him from the duties of his episcopal office up to the day of his death. During his last, painful illness he was tormented by headaches and stomach disorders that resulted from his long fasts and vigils, yet never complained. For a short time before his death, he lost his memory for everything but prayer, and would recite the Psalter and the Our Father unceasingly.

It was this humility--which once almost became a blasphemy against Divine Providence--that unwittingly made Hugh such a good bishop. Out of the fear and shame that he was better nourished, housed, and dressed than the poor, he sold his ring, other jewels, furs, a golden chalice, and ornaments to raise money and gave it to those in need. His generosity stirred other rich men to liberally follow his example.

He wept when he heard a penitent's confession and when the disorders of his retinue were brought to his attention, he blamed himself as though it were a personal fault. Hugh also founded three hospitals at Grenoble, built a marketplace, and provided a stone bridge over the Isere, in addition to restoring the cathedral and Saint Laurence's Church. For 52 years Hugh labored as bishop of Grenoble, dying at age 79, having restored the diocese both financially and morally.

He took upon himself all the sins of others, and the cross that he carried was so heavy laden, so holy, and so redemptive that two years after his death, he was canonized amid the jubilation of the people and of his church. By order of Pope Innocent II, Hugh's Carthusian friend Gigues wrote the saints Life which brings out the attractiveness of this modest man's character (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Walsh).

In art, Saint Hugh is a bishop seeing a vision of seven stars. Sometimes he is shown (1) with a lantern; (2) with three flowers; (3) with Saint Bruno, to whom he entrusted the Grande Chartreuse; or (4) turning partridges served to Carthusians on a fast day into tortoises (Roeder). Zurbaran gave Hugh a prominent place in his paintings of the early Carthusians in the museum of Seville (Farmer). Saint Hugh is invoked against headache (Roeder).
1150 ST THEOBALD OF ALBA A number of miracles are reported to have taken place at his tomb and led to a great development of his cultus.
HONOURED throughout Piedmont as the patron of cobblers and porters, St Theobald Roggeri is specially venerated at his birthplace, Vico, near Mondovi, and at Alba, where he spent the greater part of his life. His parents were well-to-do people who gave him a good education, but the respect in which his family was held seemed to Theobald incompatible with the lowly estate to which a Christian is called. Forsaking his home, he went to Alba, where he placed himself under a shoemaker to learn the trade. So reliable and proficient did he prove himself that his master on his death-bed suggested his marrying the daughter of the house and taking over the business. Not wishing to grieve an old man whose days were numbered, Theobald returned an evasive answer. He had, however, vowed himself to celibacy and, as soon as his master was buried, he took leave of the widow to whom he handed all his earnings for distribution to the poor. Penniless, he then set forth on a pilgrimage to Compostela. Upon his return to Alba, instead of resuming his trade, he hired himself out to carry sacks of corn and other merchandise. As he made his way through the streets and alleys he came into contact with sufferers of all kinds, to whom he proved a ministering angel; two-thirds of his earnings he always gave to the poor. In spite of the strenuous character of his work he undertook severe fasts and practised other austerities. Until the day of his death he took his rest upon the bare ground. To expiate a malediction he had uttered under provocation, he undertook for the remainder of his life to sweep out the cathedral church of St Laurence and tend the lamps. A number of miracles are reported to have taken place at his tomb and led to a great development of his cultus.
In spite of a still surviving veneration in the diocese of Alba, it must be confessed that we have no reliable materials for the life of St Theobald. The Bollandists in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. i, were reduced to the necessity of printing a Latin translation of an account compiled in Italian as late as 1626 by D. Passoni. He professed to have had access to authentic documents, but as these in some mysterious way perished in that very year or shortly afterwards, it is impossible not to regard his narrative with considerable suspicion. There are a number of small devotional booklets of more recent date, but they all depend for their facts upon the story as told by Passoni.
1153 St. Bernard of Clairvaux Abbot and Doctor of the Church eminently endowed with the gift of miracles.
died on August 20, 1153 his feast day. St Bernard, Abbot Of Clairvaux, Doctor Of The Church
St Bernard third son of Tescelin Sorrel, a Burgundian noble, and Aleth, daughter of Bernard, lord of Montbard. He was born in 1090 at Fontaines, a castle near Dijon, a lordship belonging to his father.  His parents had seven children, namely, Bd Guy, Bd Gerard, St Bernard, Bd Humbeline, Andrew, Bartholomew and Bd Nivard.  They were all well educated, and learned Latin and verse-making before the sons were applied to military exercise and feats of arms ; but Bernard was sent to Châtillon on the Seine, to pursue a complete course of studies in a college of secular canons. He even then loved to be alone, largely at first because of shyness; his progress in learning was far greater than could be expected from one of his age; and he was soon alert to listen to what God by His holy inspirations spoke to his heart.  One Christmas-eve, while waiting with his mother to set out for Matins, he fell asleep and seemed to see the infant Jesus newly born in the stable at Bethlehem; from that day he ever had a most tender devotion towards that great mystery of love and mercy, the manhood of Christ. When he was seventeen his mother died. Bernard was greatly attached to Aleth and her loss was a heavy blow; he was in danger of becoming morbidly despondent, till he was rallied out of his brooding and inertia by his lively sister Humbeline.  Bernard made his appearance in the world with all the advantages and talents which can make it attractive to a young man, or which could make him loved by it.
   His personal attractiveness and wit, his affability and sweetness of temper, endeared him to everybody; in these very advantages lay his chief danger, and for a time there was serious risk of his becoming lukewarm and indifferent. But he began to think of forsaking the world and the pursuit of letters, which greatly attracted him, and of going to CIteaux, where only a few years before SS. Robert, Alberic and Stephen Harding had established the first monastery of that strict interpretation of the Benedictine rule, called after it "Cistercian".  He wavered for some time in his mind, and one day in great anxiety he went into a church by the road and prayed that God would direct him to discover and follow His will. He arose steadily fixed in the resolution of following the severe Cistercian life. His friends endeavoured to dissuade him from it; but he not only remained firm-he enlisted four of his brothers as well, and an uncle.  Hugh of Macon (who afterward founded the monastery of Pontigny, and died bishop of Auxerre), an intimate friend, wept bitterly at the thought of separation, but by two interviews was induced to become his companion.  Nor were these the only ones who, with apparently no previous thought of the religious life, suddenly decided to leave the world for the austere life of Citeaux. Bernard induced in all thirty-one men to follow him-he who himself had been uncertain of his call only a few weeks before.
   It is a happening unparalleled in Christian history. Bernard's eloquent appeals were irresistible; mothers feared for their sons, wives for their husbands, lest they came under the sway of that compelling voice and look. They assembled at Châtillon, and on the day appointed for their meeting Bernard and his brothers went to Fontaines to take farewell of their father and beg his blessing.  They left Nivard, the youngest brother, to be a comfort to him in his old age.  Going out they saw him at play with other children, and Guy said to him, "Adieu, my little Nivard!  You will have all the estates and lands to yourself."  The boy answered, "What! you then take Heaven, and leave me only the earth.  The division is too unequal."  They went away; but soon after Nivard followed them, so that of the whole family there only remained in the world the old father and his daughter, Humbeline.

  The company arrived at Citeaux about Easter in 1112 and the abbot, the English St Stephen, who had not had a novice for several years, received them with open arms. St Bernard was then twenty-two years old.   He entered this house with the desire to die to the remembrance of men, to live hidden and be forgotten, that he might be occupied only with God.  After three years the abbot, seeing the great progress which Bernard had made and his extraordinary abilities, ordered him to go with twelve monks to found a new house in the diocese of Langres in Champagne.  They walked in procession, singing psalms, with their new abbot at their head, and settled in a place called the Valley of Wormwood, surrounded by a forest.  These thirteen monks grubbed up a sufficient area and, with the assistance of the bishop and the people of the country, built themselves a house.  This young colony lived through a period of extreme and grinding hardship.  The land was poor and their bread was of coarse barley; boiled beech leaves were sometimes served up instead of vegetables. Bernard at first was so severe in his discipline, coming down upon the smallest distractions and least transgressions of his brethren, whether in confession or in chapter, that although his monks behaved with the utmost humility and obedience they began to be discouraged, which made the abbot sensible of his fault.  He condemned himself for it to a long silence.  At length he resumed his preaching, and provided that meals should be more regular, though the food was still of the coarsest.  The reputation of the house and of the holiness of its abbot soon became so great that the number of monks had risen to a hundred and thirty and the name of the valley was changed to Clairvaux, because it was situated right in the eye of the sun.
      Bernard's aged father Tescelin and the young Nivard followed him in 1117, and received the habit at his hands.  The first four daughter-houses of Citeaux became each a mother-house to others, and Clairvaux had the most numerous offspring, including Rievaulx and, in a sense, Fountains in England.

  In 1121 Bernard wrought his first miracle, restoring, while he sang Mass, power of speech to a certain lord that he might confess his sins before he died, three days after, having made restitution for numerous acts of injustice. It is related that other sick persons were cured instantaneously by his making the sign of the cross upon them; and we are also told that the church of Foigny was infested with flies till, by Bernard saying he "excommunicated" them, they all died. The malediction of the flies of Foigny became a proverb in France. The contemporaryWilliam of Saint-Thierry gives a most unpleasant account of the weakness of Bernard's stomach (which was aggravated by insufficient and unsuitable food), and in consideration of his ill-health the general chapter dispensed him from work in the fields and ordered him to undertake extra preaching instead. This led to his writing a treatise on the Degrees of Humility and Pride, the first of his published works. It includes a study of character which, says the Abbé Vacandard, "the most expert psychologist would not disavow".

Notwithstanding St Bernard's love of retirement, obedience and the Church's needs frequently drew him from his cell.
Like several other great saints who had in a supreme degree the gift of contemplation and wished only to live alone with God in the retirement of a monastery, he had for years on end to be about his Father's business in active and public, even political, affairs.  In 1137 he wrote that his life was "over-run in all quarters with anxieties, suspicions, cares, and there is scarcely an hour that is left free from the crowd of discordant applicants, from the trouble and care of business.  I have no power to stop their coming and cannot refuse to see them, and they do not leave me even the time to pray."

So great was the reputation of his character and powers that princes desired to
have their differences determined by him and bishops regarded him decisions with the greatest respect, referring to him important affairs of their churches. The popes looked upon his advice as the greatest support of the Holy See, and all people had a profound respect and veneration for his person and opinion.  It was said of him that he was "the oracle of Christendom".
For Bernard was not only a great monastic founder, theologian and preacher, he was also a reformer and "crusader" he never refused what presented itself to him as a challenge, whether it came from the abbey of Cluny or from an antipope, from the philosopher Abelard or the call to the Second Crusade.  And he was a hard hitter; to an ecclesiastic in Languedoc he wrote:
"You may imagine that what belongs to the Church belongs to you while you officiate there.  But you are mistaken: for though it be reasonable that one who serves the altar should live by the altar, yet it must not be to promote either his luxury or his pride.  Whatever goes beyond bare nourishment and simple plain clothing is sacrilege and theft."

After the disputed papal election of 1130 the cause of Pope Innocent II took St Bernard up and down France, Germany and Italy.  On one of his returns to Clairvaux he took with him a new postulant, a canon of Pisa, Peter Bernard Paganelli, who was to become a beatified pope as Eugenius III; for the present he was put to stoke the fire in the monastery calefactory.

After the general acknowledgement of Innocent II Bernard was present at the tenth general council
in Rome, the second of the Lateran, and it was at this period that he first met St Malachy of Armagh; the ensuing friendship between the two lasted until Malachy's death in Bemard's arms nine years later. All this time Bernard had continued diligently to preach to his monks whenever he was able, notably those famous discourses on the Song of Songs.  In 1140 he preached for the first time in a public pulpit, primarily to the students of Paris.  They are the two most powerful and trenchant of his discourses preserved to us, in which he says much of "things hellish and horrible"; they effected some good and a number of conversions among the students, who were at first superior to their fervent "evangelicalism".  But no sooner was the trouble of the papal schism over than he was involved in the controversy with Abelard.

If St Bernard was the most eloquent and influential man of his age, the next was the brilliant and unhappy Peter Abelard, who was moreover, of far wider learning.  The two were bound to come into collision, for they represented two currents of thought which, not necessarily opposed, were not yet properly fused:
on the one hand, the weight of traditional authority and "faith not as an opinion but a certitude";
on the other, the new rationalism and exaltation of human reason. 
St Bernard himself has since been grievously criticized for his unrelenting pursuit of Abelard: but it seemed to him he had detected in Abelard vanity and arrogance masquerading as science, and rationalism masquerading as the use of reason, and his ability and learning made him the more dangerous.  St Bernard wrote to the pope:
"Peter Abelard is trying to make void the merit of Christian faith,
when he deems himself able by human reason to comprehend God entirely - the man is great in his own eyes."


<>Probably about the beginning of the year 1142 the first Cistercian foundation was made in Ireland, from Clairvaux, where St Malachy had put some young Irishmen with St Bernard to be trained.  The abbey was called Mellifont, in county Louth, and within ten years of its foundation six daughter-houses had been planted out.    At the same time Bernard was busied in the affair of the disputed succession to the see of York, set out in the account of St William of York (June 8), in the course of which Pope Innocent II died. His third successor, within eighteen months, was the Cistercian abbot of Tre Fontane, that Peter Bernard of Pisa to whom reference has been made, known to history as Bd Eugenius III.  St Bernard wrote a charming letter of encouragement to his former subject, addressed:
"To his most dearly loved father and master, Eugenius, by the grace of God Sovereign Pontiff,
Bernard, styled Abbot of Clairvaux, presents his humble service."

But Bernard was also rather frightened, for Eugenius was shy and retiring, not accustomed to public life; and so he wrote also to the college of cardinals, a letter beginning:
"May God forgive you what you have done. You have put back among the living a man who was dead and buried.
You have again surrounded with cares and crowds one who had fled from cares and crowds.
You have made the last first, and behold! the last state of that man is more perilous than the first."


Later he wrote for Pope Eugenius's guidance the longest and most important of his treatises, De consideratione, impressing upon him the various duties of his office, and strongly recommending him always to reserve time for self-examination and daily contemplation, applying himself to this still more than to business.  He proves to him that "consideration" serves to form and to employ in the heart all virtues.   He reminds the pope that he is in danger of falling, by the multiplicity of affairs, into a forgetfulness of God and hardness of heart:  the thought of which made the saint tremble for him, and tell him that his heart was already hardened and made insensible if he did not continually tremble for himself; for if the Pope falls, the whole Church of God is involved.

In the meantime the Albigensian heresy and its social and moral implications had been making alarming progress in the south of France. St Bernard had already been called on to deal with a similar sect in Cologne, and in 1145 the papal legate, Cardinal Alberic, asked him to go to Languedoc. Bernard was ill, weak and hardly able to make the journey, but he obeyed, preaching on the way. Geoffrey, the saint's secretary, accompanied him, and relates many miracles to which he was an eye-witness.  He tells us that at Sarlat in Périgord, Bernard, blessing with the sign of the cross some loaves of bread which were brought, said,  "
By this shall you know the truth of our doctrine, and the falsehood of that which is taught by the heretics, if such as are sick among you recover their health by eating of these loaves".  The bishop of Chartres, who stood by, being fearful of the result, said, "That is, if they eat with a right faith, they shall be cured".  But the abbot replied, "I say not so; but assuredly they that taste shall be cured, that you may know by this that we are sent by authority derived from God, and preach His truth ".
And a number of sick persons were cured by eating that bread.

Bernard preached against the heresy throughout Languedoc; its supporters were stubborn and violent, especially at Toulouse and Albi, but in a very short time he had restored the country to orthodoxy and returned to Clairvaux. But he left too soon, the restoration was more apparent than real, and twenty-five years later Albigensianism had a stronger hold than ever.

Then came St Dominic.
On Christmas-day, 1144, the SeIjuk Turks had captured Edessa, centre of one of the four principalities of the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem, and appeals for help were at once sent to Europe, for the whole position was in danger. Pope Eugenius commissioned St Bernard to preach a crusade.  He began at Vezelay Palm Sunday 1146, when Queen Eleanor and many nobles were the first to take the cross, and were followed by such large numbers of people, moved by the monk's burning words, that the supply of badges was exhausted and he had, to tear strips off his habit to make others. When he had roused France, he wrote letters to the rulers
and peoples of western and central Europe, and then went in person into Germany. First he had to deal with a half-crazy monk, called Rudolf, who in his name was inciting the people to massacre the Jews, and then made a triumphant journey through the Rhineland, confirming his appeals by an amazing succession of miracles, vouched for by his companions.
The Emperor Conrad III took the cross from him, and set out with an army in the May of 1147, followed by Louis of France.  But this, the second, crusade was a miserable failure; Conrad's forces were cut to pieces in Asia Minor and Louis did not get beyond laying siege to Damascus.  Its ill success was in no small measure due to the crusaders themselves, of whom a great part were led by no other motive than the prospect of plunder, were lawless, and committed every kind of disorder in their march.  To those who were led by motives of sincere penance and religion, these afflictions were trials for the exercise of their virtue, but the ascetical exercise was dearly bought.  This unfortunate expedition raised a storm against St Bernard, because he had seemed to promise success.  His answer was that he confided in the divine mercy for a blessing on an enterprise undertaken for honour of the divine name, but that the sins of the army were the cause of its misfortunes further, who could judge the extent of its success or failure, and "how is it that the rashness of mortals dares reprove what they cannot understand".

Early in the year 1153 St Bernard entered on his last illness.
He had long dwelt in Heaven in desire, though this desire he by humility ascribed to weakness: "The saints", said he, "were moved to pray for death out of a desire of seeing Christ; but I am forced hence by scandals and evil. I confess myself overcome by the violence of the storm for want of courage."
For a time he mended a little in the spring, and was called on for the last time to leave Clairvaux to succour his neighbour.  The inhabitants of Metz having been attacked by the duke of Lorraine, were vehemently bent on revenge.  To prevent the shedding of more blood the archbishop of Trier went to Clairvaux, and implored Bernard to journey to Metz in order to reconcile the parties that were at variance.   At this call of charity he forgot his infirmity and made his way into Lorraine, where he prevailed on both ides to lay aside their arms and accept a treaty which he drew up. Back at Clairvaux, his illness returned with more grievous symptoms.  When he received the last sacraments and his spiritual children assembled about him in tears, he comforted and encouraged them, saying that the unprofitable servant ought not to occupy a place uselessly, that the barren tree ought to be rooted up.  His love for them inclined him to remain till they should be gathered with him to God; but his desire to enjoy Christ made him long for death. "I am straitened between two", he cried, "and what to choose I know not.  I leave it to the Lord; let Him decide."
And God took him to Himself, on August 20, 1153; he was sixty-three
years old, had been abbot for thirty-eight, and sixty-eight monasteries had been founded from Clairvaux-Bernard may indeed be counted among the founders of the Cistercian Order, who brought it out of obscurity into the centre of western Christendom. He was canonized in 1174, and in 1830 formally declared a doctor of the Church : Doctor mellifluus, the Honey-sweet Doctor, as he is now universally called.
St Bernard "carried the twelfth century on his shoulders, and he did not carry it without suffering"; he was during his life the oracle of the Church, the light of prelates, and the reformer of discipline; since his death he continues to comfort and instruct by his writings.  The great French lay scholar of the seventeenth century, Henry Valois, did not hesitate to say they are the most useful for piety among all the works of the fathers of the Church, though he is the youngest of them in time, and Sixtus of Siena, the convered Jew, said, "His discourse is everywhere sweet and ardent: it so delights and warms that from his tongue honey and milk seem to flow in his words, and a fire of burning love to glow from his breast". "To Erasmus he was cheerful, pleasant, and vehement in moving the passions", and in another place, "He is Christianly learned, holily eloquent, and devoutly cheerful and pleasing".
From Pope Innocent II to Cardinal Manning, from Luther to Frederic Harrison, Catholics and Protestants of eminence have recognized the sanctity of St Bernard and greatness of his writings, in which he is equally gentle and vigorous; his charity appears in his reproaches, he reproves to correct, never to insult.  He had so meditated on the Holy Scriptures that in almost every sentence he borrows something from their language, and diffuses the marrow of the sacred text with which his own heart was filled.
He was well read in the writings of the fathers of the Church, especially SS. Ambrose and Augustine, and often takes his thoughts from their writings and by a new turn makes them his own. Though he lived after St Anselm, the first of the scholastics, and though his contemporaries are ranked in that class, yet he treats theological subjects after the manner of the ancients. On this account, and for the great excellence of his writings, he is himself reckoned among the fathers.  And though he is the last among them in time, he is one of the greatest to those who desire to study and to improve their hearts in sincere religion.

Almost all the principal materials for the life of St Bernard have been printed in the Latin Patrology of Migne, vol. 185.  The most important source, known as the Vita prima -the best text is that of Waitz in MGH., Scriptores, vol. xxvi-is made up of five sections by different authors, his contemporaries, i.e. William of Saint-Thierry, Arnold of Bonneval and Geoffrey of Auxerre, supplemented by a collection of the miracles. There are other accounts of his life by Alan of Auxerre, John the Hermit, etc., and a good deal of more or less legendary matter in later compilations, notably the Exordium magnum of Conrad of Eberbach, and the Liber miraculorum of Herbert. All these sources as well as the saint's correspondence have been very carefully discussed by G. Buffer in his Vorstudien (1886) and in the first chapter of E. Vacandard's Vie de Saint Bernard (1910), which last book still remains the most authoritative biography.  More popular lives such as those by G. Goyau (1927), F. Hover (1927), and A. Luddy, Life and Teaching of St Bernard (1927), are numerous but the accuracy of the rather bulky work last named cannot always be relied upon.  Many non-Catholic biographies or histories, notably those of J. Cotter Morison (1877), R. S. Storrs (1893), Watkin Williams (1935), and G. G. Coulton (Five Centuries of Religion, vol. i) aluo pay tribute to St Eernard'u greatnen.  E. Gilson's Mystical Theology of St Bernard appeared in English in 1940. J. Leclercq's St Bernard mystique (1948) includes 200 pp. of passages from his writings. Dom Leclercq is working on a critical edition of the saint's works.  See also the recueil of the Assoc. Bourguignonne des Societes Savantea, St Bernard et son temps (2 vols., 1928); and cf D. Knowles, The Monastic Order in England (1949). An English translation of the saint's letters by the Rev. B. Scott James, and a valuable volume of biographical material in French, Bernard de Clairvaux, ed. by Dom Jean Bouton, were published in 1953, among other relevant works.
St. Bernard,  St. Bernard was born of noble parentage in Burgundy, France, in the castle of Fontaines near Dijon. Under the care of his pious parents he was sent at an early age to a college at Chatillon, where he was conspicuous for his remarkable piety and spirit of recollection. At the same place he entered upon the studies of theology and Holy Scripture. After the death of his mother, fearing the snares and temptations of the world, he resolved to embrace the newly established and very austere institute of the Cistercian Order, of which he was destined to become the greatest ornament. He also persuaded his brothers and several of his friends to follow his example. In 1113, St. Bernard, with thirty young noblemen, presented himself to the holy Abbot, St. Stephen, at Citeaux. After a novitiate spent in great fervor, he made his profession in the following year. His superior soon after, seeing the great progress he had made in the spiritual life, sent him with twelve monks to found a new monastery, which afterward became known as the celebrated Abbey of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was at once appointed Abbot and began that active life which has rendered him the most conspicuous figure in the history of the 12th century. He founded numerous other monasteries, composed a number of works and undertook many journeys for the honor of God. Several Bishoprics were offered him, but he refused them all. The reputation of St. Bernard spread far and wide; even the Popes were governed by his advice. He was commissioned by Pope Eugene III to preach the second Crusade. In obedience to the Sovereign Pontiff he traveled through France and Germany, and aroused the greatest enthusiasm for the holy war among the masses of the population. The failure of the expedition raised a great storm against the saint, but he attributed it to the sins of the Crusaders. St. Bernard was eminently endowed with the gift of miracles. He died on August 20, 1153.

1154 BD CONRAD OF BAVARIA his sanctity being revealed by the marvels which occurred at his tomb.

Ever since the death of Conrad honour has been paid him in the diocese of Molfetta in Apulia, where he ended his days, and also by his Cistercian brethren. This cultus was confirmed in 1832. Conrad was the son of Henry the Black, Duke of Bavaria, and seems to have been born about the year 1105. He came to Cologne to make his studies, but desiring a more perfect way of life he became a Cistercianat Clairvaux. A little later, with St Bernard’s permission, he journeyed to Palestine, wishing to settle as a hermit amid the scenes which the presence of our Saviour had sanctified. After a while, however, the disturbed conditions of the country and broken health induced him to return to Europe. He never reached his native land, but being put ashore somewhere in the neighbourhood of Ban or Molfetta—the exact locality and the length of his sojourn seem to be matters of uncertainty—he was unable to resume his journey. There, at any rate, worn out by his austerities and labours of charity, he is said to have died on March 15, 1154, his sanctity being revealed by the marvels which occurred at his tomb. We are told amongst other things that the lambs used to pay him reverence by coming to kneel beside the grave.

Reliable materials for his history are scanty, but there are lives of him by Giovene and Catacchino. See also Rader, Bavaria Sancta, vol. ii, p. 252 and J. E. Stadler’s Heilgen­Lexikon.
1154 ST LAMBERT, BISHOP OF VENICE instructing the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the laying-on of hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles.
ST LAMBERT was born at Bauduen, in the diocese of Riez, and became a monk in the abbey of Lérins, where he had lived from his childhood. Though kindly to all and popular with his brethren, he was so great a lover of solitude and study that he never left his cell except when obedience required him to do so. Much against his will he was made bishop of Vence in 1114. For forty years he ruled his diocese, instructing the people and healing many sick persons by prayer and the laying-on of hands. He was famous for his learning and for his miracles. Beloved of all, he died in the year 1154, and was buried in his cathedral church.
The life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vi, seems to have been written within ten years of St Lambert’s death, but its dullness is only relieved by the narration of some very dubious miracles. A copy of his epitaph has been published in the Revue des Sociétés savantes, vol. iv (1876), p. 196.
1154 + St. Wulfric  hermit Many miracles were attributed to his intercession, both in this life and after his death numerous between 1185 to 1235
Born at Compton Martin, near Bristol, England, he became a priest and was excessively materialistic and worldly. After meeting with a beggar, he underwent a personal conversion and became a hermit at Haselbury; Somerset, England. For his remaining years, he devoted himself to rigorous austerities and was known for his miracles and prophecies. While he was never formally canonized, Wulfric was a very popular saint during the Middle Ages, and his tomb was visited by many pilgrims.

Wulfric of Haselbury, Hermit (AC) (also known as Ulfrick, Ulric)  Born at Compton Martin (near Bristol), England; died at Haselbury, Somerset, England, in February 20, 1154. Saint Wulfric was an ordained priest, but not because he felt a religious vocation. He like to hunt and eat and party with the lords of the manors near Deverill, Wiltshire, England. He performed all the functions of a priest, but he did not have his heart in them.
Legend reports that, one day in the early 1120's while he was a priest at Deverill, near Warminster, he was suddenly touched by divine grace. Some say that he had underwent a metanoia during a chance encounter with a beggar. Other say that Wulfric was converted to a life of penance one day upon recitation of the
Lavabo verse: "I will wash my hands among the innocent."
It was as if all the easy ways of his past rose up at once to torment him, and he fled immediately to a place in search of solitude.
We don't know how long he remained a hermit, but there are seemingly endless reports of his austerities and arduous mortifications: going down in the icy waters to recite the Psalms, flagellations, prostrations, mail-shirts. When Wulfric finally returned to his flock, he was a new man. He ministered to his flock until 1125.
A knight offered him a cell adjoining a church at Haselbury- Plunkett (Plucknett) near Exeter in Somerset. He had no official episcopal authorization, but was supported by the neighboring Cluniac monks of Montacute. There he lived the remainder of his life, starving himself until his body was skin and bones. He was famous for his gift of prophecy and for his priestly care of all who sought his counsel, including Kings Henry I and Stephen. In 1130, Henry and Queen Adela obtained through his intercession the healing of the knight Drogo de Munci from paralysis. In 1133, Wulfric prophesied the death of the king which occurred in 1135. Stephen visited him with his brother, Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester, when Wulfric greeted him as king even before his disputed accession. On another occasion, Wulfric reproached him for misgovernment.
A curious story is recounted in detail that he cut the iron links of his mail-shirt with ordinary scissors as if they were only linen in order to shorten it to permit the numerous prostrations that were a part of the penitential exercises of that era. He said Mass daily with the assistance of a boy named Osbern, who later became a priest and who recorded Wulfric's vita. The near- contemporary life of Wulfric by Abbot John of Ford is accurate and informative.
The saint employed himself primarily in copying books, which he bound himself.
He also made elements for the celebration of Mass.
Many miracles were attributed to his intercession, both in this life and after his death. (Although the first miracle at his tomb is not recorded to have occurred until 1169; they were numerous between 1185 to 1235.) The Cistercians lay claim to Wulfric, as did the monks of Montacute, but he was unaffiliated with an religious order.
Wulfric's cultus was slow to develop. He was mentioned favorably by Henry of Huntingdon, Roger of Wendover, and Matthew Paris. William Worcestre and John Leland also mention his tomb. In 1633, John Gerard recorded that his cell was still standing as was his memory. A 16th-century martyrology and a French menology include Saint Wulfric. He is venerated at Haselbury, where he is buried in the cell in which he lived, which is now the site of the church's vestry (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth, Walsh).
1154 St. William of York, Bishop austere life of a monk, practicing much prayer and mortification; Following his death, many miracles were attributed to him.
Eboráci, in Anglia, sancti Willhélmi, Epíscopi et Confessóris, qui, inter cétera ad ejus sepúlcrum patráta mirácula, tres mórtuos suscitávit, atque ab Honório Papa Tértio in Sanctórum cánonem relátus est.
    At York in England, St. William, archbishop and confessor, who, among other miracles wrought at his tomb, raised three persons from the dead.  He was placed in the calendar of the saints by Pope Honorius III.
William of York was the son of Count Herbert, treasurer to Henry I. His mother Emma, was the half-sister of King William. Young William became treasurer of the church of York at an early age and was elected archbishop of York in 1140. William's election was challenged on the grounds of simony and unchastity. He was cleared by Rome, but later, a new Pope, the Cistercian Eugene III, suspended William, and in 1147, he was deposed as archbishop of York.
William then retired to Winchester where he led the austere life of a monk, practicing much prayer and mortification. Upon the death of his accusers and Eugene III, Pope Anastastius IV restored William his See and made him archbishop. However, after one month back in York, the saintly prelate died in the year 1154. Some claim he was poisoned by the archdeacon of York, but no record of any resolution in the case remains extant. Pope Honorius III canonized William in 1227.
William Fitzherbert B (RM)  (also known as William of York or William of Thwayt) Died at York, June 8, 1154; canonized 1226 or 1227 by Pope Honorius III.  William Fitz Herbert--son of Count Herbert, treasurer to Henry I, and Emma, half sister of King Stephen--had impressed many as canon and treasurer of York Minster. In 1140, after the death of Archbishop Thurstand, he was elected archbishop in turn by a majority of the cathedral chapter. At this point the smooth running of William's life ended. Archdeacon Walter of York and the diocese's Cistercian monks claimed that he had paid to be elevated to the archbishopric and that he was sexually incontinent. Others, including the Augustinian priors, said that his friendship with his uncle, King Stephen, gave him an improper influence in securing election to the see.
The archbishop of Canterbury was reluctant to consecrate William under such a cloud of accusation. For a time even Pope Innocent III hesitated, before finally agreeing to support William. Henry of Blois, who was both bishop of Winchester and King Stephen's brother accordingly consecrated William and he took up his duties as archbishop in 1143.
But the dispute did not end; matters soon became difficult again. William failed to receive the official 'pallium,' symbol of the pope's authority, before the pope who sent it had died. The papal legate took the pallium back to Rome.
The new pope, Eugenius III, was a Cistercian and sided with the archbishop's opponents, including Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. William visited Rome to persuade the pope of his credentials. But the pope suspended him. To make things worse, a group of his followers now violently attacked some of the monks of Fountains Abbey, itself a Cistercian foundation, and set fire to the monastery farms. The abbot of Fountains, Henry Murdac, had been William's rival for the see of York in the first place.
A council held at Rheims in 1147 now deposed William. He went to stay with Henry of Blois, and spent six chastened years living as a monk at Winchester. Only when both the pope and the abbot of Fountains were dead was he able to make a successful appeal to Pope Anastasius IV and return in triumph to York. Enormous crowds gathered on a bridge over the River Ouse as William arrived. The bridge collapsed. Fortunately no one was injured, and this was taken as a sign of good things to come. William, however, had reached the end of his life.
William was mild and conciliatory towards his enemies, but within a few months he was dead, perhaps, it was rumored, from poison at the hands of Osbert, the new archdeacon of York. He was well liked by the people, and the rumored murder doubtless contributed to a popular demand for his canonization (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia).
Saint William is depicted in the episcopal insignia on many windows in York, England. He might be shown (1) on a shield with eight lozenges near him; (2) crossing the Ouse Bridge; (3) on horseback, received by the Mayor at Mickelgate Bar; (4) kneeling to kiss the cross at the entrance to York Minster; or (5) as a tonsured monk praying in the wilderness with a holy dove nearby (Roeder) .

June 8, 2010  St. William of York (d. 1154)
A disputed election as archbishop of York and a mysterious death. Those are the headlines from the tragic life of today's saint.

Born into a powerful family in 12th-century England, William seemed destined for great things. His uncle was next in line for the English throne—though a nasty dynastic struggle complicated things. William himself faced an internal Church feud.  Despite these roadblocks, he was nominated as archbishop of York in 1140. Local clergymen were less enthusiastic, however, and the archbishop of Canterbury refused to consecrate William. Three years later a neighboring bishop performed the consecration, but it lacked the approval of Pope Innocent II, whose successors likewise withheld approval. William was deposed and a new election was ordered.

It was not until 1154—14 years after he was first nominated—that William became archbishop of York. When he entered the city that spring after years of exile, he received an enthusiastic welcome. Within two months he was dead, probably from poisoning. His administrative assistant was a suspect, though no formal ruling was ever made.  Despite all that happened to him, William did not show resentment toward his opponents. Following his death, many miracles were attributed to him. He was canonized 73 years later.


1154 St William, Archbishop of York
St WILLIAM FITZHERBERT, also known as William of Thwayt, is stated to have been the son of King Stephen’s half-sister Emma and of Count Herbert, treasurer to Henry I, and while yet young William himself was appointed treasurer of the church of York. He appears to have been somewhat indolent, but he was personally popular and, on the death of Archbishop Thurston of York in 1140, he was chosen to fill the vacancy. The validity of the election, however, was contested by Archdeacon Walter of York, together with a number of Cistercian abbots and Augustinian priors, who alleged unchastity and simony on the part of William and  undue influence on the part of the king. Stephen invested him with the temporalities of the see, but the archbishop of Canterbury, Theobald, hesitated to consecrate him, and the parties carried their case to Rome; where the objectors relied chiefly on the charge of intrusion into the see. Pope Innocent decided that the election might be regarded as valid provided the dean of York, also called William, should appear before a court to be held by Henry of Blois, who was bishop of Winchester and papal legate, and there swear that the chapter had received no mandate from the king.
   Dean William, who just at this time was made bishop of Durham, did not take that oath—it is possible that he could not without committing perjury. But in consequence of another papal letter, whose origins are uncertain and not altogether above suspicion, William Fitzherbert was able to satisfy Henry of Winchester, who duly consecrated him, and the clergy and people of York warmly welcomed him. He governed his diocese well; promoting peace so far as in him lay. But his opponents had abated none of their energy; and William, through, says a chronicler, his easy-goingness and tendency to procrastination, made a mistake that played into their hands. He failed to make arrangements for receiving the pallium that Pope Lucius II had sent by the hands of his legate, Cardinal Imar of Tusculum. Lucius died while the pallium was yet unconferred, and Imar took it back to Rome. To sue for it William was obliged to go again to Rome, selling or pledging some of the treasures of York to pay his expenses.
   But the new pope, Eugenius III, was a Cistercian and completely under the influence of St Bernard of Clairvaux, who had all along vigorously supported the cause of William’s opponents. Though the majority of the cardinals were in his favour, William was suspended on the ground that the bishop of Durham had not taken the oath prescribed by Innocent II. Thereupon the archbishop retired to the hospitality of his relative King Roger of Sicily. But his supporters in England, directly the news of the papal decision reached York, made an attack on Fountains Abbey, of which Henry Murdac, formerly a monk with Pope Eugenius, was abbot, and burnt its farms; they also seized and mutilated Archdeacon Walter. This criminality still further prejudiced William’s cause, and in 1147 the pope deposed him. Soon after Henry Murdac was nominated to be archbishop of York in his stead.
   Upon his return to England William took refuge with his uncle, Henry of Winchester, who treated him with honour but the deposed prelate was chastened by his misfortunes; he now shunned the luxury to which he had been accustomed, and elected to lead a penitential and austere life in the cathedral monastery. He remained thus in Winchester for six years, when in 1153 Pope Eugenius, St Bernard and Murdac all died within three months of one another: whereupon William went to Rome to plead for the restoration of his see with Pope Anastasius IV.  The new pontiff granted his petition, and conferred the pallium on him before he returned home.
   St William re-entered York in May 1154 amid popular demonstrations of joy. Under the weight of the crowds gathered to welcome him, the wooden bridge over the Ouse broke down, throwing many into the river. The rescue of these unfortunates, not one of whom sustained injury, was attributed by the citizens to the prayers of their restored archbishop. William showed no resentment towards his adversaries and almost at once visited Fountains Abbey, to which he promised restitution for the damage it had received from his violent relatives. But he did not live to carry out his projects for the benefit of his province. A month after his return to York he was taken with violent pain after celebrating a solemn Mass, and within a few days, on June 8, he was dead. The new archdeacon of York, Osbert, was haled before the king’s court on a charge of having poisoned the archbishop. The case was removed to the Holy See, but there is no record of any judgement having been given: the guilt or innocence of Osbert remains uncertain.
St William’s body was in 1284 translated from a chapel of the cathedral to the nave, in the presence of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor; but though the relics escaped destruction at the time of the Reformation and appear to have been preserved until the eighteenth century, they have now disappeared. His chief memorial in his cathedral is the great window which was put up in 1421 and is one of York’s three celebrated “walls of glass”; in its many lights there are depicted scenes from William’s life and miracles, supplemented by a few which properly belong to St John of Beverley and St John of Bridlington. Pope Honorius III canonized St William in 1227, after inquiry into the many wonders reported to have taken place at his tomb, and his feast is still observed in the dioceses of the north of England.

See John of Hexham’s continuation of Symeon of Durham’s Historic Regum and William of Newburgh’s Historia Regum (both in the Rolls Series) the “Narratio fundationis” in Memorials of Fountains, vol. i (ed. J. Walbran, 1863) Walter Daniel’s Life of St Aelred (ed. F. M. Powicke, 1950) and St Bernard’s letters in Migne, PL, vols. clxxxii—clxxxv. An anonymous Life of St William, jejune and mostly untrustworthy, is printed in J. Raine’s Historians of the Church of York, vol. ii. Among modern accounts, see that of T. F. Tout in DNB., vol. xix ; more recent are those of R. L. Poole in the English Historical Review, 1930, pp. 273—281, and D. Knowles in the Cambridge Historical Journal,1936, pp. 162—177 and 212—214 (bibliography and notes). It is curious that a thirteenth-century calendar painted on the wails of the church of Quattro Coronati at Rome the name of St William of York occurs on February 4.
1156 Blessed Walto of Wessobrünn his goodness and ability to work miracles OSB, Abbot (AC)
(also known as Balto)
Walto, abbot of Wessobrünn in Bavaria, attracted many friends and benefactors to the abbey because of his goodness and ability to work miracles (Benedictines, Encyclopedia)
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1157 St. William of Maleval Hermit carefree years of licentious military life experienced conversion of heart  gift of working miracles and of prophecy
A native of France, he led a dissolute early and maritial life but underwent a conversion through a pilgrimage to Rome, where he was forced to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (at the command of Pope Eugenius Ill, r. 1145-1153). Upon his return, he lived as a hermit and then became head of a monastery near Pisa. As he failed to bring about serious reforms among the monks there or on Monte Pruno (Bruno), he departed and once more took up the life of a hermit near Siena. Attracting a group of followers, the hermits received papal sanction. They later developed into the Hermits of St. William (the Gulielmites) until absorbed into the Augustinian Canons. In his later years, William was noted for his gifts of prophecy and miracles.

William of Maleval, OSB Hermit (RM) (also known as William of Malval or Malvalla) Born in France; died at Maleval, Italy, February 10, 1157; canonized by Innocent III in 1202. After carefree years of licentious military life, William experienced a conversion of heart of which we are told nothing. The first real piece of information we have is that the penitent Frenchman made a pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles at Rome. Here he begged Pope Eugenius III for pardon and to set him on a course of penance for his sins. Eugenius enjoined him to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1145. William followed his counsel and spent eight years on the journey, returning to Italy a changed man.

In 1153, William became a hermit in on the isle of Lupocavio (near Pisa) in Tuscany for a time. So many joined his until he was prevailed upon to undertake the governance. He wasn't well suited to lead other men. First he failed to maintain discipline at the abbey. Unable to bear the tepidity and irregularity of his monks, he withdrew to Monte Bruno. But same thing happened when he organized the disciples who had gathered around him into his own abbey on Monte Bruno .

Finally, in September 1155, he realized this was not God's plan for him and he embraced the eremitical life amid the solitude of Maleval (then called the Stable of Rhodes) near Siena. At Maleval he lived in an underground cave until the lord of Buriano discovered him some months later and built him a cell. For the first four months, William had only the beasts for company and only forage for food.

The example of his life soon attracted another of like mind. On the Feast of the Epiphany 1156, he was joined by a companion named Albert, who lived with him the rest of his life--only 13 months-- and recorded William's vita. Like most of the early hermits, William used extreme penances to atone for his earlier sinful life. He slept on the bare ground, ate sparingly of only the coarsest fare, and drank only limited amounts of water. Prayer, contemplation, and manual labor employed all his waking moments. William had the gift of working miracles and of prophecy.

Shortly before William's death, which he predicted, he and Albert were joined by a physician named Rinaldo. The two disciples buried William in his little garden, and together studied to live according to William's maxims and example. Later their number increased and they built a chapel over their founder's grave with a hermitage; however his relics were dispersed in the wars between Siena and Grosseto.

This was the origin of the Gulielmites, or Hermits of Saint William, which spread throughout Italy, France, Flanders, and Germany. Gregory IX, mitigating their austerities, gave the Rule of Saint Benedict to the group organized as the Order of Bare- Footed Friars, but they were eventually absorbed by the Augustinian hermits except for 12 houses in the Low Countries.

William is honored in the new Paris Missal and Breviary, where his feast is kept at the Abbey of Blancs-Manteaux, founded in 1257 as a mendicant order, called the Servants of the Virgin Mary, but bestowed on the Gulielmites after the second council of Lyons in 1297 (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth).

In art, William of Maleval is similar to William of Aquitaine but with no ducal coronet. He carries a pilgrim's staff and sometimes wears a monastic habit over armor. At times he may be shown (1) bearing a cross staff, one arm of which ends in a crescent, or (2) bearing a shield with four fleur-de-lys (Roeder). He is the patron of armorers and venerated in Siena, Italy (Roeder), and Paris (Husenbeth) .
1158 Blessed Milo of Selincourt abbot of Donmartin in 1123 and bishop of Thérouanne;  miracles reported at his tomb in 1131 one of the ablest opponents of Gilbert de la Porrée, O. Praem. (PC)
During the second quarter of the twelfth century north-western Europe saw a revival of religion centring round the monasteries established by St Norbert at Prémontré and other places, spreading thence over France, Germany and the Netherlands, and to England and elsewhere.  Milo of Sélincourt, who for some years lived as a hermit with several others at Saint-Josse-au-Bois in the Pas-de-Calais, felt himself called to the common life ; he therefore offered his little group to the Premonstratensians, they were accepted, and in 1123 he was advanced to the government of the monastery, being instituted by St Norbert himself.  He held office for eight years, discharging it in perfect accordance with the constitutions of his order, dividing his time between the worship of God in choir and active work for souls.   In 1131 he was appointed bishop of Thérouanne, and his first episcopal act was to give the canonical benediction to Simon, the new abbot of the famous monastery of Saint-Bertin at Saint-Omer.  As befitted a canon regular Bd Milo insisted on the strictest discipline in his diocese, and he was quick to check any infringement of a bishop's prerogative : one Arnoul built a castle at Thérouanne which Milo saw as a threat to the independent position of the bishop and a menace to his people's peace-so he made him pull it down.  Milo also showed himself very critical of the Cluniac monks, for which he was rebuked by Bd Peter the Venerable.  Nevertheless he is said to have been personally a humble man.
   In the controversy about the teaching of Gilbert de Ia Porrée, Milo ranged himself on the side of St Bernard (they were also personal friends) and vigorously supported his attack; he appeared against Gilbert before Pope Eugenius III at the Council of Rheims in 1148.
  The English pope, Adrian IV, appointed Milo to be his delegate in 1157 to judge a dispute between the bishop of Amiens and the abbot of Corbie.  Cardinal Baronius highly praised the goodness and learning of Milo, but it is not decided which of the works attributed to him are authentic. Peter Cantor, a contemporary, in his Verbum Abbieviatum quotes a sermon said to be his in which the following passage occurs:
   "It is not decent that Christian women should trail at their heels long skirts which pick up filth off the roadway.  Surely you realize, dear ladies, that if a gown of this kind were necessary to you, Nature would have met the case by attaching to you something more suitable with which to sweep the ground."
  See Corblet, Hagiographie d'Amiens, vol. iii, pp. 254-277; Le Paige, Bibliotheca Praemonstratensis, pp. 459 Seq. ; Goovaerts, Dictionnaire bio-bibliographique, vol. i, pp. 590 seq.
The title  "Blessed "seems to have been accorded to Milo chiefly on account of the miracles reported at his tomb.
1159 Robert of Newminster described as "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgment," studied in Paris OSB Cist. Abbot (RM) Miracles were reported at his tomb
Born at Gargrave, Yorkshire, England, in 1100; died at Newminster in 1159.
1159 ST ROBERT, ABBOT OF NEWMINSTER
GARGRAVE, in the Craven district of Yorkshire, was the birthplace of St Robert, and the name by which he is known to us comes not from his native town but from the abbey over which he ruled. Ordained to the priesthood, he ministered for a time as rector of Gargrave and then took the Benedictine habit at Whitby. Afterwards he obtained his abbot's permission to join a band of monks from St Mary's abbey, York, who, with the sanction of Archbishop Thurston and on land granted by him, proposed to revive the strict Benedictine rule. Making a beginning in the depth of winter under conditions of extreme poverty, they had settled in the desert valley of Skeldale, and founded the celebrated monastery which was known as Fountains Abbey on account of certain springs within its precincts. At their own request the monks were affiliated to the Cistercian reform, and Fountains became one of the most fervent houses of the order. The spirit of holy joy pervaded their life of devotional exercises, alternating with hard manual work. Pre-eminent amongst them stood St Robert by reason of his sanctity, his austerity, and the sweetness of his disposition. "He was modest of demeanour", says the Fountains Chronicle, "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgement and exemplary in his holy conversation."
Ralph de Merly, lord of Morpeth, who visited the abbey five years after its foundation, in 1138, was so impressed by the brethren that he decided to build a Cistercian monastery on his own territory. To people the house, which became known as the abbey of Newminster, he obtained from Fountains twelve monks over whom St Robert was appointed abbot. He retained that office until his death and made the abbey so flourishing that he was able to establish a second house at Pipewell in Northamptonshire in 1143, and two others later on at Sawley and Roche.
A great man of prayer, Robert wrote a commentary on the psalms, which has not survived. He was endowed with supernatural gifts and had power over evil spirits. A story illustrates his spirit of mortification. He fasted so rigorously during Lent that when Easter came one year he had entirely lost his appetite. "Oh, father! why will you not eat?" asked the refectory brother in distress. "I think I could eat some buttered oatcake", replied the abbot. But when it was brought he was afraid of yielding to what he regarded as greediness, and ordered the food to be given to the poor. A beautiful young stranger at the gate received it and then disappeared-dish and all. When the brother was relating the loss of the platter, the dish suddenly reappeared on the table in front of the abbot. The stranger, it was believed, must surely have been an angel. We are told that St Robert in his youth had studied at Paris, and there is record of a second journey of his across the seas when, being slandered by some of his monks, upon some false report of maladministration of his abbey, he went to St Bernard to give an account of himself; but Bernard knew his man and decided that no defence was needed to meet the charge which had been made. This visit must have taken place in 1147 or 1148, for Robert had an interview with Pope Eugenius III before he returned. The abbot of Newminster often visited the hermit St Godric, to whom he was much attached, and the night St Robert died his friend saw his soul ascending to Heaven like a ball of fire. This was on June 7, 1159. His feast is kept in the diocese of Hexham.
The account, borrowed from Capgrave's Nova Legenda Angliae, which the Bollandists printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. ii, is itself a summary of a longer life preserved in Lansdowne MS. 436, at the British Museum. Dalgairns, when compiling a life of St Robert for the series of English Saints edited by Newman, used this manuscript, and was able to add details to pre-existing accounts. The manuscript was printed, with notes by Fr P. Grosjean, in Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lvi (1938), pp. 334-360. For a summary, see W. Williams in the Downside Review, vol. lvii (1939), pp. 137-149.
Saint Robert, described as "gentle in companionship, merciful in judgment," studied in Paris and wrote a commentary--since lost--on the Psalms. After being ordained and serving as a parish priest in his native place, he was made rector of Gargrave. He then became a Benedictine at Whitby and joined a band of monks from Saint Mary's Abbey, York, to establish a monastery in which the strict Benedictine Rule would be revived. They settled, in the middle of winter in 1132, in the valley of Skeldale on land given to them by Archbishop Thurston.

The monastery became known at Fountains Abbey due to the presence of springs within its borders. The group became affiliated with the Cistercian reform, and the house became famous for the holiness and austerity of its members and its way of life. Robert was one of its most devout monks. The abbey became one of the centers of the White Monks in north England.

Impressed by the establishment, Ralph de Merly, Lord of Morpeth, built a Cistercian monastery on his own land, the Abbey of Newminster. In 1137 he brought 12 monks from Fountains Abbey and appointed Robert abbot. The monastery flourished under Robert's rule, and he established a house at Pipewell in Northamptonshire in 1143, one at Sawley and another at Roche in the West Riding.

He is said to have had supernatural gifts, and visions and encounters with demons have been attributed to him. He fasted so rigorously during Lent that a brother asked him in concern why he would not eat. He responded that he might eat some buttered oatcake, but once it was placed before him, fearing gluttony, he asked that it be given to the poor. A beautiful stranger at the gate took it--and the dish. While a brother was explaining the loss, the dish suddenly appeared on the table before the abbot. It was thought that the stranger was an angel.

Robert travelled to France again to see Saint Bernard, after he was slandered by some monks about his relations with a pious woman. Saint Bernard appears to have decided that the accusations were false. As a symbol of his belief in Robert's innocence, he gave him a girdle, which was kept at Newminster for performing cures.
 Before he returned home, Robert had an interview with Pope Eugenius III, who asked the bishop of Durham to give Robert some land at Wolsingham. Robert frequently visited his close friend the hermit Saint Godric. The night Robert died, Godric is said to have seen his soul ascending to Heaven like a ball of fire.


His relics were translated to the church at Newminster. Miracles were reported at his tomb, including one in which a monk is said to have fallen unhurt from a ladder while whitewashing the dormitory. His tomb became a center of pilgrimage. He is depicted in art holding a church (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White).
1160 St. Raynerius Hermit and Benedictine monk led a dissolute life until undergo­ing a conversion after pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Returning home, he entered the Benedictine abbey of St. Andrew at Pisa where he lived as a conventual oblate;  His great reputation is primarily due to the numerous cures which were worked by him during his life and after his death. From the use he made of holy water in his miracles of healing he received the nickname of De Aqua,
Born in Pisa, Italy, he led a dissolute life until undergo­ing a conversion after pilgrimages to Jerusalem. Returning home, he entered the Benedictine abbey of St. Andrew at Pisa where he lived as a conventual oblate. He died at the Pisan abbey of San Vito. Raynerius was credited with various miracles during his lifetime, earn­ing the name “de Aqua” for his use of holy water in healing.
ST RAINERIUS OF PISA (A.D. 1160)
THE relics of the saint who is Pisa's principal patron lie in the chapel of St Rainerius, or Raniero, at the end of the south transept of the cathedral, and eight scenes from his life and some of his miracles are amongst the celebrated fourteenth-century frescoes which adorn the walls of the ancient Campo Santo. His life was written soon after his death by Canon Benincasa, a personal friend who regarded himself as a disciple. Rainerius, sprung from a good Pisan family, frittered away his early manhood in frivolity and dissipation. Through the influence of an aunt or cousin, however, he came into contact with Alberto Leccapecore, a religious from the monastery of San Vito, who made him realize the error of his ways. So over- whelming was his penitence for his sinful life that he refused to eat, and wept unceasingly-to the scornful amusement of his former associates and to the distress of his parents, who thought he was going out of his mind. At the end of three days he could weep no longer: he was blind. His mother was in despair, but God restored sight to his body, besides enlightening his soul.
Business as a merchant soon afterwards took him to Palestine, and as he followed in the footsteps of our Lord his spiritual life developed. Then one day he seemed to see his jewelled money-pouch filled, not with coins, but with pitch and sulphur. It suddenly caught fire and he was unable to extinguish the flames until he had sprinkled it with water from a vessel which he found himself holding in his hand. The meaning of the vision was explained by a voice which said: "The purse is your body: fire, pitch and sulphur are inordinate desires which water alone can wash away." He had purged himself from past sin by penitential tears, but from that time forth he redoubled his austerities, going barefoot and begging his way, and was rewarded with the gift of miracles. We read that on the road to Mount Tabor he tamed wild beasts by making the sign of the cross, that he multiplied the bread a charitable woman was distributing to the poor, and that he wrought many other wonders.
Upon his return to Pisa Rainerius made his home for a time with the canons of Santa Maria. Afterwards, though he never joined an order, he lived a more or less cloistered life, first in the abbey of St Andrew, and later in the monastery of St Vitus, where he died in 1160. Because he seems sometimes to have preached, it has been inferred that he must have received holy orders, but this is doubtful. His great reputation is primarily due to the numerous cures which were worked by him during his life and after his death. From the use he made of holy water in his miracles of healing he received the nickname of De Aqua, and his name was inserted in the Roman Martyrology by Cardinal Baronius.
The long biography of Rainerius, much of it taken up with miracles attributed to him before and after his death, seems really to have been compiled by a contemporary. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. iv. The devotion of the people of Pisa to St Rainerius is attested by the considerable number of books which have been printed there to do him honour. See particularly G. M. Sanminiatelli, Vita di St Ranieri first published in 1704, but followed by other editions; and G. Sainati, Vita di S. Ranieri Scacceri (1890).
1160 Bl. Waltheof Cistercian abbot undaunted cheerfulness humility, simplicity, and kindness unbounded generosity incorrupt Many miracles recorded during lifetime Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to feasts of Christmas, Passiontide, Easter, visions of heaven and hell.
also known as Walthen and Waldef.
The son of Simon, earl of Huntingdon, England, he was born circa 1100, and was raised at the court ofthe Scottish king after his mother, Maud, wed King David I of Scotland (r. 1124-1153) following the death ofher first husband. While at court, Waltheof came under the influence of St. Aelred, who was master of the royal household. Drawn toward the religious life, he entered the Augustinian Canons in Yorkshire and was elected abbot of Kirkham after a vision of the Christ Child.
Waltheof desired a more austere life and so joined the Cistercians at Wardon, Bedfordshire, and then became abbot of Melrose which had been rebuilt recently by his stepfather. In later years, he declined the office of archbishop of St. Andrews. He was renowned for his immense charity to the poor, personal holiness, and deep austerity.

Waltheof of Melrose, OSB Cist. Abbot (AC) (also known as Waldef, Walden, Wallevus, Walène, Walthen) Died August 3, c. 1160. Waltheof was the grandson of the Northumbrian patriot Saint Waldef, and the second son of Earl Simon of Huntingdon and Matilda (Maud), daughter of Judith, the niece of William the Conqueror. During their childhood, his elder brother Simon loved to build castles and play at soldiers, but Waltheof's passion was to build churches and monasteries of wood and stones. When grown up, Simon inherited his father's martial disposition as well as his title; but Waltheof had a strong inclination toward the religious life, and was mild and peace-loving.
When their father died, King Henry I gave their mother in marriage to King Saint David of Scotland. Waltheof followed his mother to the Scottish court, where he became an intimate friend of Saint Aelred, who was master of the royal household at that time.

Soon Waltheof decided to enter religious life. He left Scotland, and, about 1130, professed himself an Augustinian canon regular at Nostell, near Pontefract in Yorkshire. He was soon chosen prior of the recently founded Kirkham (1134) in the same country, and, realizing the obligations he now had to work for the sanctification of others as well as himself, he redoubled his austerity and regularity of observance.
In 1140, Waltheof was chosen by the canons of York to succeed Thurstan as archbishop, but King Stephen quashed the election because of Waltheof's known Scottish sympathies.

Waltheof, impressed by the life and vigor of the Cistercian monks, became anxious to join them. At first he tried to unite his community en bloc with that of Rievaulx, but met with opposition. Naturally he was encouraged by the advice of his friend Aelred, then abbot of Rievaulx, and accordingly he took the habit at Wardon (Waldron) in Bedfordshire.

Perhaps because one of his own traits was undaunted cheerfulness, Waltheof found Cistercian life excessively severe. The canons also put obstacles in his way. But he persevered as a Cistercian and moved to Rievaulx, where Aelred had been elected abbot in 1148. Only four years after profession, Waltheof was chosen abbot of Melrose in 1149, recently founded on the banks of the Tweed by King David.

He had succeeded a man of ungovernable temper, so his sweetness must have been a shock for his brothers. He won their love and respect through humility, simplicity, and kindness. Like Saint Mayeul of Cluny, he preferred to be damned for excessive mercy rather than for excessive justice. With the help of King David, he also founded monasteries at Cultram and Kinross.

Whenever he fell into the smallest failing by inadvertence, Waltheof immediately made his confession, a practice of perfection which the confessors found rather trying, as one of them admitted to Jordan, the saint's biographer. In 1154 (or 1159), Waltheof was chosen archbishop of Saint Andrew's; but he prevailed upon Aelred to oppose the election and not to oblige him to accept it.

Upon his death, this saint of unbounded generosity to the poor was buried in the chapter house at Melrose. In 1207, his body was found to be incorrupt and was translated. When it was again translated in 1240, it was corrupted. Waltheof was never formally canonized but a popular cultus continued until the time of the Reformation.

Many miracles were recorded of Saint Waltheof during his lifetime. He had Eucharistic visions of Christ in the form appropriate to the feasts of Christmas, Passiontide, and Easter, and visions of heaven and hell. He multiplied food and had the gift of healing (Benedictines, Farmer, Walsh).
1160 St. Henry of Sweden an Englishman Bishop of Uppsala residing at Rome miracles at tomb
 Item sancti Canúti, Regis et Mártyris.       Also St. Canute, king and martyr.
 of the twelfth century. In 1152, he was consecrated Bishop of Uppsala, Sweden, by the Papal Legate Nicholas Breakspear, who later became Pope Adrian IV. In 1154, St. Eric, King of Sweden, led a punitive expedition against the Finns in retaliation for their marauding activity into Sweden, and Henry accompanied him. Eric offered peace and the Christian Faith to the people of Finland, but they refused. A battle ensued and the Swedes won.  Henry baptized the defeated people in the Spring of Kuppis near Turku. When Eric returned to Sweden, Henry remained behind, working to convert more of the Finns. To this end he built a church at Nousis, which became his headquarters. In time, Henry met a violent death on account of his love of God. A converted Finnish soldier named Lalli had murdered a Swedish soldier. After careful consideration of the facts and assiduous prayer, Henry imposed the penalty of excommunication on the murderer. Lalli became enraged and slew the saintly bishop with an ax. Henry was buried at Nousis, and miracles were reported at his tomb.

Ancient See of Upsala Catholic Encyclopedia
When St. Ansgar, the Apostle of the North, went to Sweden in 829 the Swedes were still heathen and the country contained many sacrificial groves and temples for the worship of idols. One of the most celebrated of the latter was the temple at Upsala in what is now called Old Upsala, the centre of idolatrous worship not only for Sweden but for all Scandinavia. Even after Christianity had spread through Sweden, heathen sacrifices were still maintained at Upsala. The "Bishops' Chronicle", written by Adam of Bremen in the years 1072-76, says, "The Swedes have a well-known heathen temple called Upsala", and adds, "Every ninth year, moreover, a great feast is celebrated at Upsala, which is observed in common by all the provinces of Sweden. None is permitted to avoid participation in the feast...More horrible than any punishment is that even those who have become Christians must purchase exemption from participation in the feast...The sacrifices are made thus: Nine heads are offered for every living creature of the male sex. By the blood of these the gods are appeased. The bodies are hung up in a grove not far from the temple. Dogs and horses may be seen hanging close by human beings; a Christian told me he had seen seventy-two bodies hanging together."

An episcopal see was established at Old Upsala. One of the bishops was St. Henry, who took part in the Crusade to Finland led by St. Eric and suffered martyrdom there in 1157. The bishops of Sweden were first suffragans of the Archdiocese of Hamburg-Bremen, of which see St. Ansgar was archbishop when he died. Afterwards the Swedish bishops were suffragans of the Archbishop of Lund, Primate of Scandinavia. In 1152 Cardinal Nicholas of Albano, later Pope Adrian IV, visited Sweden and held a provincial synod at Linköping. He had been commissioned to establish an independent Church province in Sweden, but the matter was deferred, as the Swedes could not agree upon the see of the archbishop.

However, in 1164, Pope Alexander III established a separate ecclesiastical province of Sweden with the see at Upsala. The suffragans were the Bishops of Skara, Linköping, Strengnäs, and Westerås; at a later date the dioceses of Wexiö and Åbo in Finland were added. The first Archbishop of Upsala was Stephen, a Cistercian monk from the celebrated monastery of Alwastra. Cardinal William of Sabina came as papal legate to Sweden during the archiepiscopate of Jarler, a Dominican monk (1235-55). The legate had been commissioned, among other things, to establish cathedral chapters wherever such were lacking, and to grant them the exclusive right of electing the bishops. Another important matter which the legate had been ordered to carry out was the enforcement of the law of clerical celibacy. At a provincial synod held at Skenninge in 1248 under the presidency of the cardinal, the rules as to celibacy were made more severe. The pious and energetic Archbishop Jarler and his successor Laurentius (1257-67), a Franciscan, constantly strove to elevate the clergy and to enforce the law of celibacy. A century later the great saint of Sweden, St Bridget (d. 1373), laboured zealously for the enforcement of the same law.

A new era arose in the history of the archdiocese when Archbishop Folke (1274-77) transferred the see from Old Upsala to Aros, a town near by on the Fyris which was given the name of Upsala. This change was approved by the pope, the king, and the bishops. The relics of the national saint, St. Eric, were also transferred to the new see. The cathedral of Upsala, the most important church of Sweden and the largest in Scandinavia, was built by the French architect Etienne de Bonnuille in 1287. It was a masterpiece of the Gothic style, and is a monument of what Catholic art and Catholic self-sacrifice were able to create under the leadership of zealous archbishops and prelates. The labours of the archbishops extended in all directions. Some were zealous pastors of their flocks, such as Jarler and others; some were distinguished canonists, such as Birger Gregerson (1367-83) and Olof Larsson (1435-8); others were statesmen, such as Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstjerna (d. 1467), or capable administrators, such as Jacob Ulfsson Örnfot, who was distinguished as a prince of the Church, royal councillor, patron of art and learning, founder of the University of Upsala, and an efficient helper in the introduction of printing into Sweden. He died in the Carthusian monastery of Mariefred (Mary's Peace) in 1522. There were also scholars, such as Johannes Magnus (d. 1544), who wrote the "Historia de omnibus gothorum sueonumque regibus" and the "Historia metropolitanæ ecclesiæ upsaliensis", and his brother Olaus Magnus (d. 1588), who wrote the "Historia de gentibus septentrionalibus" and who was the last Archbishop of Upsala.

The archbishops and secular clergy found active co-workers among the regulars. Among the orders represented in Sweden were the Benedictines, Cistercians, Dominicans, Franciscans, Brigittines (with the mother-house at Wadstena), Carthusians, etc. The monks not only laboured in things spiritual, but were also the teachers of the people in agriculture and gardening. Still greater credit is due the members of the orders, both men and women, for their services in the intellectual training of the people of Sweden. A Swedish Protestant investigator, Carl Silfverstolpe, writes: "The monks were almost the sole bond of union in the Middle Ages between the civilization of the north and that of southern Europe, and it can be claimed that the active relations between our monasteries and those in southern lands were the arteries through which the higher civilization reached our country." The beneficial labours of the Catholic Church were forgotten in the stormy days of the Reformation, but in the present era they have been once more recognized by more dispassionate investigators. Dr. Claes Annerstedt, the historian of the University of Upsala, says: "One of the finest results of modern research is that the highly important labours of the Roman Church have received proper recognition by the exhibition of its services in the preservation and spread of civilization."
1160 St. Mechtildis nun and Benedictine abbess  mystical gifts and miracles.
1160 ST MECHTILDIS OF EDELSTETTEN, VIRGIN
THIS Mechtildis was only five years old when she was placed by her parents, Count Berthold of Andechs and his wife Sophia, in the double monastery they had founded on their own estate at Diessen, on the Ammersec in Bavaria. Trained by the nuns, Mechtildis grew up a devout and exemplary maiden, much given to prayer and austerities. Her one weakness in youth was a somewhat quick temper which occasionally betrayed her into hasty speech, but over this she obtained complete control. Indeed, in later life she was remarkable for her silence, and it was said of her by the Cistercian monk Engelhard that on the rare occasions when she opened her lips to speak her words were as those of an angel. After she had received the habit, she made still further advance along the path of perfection. Upon the death of the superior, she was elected abbess, in which capacity she raised the whole community to a high pitch of virtue. This she effected far more by her example than by the strictness of her rule.
So highly was she esteemed by the Bishop of Augsburg that he requested her to undertake the charge of the convent of Edelstetten which stood in great need of reform. Mechtildis shrank from the task: she was only twenty-eight, and felt incapable of coping with the difficulties of the situation. Nevertheless, in compliance with an injunction from Pope Anastasius IV, who reminded her that obedience is better than sacrifice, she allowed herself to be installed abbess of Edelstetten. At first she was well received, for her youth and noble rank commended her to her new daughters. But when she proceeded to enforce the rule, to insist upon enclosure and generally to tighten the reins of discipline she met with opposition. It finally became necessary for the bishop to order the expulsion of the chief malcontents. The rest of the nuns were won over by the holy life of their superior, enhanced as it was by the extraordinary gifts and graces which, from this period onwards, became manifest to all.  She healed the sick, restored speech to the dumb, and the sight of an eye to one of the nuns. Very often she was rapt in ecstasies which lasted for a long period. Her fame spread far and wide, and the Emperor Frederick I was proud to claim her as a kinswoman. Shortly before her death she had a premonition that her end was near; she thereupon laid down her office and returned to Diessen, where she died on May 31, 1160.

Her life, written in some detail by Engelhard, abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Langheim (c. A.D. 1200), is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, May, vol. vii. See also Rader, Bavaria Sancta, vol. i, pp. 241—244. This Mechtildis is, of course, to be carefully distin­guished from St Mechtildis of Hackeborn, younger sister of Abbess Gertrude of Helfta. Even Canon Chevalier, in the references he enumerates in his Bio-bibliographie, has occasionally confused them.

She was the daughter of Count Berthold of Andechs, in modem Bavaria, Germany. The count and his wife, Sophia, founded a monastery on their es­tate at Diessen, Bavaria, and placed Mechtildis there at the age of five. She became a Benedictine nun, and then abbess. In 1153 the bishop of Augsburg placed her in charge of Edelstetten Abbey. Mechtildis was revered for her mystical gifts and miracles. She died at Diessen on May 31.


Mechtildis of Edelstetten, OSB Abbess V (AC) (also known as Mechtildis of Diessen)  Born at Andechs, Bavaria, in 1125; died at Diessen on the Ammersee, Bavaria, May 31, 1160. At the age of five Mechtildis, the daughter of Count Berthold of Andechs and his wife Sophia, and sister of Blessed Euphemia, was given into the care of the double monastery of Diessen in Bavaria, which they had founded. Her education by the sisters helped her to grow into a pious maiden of prayer and austerity. The Cistercian monk, Engelhard, tells us that she rarely spoke, but when she did her words were jewels. She stayed at the convent, received the habit, and eventually was elected abbess.
The bishop of Augsburg, who highly esteemed her, requested that she take charge of the convent of Edelstetten, which was in need of reform. Mechtildis knew that at the age of 28, she was incapable of handling the situation with her own powers. With the Holy Spirit's help, however, all things are possible. When Pope Anastasius IV enjoined her to meet the challenge, she allowed herself to be installed as abbess. At first the young, noblewoman was well received, but when she began to enforce the rule, she met opposition. The bishop came to her assistance and expelled the worst malcontents.

The rest of the sisters were won over by the holy life of their superior, enhanced as it was by the extraordinary gifts and graces which became evident to all. She healed the sick, restored speech to the dumb, and sight to one of the nuns. Often she was rapt in ecstasy for hours. Her fame spread. Emperor Frederick I (Barbarossa) was proud to claim her as a kinswoman. Having a premonition of her own death, Mechtildis resigned from her office and returned to Diessen, where she died (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Walsh).
1164 St. Elizabeth of Schonau Benedictine abbess gifted mystic known for ecstasies, prophecies, and diabolical visitations visions in 3 books
Schonáugiæ, in Germánia, sanctæ Elísabeth Vírginis, ob monásticæ vitæ observántiam célebris.
    At Schongau in Germany, St. Elizabeth, virgin, celebrated for her observance of the monastic life.

She had her first vision in 1152 and was known for ecstasies, prophecies, and diabolical visitations. She became abbess in 1157.  Her cult was never formalized, but she is listed as a saint in the Roman Martyrology. Her brother, Ethbert, a Benedictine abbot, wrote her biography and recorded her visions in three books.
Elizabeth of Schönau, OSB V (RM) Born 1130; died June 18, 1164.

1164 St Elizabeth Of Schönau, Virgin
Three German monasteries have borne the name of Schönau: one, a community of Cistercian monks near Heidelberg; another, a nunnery in Franconia; and the third, a double house of Benedictines not far from Bonn, built by Hildelin, who became its first abbot in 1125. Into the great nunnery of Hildelin’s foundation, Elizabeth, a girl of humble extraction, entered at the age of twelve. Some six years later, in 1147, she was professed. She threw herself fervently into the religious activities of the convent, and, though suffering from continual ill-health, wore a hair-shirt, girded herself with an iron chain, and practised other austerities. “The lowliest of His poor”  she says of herself in one of her books, “I thank God that from the moment I entered the order until this hour, His hand has pressed down upon me so persistently that I have never ceased to feel His arrows in my body.”

From her twenty-third year onwards she was subject to extraordinary supernatural manifestations, celestial visions, and diabolic persecutions. In a letter addressed to her friend St Hildegard, Elizabeth describes how an angel had told her to pro­claim a series of judgements that would fall on the people unless they did penance, and how, because she had delayed obeying him, he had beaten her so severely with a whip that she had been ill for three days!

At a later date, when some of her prophecies had failed in their fulfilment, the angel informed her that penance had actually averted the impending doom. For a time she was assailed by terrible temptations, and worried by the sudden appear­ance in her cell and elsewhere of demons habited as monks or priests, who mocked, mimicked and threatened her. Once she saw the devil as a black bull, presently metamorphosed into a black fire, from the midst of which there emerged a herd of loathsome goats. But this period of trial was the prelude to great consolations and heavenly visitations. On Sundays and festivals in particular she would fall into ecstasies during the saying of the Office or at Mass. In this condition she would receive, as she believed, admonitions and messages from an angel, or from the saint whose feast was then being kept. She visualized these celestial visitors so distinctly that she could afterwards describe in detail their appearance and attire. Scenes from the passion, resurrection and ascension of our Lord presented themselves similarly as though enacted before her bodily eyes. She recorded some of her visions on wax tablets which, at the bidding of Abbot Hildelin, she sent to her brother Egbert, a canon of Bonn, who subsequently took the habit at Schönau and succeeded Hildelin as abbot. These notes, supplemented by her oral explanations, Egbert embodied in three books of her visions, which he published with a preface of his own and a chronological list of her chief religious experiences.

The first book is written in simple language, such as Elizabeth herself might have used; but the others are more sophisticated in terminology and in thought, evincing at times a theological training more suggestive of Egbert than of his sister. This is even more evidently the case with another of her works, viz. The Book of the Ways of God, written, apparently, in imitation of the Scivias of St Hildegard. It sets forth stern warnings addressed to various classes of clergy and laymen, and in its advocacy of the antipope “Victor IV”, whom Egbert’s friends supported, and in the terms of its denunciation of the Cathari and of its invectives against worldly prelates and unfaithful priests, it clearly reveals the mind and the hand of Egbert.

The last of Elizabeth’s books, as well as the most famous, was her con­tribution to the Ursuline Legend. It has a curious history. Excavations, which had been made on several occasions since the beginning of the twelfth century in a certain district of Cologne, had resulted in the discovery of a great number of human bones. The place came to be known as the “Ager Ursulinus “, and the remains were thought to be those of St Ursula’s eleven thousand virgins. Mingled with the rest, however, were the skeletons of men, and a number of tablets—now known to have been forgeries—ostensibly bearing names of the supposed martyrs. Gerlac, abbot of Jieutz, who had assisted in translating the alleged relics of St Ursula in 1142, and who had spent nine years searching for the remains of her companions, addressed himself to Egbert in the hope that Elizabeth, through her visions, might be able to throw light on the problem thus presented.

Under strong pressure from her brother, as it would appear, she evolved an elaboration of the already fantastic story of St Ursula, into which she introduced a Pope Cyriacus, who never existed, and all the newly discovered “martyrs”. That this extravagant romance, entirely at variance with easily verifiable historical facts, should have gained immediate and widespread acceptance throws a rather sinister light upon the credulity of the age; though, on the other hand, it is proof of the esteem in which Elizabeth was held.

She must actually have been a woman of judgement in the affairs of daily life, or she could scarcely have held, as she did, the post of superioress during the last seven years of her life. Her office was second only to that of the abbot, who ruled the double community. She died on June 18, 1164, in her thirty-eighth year. Confusion between the abbeys at Schönau afterwards led to her being regarded as a Cistercian, and entered as such by Molanus in 1568 in a new edition of Usuard.

From Molanus her name was transferred in 1584 to the Roman Martyrology, where it still stands, without any reference to her writings. Elizabeth has never been formally canonized or beatified, and widely divergent views have been entertained as to the nature of her visions. All critics, however, admit that Elizabeth herself, her brother, and those who knew them best, were firmly convinced that they came to her from on high.

What we know of the life of Elizabeth is mainly derived from a memoir which her brother Egbert prefixed to the collection of her visions. This biographical matter, with a letter also of Egbert’s, is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. iv, and elsewhere. The best edition of the visions and the writings which bear her name is that of F. W. E. Roth (1884). Roth also printed in i886 a copy of what he called the “Prayerbook” (Gebetbuch) of Eliza­beth; on this, cf. Omont, in vol. xxxviii (1905) of Notices et Extraits des MSS. de la Bib. Nationale. The Ursula visions are also printed in the Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. viii (pp. 165—173). See further, Nebe in the Annalen of the Nassau Verein f. Alt, etc., vol. viii (i866), pp. 157—292; Preger, Deutsche Mystik, vol. i, pp. 37—43; and L. Oliger, who in vol. (1926) of Antonianum has shown that certain revelations attributed by Montalembert to St Elizabeth of Hungary are really taken from the writings of Elizabeth of Schönau. A popular but quite uncritical life with a selection of her visions was brought out by J. Ibach, Das Leben der hi. Jungfrau Elizabeth von Schönau (1898). See, also, P. Schmitz, in the Revue Bénédictine, vol. xlvii (1935), pp. 181—183; and Analecta Bollandiana, vol. lxxi (1953), pp. 494—496, where two important studies on false ascriptions are reviewed.
Mysticism was a phenomenon that found expression in the mid-11th century. It is an endeavor to reach a knowledge of and union with God directly and "experimentally." The mystic renounces his senses and the images they offer of God. This is the "Negative road" that begins by recognizing the complete "Otherness" of God. The pseudo- Dionysius wrote On the Divine Names , which influenced this movement in the Middle Ages.  It is characterized by abnormal psychic states which culminate in ecstasy. Such states are sanctified when perfectly united with God and the whole personality is fully free. As a rule, mystics exhibit extraordinary self-knowledge, which leads to an ever more passionate love of God and His Son. Mystical life in no way need conflict with a married, intellectual, or active life, although many mystics, like Elizabeth were professed religious.

Elizabeth of Schönau entered the great Black Benedictine double monastery at Schönau (16 miles northeast of Bonn, Germany) at age 11 or 12. She was professed in 1147, and shortly thereafter, she began to experience clairvoyance. This was the origin of her experiences, but she distinguishes them from her later ones.

In 1157, Elizabeth became abbess of Schönau and a friend of Saint Hildegard. In a letter to Hildegard, Elizabeth describes how an angel had told her to proclaim a series of judgements that would fall on the world unless they did penance, and how, because she delayed obeying him, he had beaten her so severely with a whip that she had been ill for three days! At a later time, when some prophecies had failed in their fulfillment, the angel informed her that penance had actually averted the impending doom. She was assailed with terrible temptations, but prayed against them.

She would often fall into ecstasies while saying the Divine Office or at Mass on Sundays and on feast days. At the prompting of the abbey's founder, Abbot Hildelin, she recorded some of her visions on wax tablets, which were sent to her brother, canon Egbert, in Bonn. Later he took the habit at Schönau and succeeded Hildelin as abbot in the same Benedictine monastery. He wrote her vita and three books of her visions using the tablets she wrote, supplemented by her oral explanations.

The first book seems to be the simple language that Elizabeth might have used herself, but the others are more sophisticated--probably written by Egbert. The last and most famous book dealt with her vision of Saint Ursula. This was the result of pressure placed on her brother by Bishop Gerlac of Deutz, who had assisted in the translation of the supposed relics of Saint Ursula and her 11,000 virgins after searching nine years for them. Under strong pressure from her brother, Elizabeth evolved an elaboration of the already fantastic story of Ursula. She even introduced into it a Pope Cyriacus, who never existed.

Elizabeth "saw" the whole of Our Lord's life and that of various saints, but had to describe it in terms of which she had "real" knowledge. We need to discriminate between gift as given and the way in which it is described by the recipient--some may be part of the imagination without basis in historical fact. For example, inculpably, Elizabeth contributed to the further elaboration of the mythical legend of Saint Ursula. She knew when she had been in ecstasy, which was different than being "near" ecstasy. She described her visions in moral and allegorical rather than mystical terms. Like most medieval mystics, she was practical, and believed in her smallness before God. This is the "heart of the mystical life--the self, as such, is nothing; it needs to be wholly filled and activated by God" (Attwater, Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Martindale, Walsh).
1170 St. Wivina Benedictine abbess built a convent many miracles of healing took place at her tomb

Little is related of the life of St Wivina that is not common to many other holy nuns of the middle ages. She was a Fleming, well brought up, and by the time she was fifteen had made up her mind to “leave the world” and her father’s house. She was, however, sought in marriage by a number of suitors—foremost among whom was a young nobleman named Richard, who had the approval of her parents. This young man was very much in love with her, and when she made it clear to him that she would accept no earthly husband he took it so hardly that he became ill and his life even was in danger. Feeling herself responsible for his unhappy state, Wivina prayed and fasted for him until he was restored to health, as it were miraculously.
   When she was twenty-three she left her father’s house secretly, taking only a psalter with her, and with one companion made a hermitage of branches in a wood near Brussels, at a place called Grand-Bigard. Here her solitude was much disturbed by people who came from the city to see her out of curiosity.

   Count Godfrey of Brabant offered her the land and an endowment wherewith to build a monastery on it, which she gladly accepted. She put herself and her community under the direction of the abbot of Afflighem, a monastery near Alost (it is still in being) which at that time, according to the testimony of St Bernard, was peopled by angels rather than men.

Under such auspices the nunnery of Grand-Bigard prospered, though not without grave difficulties for the abbess; some of her subjects found her lacking in discretion, especially in the matter of austerities, and did not keep their opinions to themselves. St Wivina pointed out to them that they were being led away by Satan, but it required a miracle to persuade them that their abbess was in the right.
   After her death the abbey became a place of pilgrimage, and many miracles of healing took place at her tomb. The relics of St Wivina are now in Notre-Dame-du-Sablon at Brussels.

There is a legendary account of her which has been printed by the Bollandists in the volume Anecdota .J. Gielemans (1895), pp. 57—79. Her psalter, written in the early twelfth century, is still preserved at Orbais in Brabant. See also Van Ballaer, Officium cum Missa (1903).

also called Vivina. A native of Oisy, Flanders, Belgium. she was adamant in refusing all offers of marriage until the age of twenty-three when she became a hermitess at GrandBigard, near Brussels. After gathering disciples, she accepted the offer of land from Count Godfrey of Brabant and built a convent over which she served as first abbess.
1173 HAZRAT KHWAJA QUTBUDDIN BAKHTIYAR KAKI, r.a. 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.]
We gratefully acknowledge and thank The Imam Ahmed Raza Academy for permission to reprint this article
Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. was born in 569 A.H. [1173 C.E.] in a town called "Aush" or Awash in Mawar-un-Nahar (Transoxania). Khwaja Qutbuddin's r.a. original name was "Bakhtiyar" but his title was "Qutbuddin". The name "Kaki" to his name was attributed to him by virtue of a miracle that emanated from him at a later stage of his life in Delhi.
He also belonged to the direct lineage of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.s., descending from Hazrat Imam Hussain r.a.. Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Khaki r.a. was one and half years old when his father passed away.
His mother arranged for him very good education and training.

When Hazrat Khwaja Mu'inuddin Chishti r.a. went to Isfahan, 40 days before his demise, he took oath of allegiance at his hands and received the Khilafat and Khirqah (Sufi cloak) from him. Thus, he was the first spiritual successor of Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaz, Khwaja Mu'inuddin Chishti r.a.
Thereafter, his spiritual master asked him to go to India and stay there. 

When Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. intended to kiss the feet of his Pir-o-Murshid and seek his permission to depart, Hazrat Khwaja Sahib understood it and asked him to be nearer, and when Khwaja Bakhtiyar r.a. stepped up and fell at his Pir’s feet, Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a. raised him up and embraced him affectionately. A Fateha was then recited and Khwaja Mu’inuddin r.a. advised his Murid: “Never turn your face from the right path of Sufism and Truth. Prove yourself to be a brave man in this Divine Mission.”  When he again fell at the feet of Khwaja Mu'inuddin r.a. overwhelmed with love and grief at this tragic hour of parting, he was again raised and embraced affectionately by his Pir-o-Murshid. Following this order, he went to Delhi and stayed there.
It was the period of Sultan Shamsuddin Iltutmish.

Hardly twenty days had passed when news was brought by a messenger that Hazrat Khwaja Gharib Nawaaz r.a. disappeared into the eternal Divine bliss of the Almighty Allah.

Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. used to offer 95 Rakats of Salah [sections of prayer] during the 24 hours of day and night, along with 3000 Durud Sharifs [a part of prayer] every night upon the soul of the Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. During the first 3 nights of his first marriage, he could not maintain the Durud Sharif. The Holy Prophet s.a.w.s. sent a visionary message to a pious person named Rais Ahmed, asking Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. the reasons for his not reciting the Durud Sharif.
Hazrat Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. divorced his wife forthwith as a mark of repentance and thereafter broke off all worldly ties and devoted his full time to the devotion of Almighty Allah and the Holy Prophet s.a.w.s.

It is narrated that in the early stages of his life, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. would take a nap, but in the last part of his life he kept awake all the time. He had also committed the Quran to memory and used to recite and finish it twice daily.
Whenever anything came to his Khanqah, he quickly distributed these to the poor and needy. If there were nothing, he would request his attendants and mureeds to distribute plain water as a humble token of his hospitality.
Sheikh Nur Bux has written in his book entitled"Silsila tuz'zah": "Bakhtiyar Aushi was a great devotee, mystic and friend of Allah. In private and public he was indulged in the remembrance of Allah. He was habituated to eat little, sleep little and speak little. He was a towering personality in the world of mysticism."
He had no parallel in abandoning the world and suffering poverty and hunger. He kept himself engrossed in the remembrance of Allah. Whenever someone came to him he would come back to his senses after a while and was then able to talk with him. After a very brief exchange he would show his inability to continue any longer and slipped into the same state of absorption once again.
Once Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin r.a. was coming back with his relatives and disciples after offering Eid Salah [Eid prayers] that he, all on a sudden, halted at a place in silence. After a while his relatives submitted: "Today is the Eid day. Many people would be awaiting his arrival.” Having heard this Hazrat Khwaja r.a. came out of his lost state and uttered, “From this piece of land I have the smell of the perfect men.”
Thereafter, he came home and after the meal was over, he asked the people to call the owner of the land to him. When the owner came to him, he purchased that piece of land from him.
Later, Hazrat Bakhtiyar r.a. was buried in the same soil.
Death also came to him in an unusual manner. It is stated that once in an assembly of Sama [religious music] he happened to hear a verse of Hazrat Ahmad Jam with the meaning:
"Those who are killed with the dagger of surrender and pleasure get a new life from the Unseen."

Hazrat Khwaja Bakhtiyar Kaki r.a. was so much absorbed in and inspired with this verse that from that day on he kept on reciting it in a state of unconsciousness and gave his life in the same state. He remained in this state of Wajd for 3 consecutive days and expired on the 4th day. He passed away on the 14th of Rabi-ul-Awwal 633 A.H.
On account of his extraordinary death, Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kak ir.a. is known as "Shahid-e-Mohabbat" or Martyr of Allah's Love.

The Mazaar Sharif [noble tomb] of Hazrat Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhityar Kaki r.a. lies near Qutb Minar at old Delhi, India.
He also enjoys the following titles in Sufi world: Qutub-ul-Aqtaab, Malik-ul-Mashaa'ikh, Rais-us-Saalikin, Siraj-ul-Auliya, etc.
1175 St. Helen of Skovde Widow; gave all her possessions to the poor; Like Jesus, the innocent Lamb, St. Helen was put to death; many miracles were reported at her tomb,
Born in Vastergotland, Sweden, in the twelfth century. She belonged to a noble family. However, after the death of her husband, she gave all her possessions to the poor. Following this, Helen made a pilgrimage to Rome. When she returned home, she found herself accused of involvement in the death of her son-in-law. It was later proved that the deed had been perpetrated by mistreated servants, but by that time, Helen had been executed. Following Helen's death, many miracles were reported at her tomb, and public devotion to her was approved in 1164, just four years after her death. Like Jesus, the innocent Lamb, St. Helen was put to death. Her goodness was preserved through the manifestation of God's power at her tomb.
Although we may be suspect but innocent here in this life, God will provide sure justice hereafter.
Helen of Skövde (Sköfde), Widow M (AC) Died c. 1145-1160; canonized in 1164 by Alexander III. Saint Sigfrid, apostle of Sweden, brought the noble matron Helen of Vastergötland to the faith. When she was widowed at a youthful age, she dedicated her wealth to the service of the poor and the Church. Thereafter, Helen made a pilgrimage to Rome (or the Holy Land), and upon her return she was murdered as the result of a family feud--her son-in-law's relatives believed that she had plotted to kill him. Helen was buried at Skövde in the church which she had built and was canonized on the strength of the miracles that occurred there. Until the Reformation, Saint Helen was highly honored in Sweden and on the isle of Zeeland in Denmark, which claimed some of her relics. Her body was richly enshrined in a church dedicated to her eight miles from Copenhagen. There a miraculous well, called Saint Lene Kild or Saint Helen's Well, still draws even Lutherans.
Helen is regarded as the patroness of Vastergötland and, by some, of all Sweden (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Husenbeth).
1175  St. Peter of Tarantaise (not Pope Innocent V) Cistercian archbishop; reformer purging clergy of corrupt & immoral members, aiding poor, promoting education, Trusted advisor by popes and kings; The author of his life, who was his constant companion at this period, testifies to numerous miracles which he wrought, mainly in curing the sick and multiplying provisions in time of famine.
In monastério Bellæ Vallis, in território Bisuntíno, sancti Petri, qui ex Mónacho Cisterciénsi factus est Tarentasiénsis in Sabáudia Epíscopus.
    In the monastery of Bella Vallis, in the diocese of Besançon, St. Peter, Cistercian monk, who was made bishop of Tarantaise in Savoy.
1175 ST PETER, ARCHBISHOP OF TARENTAISE
ST PETER of Tarentaise, one of the glories of the Cistercian Order, was born near Vienne in the French province of the Dauphiné. He early displayed a remarkable memory, coupled with a great inclination for religious studies, and at the age of twenty he entered the abbey of Bonnevaux. With great zeal he embraced the austerities of the rule, edifying all who came into contact with him by his charity, his humility and his modesty. After a time, his father and the other two sons followed Peter to Bonnevaux, whilst his mother, with the only daughter, entered a neighbouring Cistercian nunnery. Besides these members of his own humble family, men of high rank were led by the example of Peter to become monks at Bonnevaux.
He was not quite thirty when he was chosen superior of a new house built at Tamié, in the desert mountains of Tarentaise. It overlooked the pass which was then the chief route from Geneva to Savoy, and the monks were able to be of great use to travellers. There, with the help of Amadeus III, Count of Savoy, who held him in high esteem, he founded a hospice for the sick and for strangers, in which he was wont to wait upon his guests with his own hands.
In 1142 came his election to the archbishopric of Tarentaise, and Peter was compelled by St Bernard and the general chapter of his order, though much against the grain, to accept the office. He found the diocese in a deplorable state, due mainly to mismanagement of his predecessor, an unworthy man who had eventually to be deposed. Parish churches were in the hands of laymen, the poor were neglected, and the clergy, who ought to have stemmed the general tide of iniquity, too often promoted irregularity by their evil example. In place of the cathedral clergy whom he found lax and careless, St Peter substituted canons regular of St Augustine, and he soon made his chapter a model of good order. He undertook the constant visitation of his diocese; recovered property which had been alienated; appointed good priests to various parishes; made excellent foundations for the education of the young and the relief of the poor; and everywhere provided for the due celebration of the services of the Church. The author of his life, who was his constant companion at this period, testifies to numerous miracles which he wrought, mainly in curing the sick and multiplying provisions in time of famine.
Apprehension at finding himself honoured as a wonder-worker, and the natural longing of a monk for solitude, turned his mind back to the cloister and in 1155, after he had administered the diocese for thirteen years, Peter suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Actually he had made his way to a remote Cistercian abbey in Switzerland, where, being yet unknown, he was accepted as a lay-brother. Great was the dismay throughout the diocese of Tarentaise when the departure of the archbishop became known, and diligent was the search made for him throughout the religious houses of the neighbouring provinces. Not until a year later was he discovered. His identity having been revealed to his new superiors, Peter was obliged to leave and to return to his see, where he was greeted with great joy. He took up his duties more zealously than ever. The poor were ever his first consideration: twice in bitterly cold weather he gave away his own habit at the risk of his life. He rebuilt the hospice of the Little St Bernard and founded other similar refuges for travellers in the Alps. He also inaugurated a practice, kept up until the French Revolution—and even a little after—of making a free distribution of bread and soup during, the months preceding the harvest, when food was scarce in many parts of his hilly diocese. The dole came to be called “May bread”. All his life he continued to dress and to live like a Cistercian, replacing manual labour by the spiritual functions of his office.
Essentially a man of peace, St Peter had a singular gift for allaying seemingly implacable enmities and on several occasions averted bloodshed by reconciling contending parties. His chief political efforts, however, were directed to supporting the cause of the true pope, Alexander III, against the pretensions of the antipope, Victor, who had behind him the redoubtable Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. At one time, indeed, it seemed as though the archbishop of Tarentaise was the only subject of the empire who dared openly to oppose the pretender, but it soon became apparent that he carried with him the whole of the great Cistercian Order. To establish the claims of the true pontiff, St Peter preached in Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy and many parts of Italy, the effect of his words being enhanced by miracles of healing. He also spoke out fearlessly in various councils and even in the presence of the emperor himself, who was so far impressed by his sanctity and courage as to permit in him a freedom of speech he would endure from no one else.
It was not granted to the saint to die amongst his mountain flock. His reputation as a peacemaker led Alexander III to send him in 1174 to try to effect a reconciliation between King Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. St Peter, though he was old, set out at once, preaching everywhere on his way. As he approached Chaumont in the Vexin, where the French court was being held, he was met by King Louis and by Prince Henry, the rebellious heir to the English throne. The latter, alighting from his horse to receive the archbishop’s blessing, asked for the saint’s old cloak, which he reverently kissed. Both at Chaumont and at Gisors where he interviewed the English king, St Peter was treated with utmost honour, but the reconciliation for which he laboured did not take place until after his death. As he was returning to his diocese he was taken ill on the road near Besançon, and died as he was being carried into the abbey of Bellevaux. This St Peter was canonized in 1191.
Our most copious and trustworthy source of information is the life written by the Cis­tercian, Geoffrey of Auxerre, Abbot of Hautecombe, in response to the request of Pope Lucius III. It is printed in the Acta Sanctorum, and we know that it was completed before 1185, that is, within ten years of the death of the saint. But there are besides this many references to St Peter in the correspondence, chronicles and hagiographical literature of the time. Even a man like Walter Map, who was prone to write of the Cistercians with the utmost bitterness, speaks with reverence of St Peter of Tarentaise. See The Life of St Hugh of Lincoln (Quarterly Series), pp. 625—626, and in the same work an account of the relations between St Hugh, the Carthusian, and his Cistercian brother bishop (pp. 60—64, etc.). Consult further Le Couteulx, Annales Ordinis Cartusiensis, vol. ii passim; G. Muller, Leben des hl. Petrus von Tarentaise (1892); and the biographies in French by Dom M. A. Dimier (1935) and H. Brultey (1945).

Peter was born
1102
near Vienne, in Dauphine, France, and joined the Cistercian Order at Bonneveaux at the age of twenty with his two brothers and father. Known for his piety, at age thirty he was sent to serve as the first abbot of Tamie, in the Tarantaise Mountains, between Geneva and Savoy. There he built a hospice for travelers. In 1142, he was named the archbishop of Tarantaise against his wishes, and he devoted much energy to reforming the diocese, purging the clergy of corrupt and immoral members, aiding the poor, and promoting education.
He is also credited with starting the custom of distributing bread and soup the so called May Bread just before the harvest; a custom which endured throughout France until the French Revolution. After thirteen years as bishop, Peter suddenly disappeared. Eventually he was discovered serving as a lay brother in a Cistercian abbey in Switzerland and was convinced to return to Tarantaise and resume his episcopal duties.
Trusted as an advisor by popes and kings, he defended papal rights in France and was called upon to assist in bringing about a reconciliation between King Louis VII of France and then Prince Henry II of England. Peter was canonized in 1191. He should not be confused with Peter of Tarantaise, who became Pope Innocent V.

Peter of Tarentaise, OSB Cist. B (RM) Born at Saint-Maurice (near Vienne), Dauphiné, France, 1102; died at Bellevaux, 1175; canonized in 1191. First, it should be noted that there are two saints named Peter of Tarentaise: today's bishop and one who became known as Pope Innocent V (born c. 1225).

Few bishops have both been so successful as Peter of Tarentaise and so unwilling to take up the office. His one true desire was to be a Cistercian monk. He had entered a Cistercian monastery at Bonnevaux when he was 20 (12 according to some sources), persuading his parents and brothers and sister to follow him into the religious life. Before he was 30, he was chosen to be abbot of a new Cistercian house at Tamié in the desolate Tarentaise hills, overlooking the pass which was the chief route from Geneva to Savoy.  Here he was entirely happy. He struck up a fruitful friendship with Count Amadeus III of Savoy. Together they built a hospital for the sick--a place which also served as a guest house for strangers passing over the Little Saint Bernard mountain pass. Peter like nothing better than to join in conversation with those staying in this hospital, humbly waiting upon his guests with his own hands.
But in 1142, he was elected archbishop of Tarentaise. Saint Bernard and the general chapter of his order compelled Peter to accept the office.

The whole Cistercian order decided that whatever the saint wished, they must accept. Peter's predecessor had been so incompetent and lax that he had been deposed. The diocese was in complete disorder. Reluctantly Peter set about its renovation, refusing to let his personal feelings hamper the work. Only once did he give way.  He replaced the lax and careless cathedral clergy with canons regular of the Order of Saint Augustine. He regularly visited his entire diocese; recovered property that had been alienated; appointed good priests to parishes; arranged for the education of the young; made foundations to serve the poor; and made it possible to appropriately celebrate the rites of the church everywhere. The author of his vita, who was his constant companion throughout his episcopacy, recounts many miracles wrought by Saint Peter, including physical healings and the multiplication of provisions during famines.

After 13 years as archbishop, he ran off and secretly offered himself as a lay member of a Cistercian house in a remote area of Switzerland. Of course, he was found concealing himself under the guise of a novice lay brother, but not until a year had elapsed. The reluctant archbishop was forced to return to his see by his new superiors. He was greeted with joy at his homecoming. Again, he set to work with a will, founding travellers' refuges on the Alpine passes. He also endowed a charity for the free distribution of soup and bread for the hill-farmers during the lean spring months; this came to be known as pain de mai, May-bread, and continued until the French Revolution.
Peter was not completely happy outside a monastery. He often visited the Grande Chartreuse, where he was attended by a young monk later to be known as Saint Hugh of Lincoln.

Uncompromisingly Peter supported the true pope, Alexander III, against his false rivals--even though the antipope Victor was supported by no less than the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Though it seemed that he was the only subject who dared to openly oppose the pretender, Saint Peter preached in Alsace, Lorraine, Burgundy, and parts of Italy in an attempt to establish the claims of the true pontiff. He spoke out fearlessly in various councils and even in the presence of the emperor himself, who was so impressed by his sanctity and courage that he permitted him to speak freely.

Such an honest man could be trusted to intercede between the warring kings of England and France. In 1174, Pope Alexander III requested that he meet with King Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. Though he was old, he set out at once and stopped to preach everywhere en route. He met both sovereigns near Chaumont in the Vexin, where the French court was being held, but did not succeed in reconciling them.
On returning to Tarentaise from this mission of peace, he became ill near Besançon and died as he was being carried into the abbey of Bellevaux (Attwater, Benedictines, Bentley, Delaney, Walsh).
   1178 St. Anthelm Carthusian monk and bishop defender of papal authority.
Bellícii, in Gállia, sancti Anthélmi, qui ex majóris Carthúsiæ Prióre, factus est ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopus.
    At Belley in France, St. Anthelmus, prior of the Grande Chartreuse, who became bishop of that city.
Anthelm was born in 1107 in a castle near Chambery, in Savoy, France. He was ordained a priest and visited the Carthusian Charterhouse at Portes, where he entered the Order at the age of thirty. Two years later, in 1139, he was appointed abbot of Le Grande Chartreuse, which had been damaged. Anthelm made the monastery a worthy motherhouse of the Carthusians, constructing a defensive wall and an aqueduct. As minister-general, Anthelm also united the various charterhouses of the Order. Rules were standardized, and women were given the opportunity to enter the Carthusians in their own charterhouses.
After a few years as a hermit, starting in 1152, Anthelm returned to Le Grande Chartreuse and defended Pope Alexander III against the antipope Victor IV. In 1163, the pope appointed him as bishop of Belley, France. Anthelm reformed the clergy and regulated affairs, going as far as to excommunicate a local noble, Count Humbert of Maurienne, who had taken one priest captive and murdered another priest trying to free him. When Humbert appealed to Rome and won a reversal, Anthelm left Belley in protest. Pope Alexander then sent Anthelm to England to mediate the dispute between Henry II and St. Thomas Becket. Anthelm was unable to undertake that journey. He returned to Belley to care for the poor and for the local lepers. On his deathbed, Anthelm received a penitent Count Humbert. Anthelm died on June 26, 1178. His feast has been celebrated by the Carthusians since 1607. His relics were enshrined in Belley. In liturgical art, Anthelm is depicted with a lamp lit by a divine hand .
Anthelm(us) of Belley, O. Cart. B (RM)
Born near Chambéry, Savoy, France, 1107; died June 26, 1178. Bishop Anthelm of Belley was a nobleman born in the castle of Chignin. He became a priest early in life, but after visiting the tranquil Carthusian monastery of Portes, decided to become a monk and joined the Carthusians about 1137.  He eventually was elected as the 7th abbot of the Grande Chartreuse in 1139. Anthelm was responsible for guiding the Carthusians to evolve into a religious order separate from the Benedictine. Charter houses had previously been separate and independent, subject only to local bishops. Not only did he revitalize the order, he also restored the physical facilities of the Charterhouse. He summoned the first general chapter, and Grande Chartreuse became the motherhouse. Anthelm commissioned Blessed John the Spaniard to draw up a constitution for a community of women who wished to live under Carthusian rule. He resigned his abbacy in 1152 to live as a hermit but was made prior of Portes. During this time (1154-56) he ordered the bounty that had accumulated as a result of the monastery's prosperity to be distributed to those in need. He returned to Grande Chartreuse, still wishing to live a solitary life, but then he actively entered the conflict over the nomination of Pope Alexander III, whom he supported, against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa's choice, Victor IV. With the Cistercian abbot Geoffrey, Anthelm galvanized support for Pope Alexander III, who then nominated him to the see of Belley in 1163. There he set out to reform the clergy, a particular concern being that of celibacy, because some priests practiced while being openly married. He also punished evil-doers. So much did Anthelm endear himself to the people that, after his death, the city was renamed Athelmopolis.
When Count Humbert III of Maurienne violated the Church's jurisdiction over the clergy by imprisoning a priest, Anthelm sent a clergyman to handle the matter. After the priest was killed in a scuffle to rearrest him, Anthelm excommunicated the count. The pope invalidated the ban, but Anthelm would not relent and returned to Portes in protest. Relations between the pope and Anthelm remained open, however. He was asked by the pope to go to England to try to bring about a reconciliation between King Henry II and Saint Thomas a Becket, but unfortunately was unable to travel.  Anthelm established a community for women solitaries. To the end of his life, his heart was in his beloved Charterhouse, which he visited on every possible occasion. The good bishop spent his last years tending to the lepers and the poor. He was distributing food in a famine when he was felled by fever. As Anthelm lay dying, he was visited by Humbert who sought his forgiveness. Miracles are said to have occurred at his tomb, one being that, as he was lowered into the tomb, a lamp lit only for great festivals kindled spontaneously (Benedictines, Delaney, White).
In art, Saint Anthelm, with a miter at his feet, is a Carthusian with a lamp over him lit by a celestial hand. At times Saint Peter may point out to him the place in the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or there may be a nobleman under his feet (Roeder).
 St Anthelm, Bishop Of Belley  is justly regarded as one of the greatest ecclesiastics of his age on account of the services he rendered to the Church as bishop of Belley, as minister general of the Carthusian Order at a critical stage of its development, and as an outstanding supporter of the true pope against a pretender backed by all the forces of the emperor. He was born in 1107 at the castle of Chignin, six miles from Chambéry. He was a high-principled young priest, hospitable and generous, but interested primarily in the things of this world. However, he had relatives among the Carthusians, and visits to the monastery of Portes completely changed his outlook. What he saw of the life of the community and what he learnt from the prior brought home to him a sense of his true vocation, and he accordingly abandoned the world to assume the habit of St Bruno about 1137. Before he had completed his novitiate he was sent to the Grande Chartreuse, which had recently lost the greater part of its buildings through the fall of an avalanche; and Anthelm did much by his example and business-like qualities to revive the fervor and restore the prosperity of the monastery. After the resignation of Hugh I in 1139, he was elected seventh prior of the Grande Chartreuse.
He made it his first care to repair the ruined buildings, which he then encircled by a wall. He brought water through an aqueduct and renewed the farm premises and sheepfolds, and all the time he was enforcing the rule in its primitive simplicity, and had the satisfaction of seeing his efforts crowned with success. Until his time all the charterhouses had been independent of one another, each one being subject only to the bishop. He was responsible for summoning the first general chapter. By it the Grande Chartreuse was constituted the motherhouse, and he became, in fact if not in name, the first minister general of the order.
    It is not surprising that his reputation for sanctity and wisdom brought him many recruits; amongst those who received the habit at his hands were his own father, one of his brothers, and William, Count of Nivernais, who became a lay- brother. It was St Anthelm, too, who commissioned Blessed John the Spaniard to draw up a constitution for a community of women who wished to live under Carthusian rule.
    After governing the Grande Chartreuse for twelve years he succeeded in 1152, to his great satisfaction, in resigning an office he had never desired. He was not allowed to remain long, however, in the seclusion of a solitary cell. Old age had compelled Bernard, the founder and first prior of Portes, to lay down his charge, and at his request Anthelm was appointed his successor. 
 The toil of the monks had brought great prosperity to the monastery, whose treasury and barns were full to overflowing. Such superfluity the new prior regarded as incompatible with evangelical poverty, and in view of the scarcity that prevailed in the surrounding countryside he ordered free distribution to be made to all who were in need. He even sold some of the ornaments of the church to provide alms. Two years later he returned to the Grande Chartreuse to live for a while the contemplative life of a simple monk, but it was then that there came to him the first call to deal with ecclesiastical matters outside the order.

    In 1159 western Christendom was split into two camps, the one favoring the claims of the true pope, Alexander III, the other supporting the antipope “Victor IV , who was the nominee of the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Anthelm threw himself into the fray in conjunction with Geoffrey, the learned Cistercian abbot of  Hautecombe. They succeeded in recruiting their own brethren and the religious of other communities, who declared for Alexander and organized his cause in France, in Spain, and even in England. Partly no doubt in recognition of these services, Pope Alexander listened to an appeal made to him regarding the vacant see of Belley, to set aside the selected candidates and to nominate Anthelm. In vain did the Carthusian entreat—even with tears—to be excused: the pope was insistent, and Anthelm was obliged to consent. He was consecrated on September 8, 1163.
   There was much in his diocese that called for reform, and he set to work with characteristic thoroughness. In his first synod he made an impassioned appeal to his clergy to live up to their high calling; the observance of clerical celibacy had largely fallen into abeyance and not a few priests openly lived as married men. At first the bishop used only persuasion and warnings, but after two years, finding that his injunctions were still being disregarded in certain quarters, he made an example of the worst offenders by depriving them of their benefices.
   He was equally firm in dealing with disorder and oppression among the laity: no previous bishop of Belley had ever been so fearless or so uncompromising. When Humbert III, Count of Maurienne, violating the Church’s right of jurisdiction over her clergy, imprisoned a priest accused of misdemeanor, Anthelm sent a prelate to free the prisoner. The priest was killed in the scuffle that followed Humbert’s attempt to rearrest him, and the threatened excommunication was pronounced. Not even at the pope’s bidding would Anthelm relent; and when he learnt that Alexander III, with whom the count was somewhat of a favorite, had himself raised the ban, he retired to Portes, indignantly protesting that the pope was acting ultra vires,
for St Peter himself would not have power to release the impenitent from censure.
   He was persuaded with difficulty to return to his diocese—but he could not be persuaded to admit Humbert to communion. Nevertheless, his relations with Rome remained so excellent that he was soon chosen for a mission as legate to England, to attempt to bring about a reconciliation between Henry II and St Thomas Becket; but circumstances prevented him from going.
   More remarkable still was the favor shown him by his former opponent, the emperor. But neither honors from the heads of church and state, nor yet the pastoral duties he so adequately fulfilled, could wean his heart from his community or lead him to live otherwise than in Carthusian simplicity. Any leisure time he could secure was spent at the Grande Chartreuse and the houses of his order. Two other institutions were especially dear to him: the one was a community of women solitaries at a place called Bons, the other a leper house where he loved to tend the sufferers with his own hands. Advancing age in no way affected his activities, and he was busily engaged in making a distribution of food during a famine when he was seized with the fever that was to prove fatal. As he lay dying he had the satisfaction of receiving a visit from Count Humbert who had come to beg his forgiveness and to promise amendment. St Anthelm passed away on June 26, 1178, at the age of seventy-two. St Hugh of Lincoln in the last year of his life, returning from a final visit to the Grande Chartreuse, passed through Belley and there venerated the earthly remains of his old friend Anthelm, who was already famous for the miracles wrought at his shrine.
 The Bollandists, in the Acta Sanctorum, June, vol. vii, have printed a life of St Anthelm, written apparently by a contemporary, a copy of which they obtained from the Grande Chartreuse. The virtues and activities of Anthelm are discussed also in much detail in the Annales Ordinis Cartusiensis, compiled by Dom Le Couteulx, vols. i and ii; as well as in Le Vasseur, Ephemerides Ordinis Cartusiensis, vol. iii, pp. 375—406. A very full and satisfactory life of the saint is available in French : Vie de St Anthelme, by the Abbé C. Marchal (1878). Consult further DHG., vol. iii, cc. 523—525.
  1178 BD PONTIUS OF FAUCIGNY, ABBOT small pieces of bone, said to have been the occasion of miracles.
  IN the year 1896 Pope Leo XIII confirmed the cultus of this holy abbot; he had been greatly venerated by St Francis de Sales, who opened his tomb in 1620 to examine the relics and took away several small pieces of bone, which are said to have been the occasion of miracles. Pontius belonged to a noble Savoyard family, and at twenty became a canon regular at the abbey of Abondance in Chablais. He was entrusted with the revision of the constitutions of his house and the foundation in 1144 of a new monastery at Sixt, of which he was made abbot. After ruling it with great distinction for twenty-eight years he went to fulfil the same office at Abondance, but relinquished it soon after and died a holy death in retirement at Sixt.
    Not much reliable information seems to be available regarding this abbot. Jean de Passier published in 1666 La vie du bx
   Ponce de Faucigny, but ancient records were then little studied. See, however, Mercier, “L’abbaye et la vallée d’Abondance” in the Mémoires et documents de l’Académje salésienne, vol. viii (1885), pp. 1—308, and DHG., vol. i, cc. 147 and 151. The best attempt to trace the career of Bd Pontius is that of Canon L. Albert, Le bx Ponce de Faucigny (1903).
1179 St. Hildegarde visions and prophecies called Scivias
     Hildegarde at Bockelheim, Germany, in 1098. Afflicted with fragile health as a child, she was placed in the care of her aunt, Blessed Jutta, who lived as a recluse. Jutta eventually formed a community of nuns, and Hildegarde joined the group, becoming prioress of the house when Jutta died in 1136. Hildegarde moved the community to Rupertsburg, near Bingen on the Rhine, and she established still another convent at Eibengen around the year 1165, overcoming great opposition on many occasions.
   Hildegarde was known for visions and prophecies, which at her spiritual directors request, she recorded. They were set down in a work called Scivias {written between 1141 and 1151, relating twenty six of her visions} and approved by the archbishop of Mainz and Pope Eugenius III at the recommendation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux.

    Living in a turbulent age, Hildegarde put her talents to work in the quest for obtaining true justice and peace. She corresponded with four popes, two emperors, King Henry II of England, and famous clergy. Her pronouncements attracted the fancy of the populace-drawing down upon her both acclaim and disparagement. Hildegarde wrote on many subjects. Her works included commentaries on the Gospels, the Athanasian Creed, and the Rule of St. Benedict as well as Lives of the Saints and a medical work on the well-being of the body. She is regarded as one of the greatest figures of the 12th century the first of the great German mystics as well as a poet, a physician, and a prophetess. She has been compared to Dante and to William Blake. This remarkable woman of God died on September 17, 1179. Miracles were reported at her death, and she was proclaimed as a Saint by the multitudes.
She was never formally canonized, but her name was inserted in the Roman Martyrology in the fifteenth century.
1180 St. Lawrence O'Toole Augustinian archbishop of Dublin 1172 convened a synod at Cashel General Lateran Council in Rome in 1179 unbounded charity Corpus on the Crucifix before the kneeling prelate spoke papal legate many miracles were reported at his tomb fought against King Henry II
Ireland. He was born at Leinster, the Son of Murtagh, chief of the Murrays, in Castledermot, Kildare. Taken hostage by King Dermot McMurrogh of Leinster in a raid, Lawrence was surrendered to the bishop of Glendalough. Lawrence became a monk, and in 1161 was named archbishop of Dublin. He was involved in negotiating with the English following their invasion of Ireland, and in 1172 convened a synod at Cashel. He also attended the General Lateran Council in Rome in 1179, and was named papal legate to Ireland. While on a mission to King Henry II of England, Lawrence died at Eu, Normandy, France. He was canonized in 1225.
Laurence O'Toole, OSA B (RM) (also known as Lorcan O'Tuathail) Born at Castledermot, Kildare, Ireland, 1128; died at Eu, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1180; canonized 1225 by Pope Honorius III.
   Born Lorcan O'Tuathail (or ua Tuathail), his mother was an O'Byrne and his father Murtagh O'Tuathail, a Leinster chieftain of the Murrays--both sides were of princely stock. In the 2nd century, the Celt Tuathail was one of the great Irish kings. Another of the line reigned in 533. One of the seven churches of Glendalough served as the burial site for many generations of O'Tuathails.
   When Lorcan was born his family had been ousted from their ancient throne and Dermot MacMurrough was the representative of the usurping line. Dermot was a large, violent, war-loving, vocal man hated by strangers and feared by his own people. (It was he who invited King Henry of England to come and take possession of Ireland.) Nevertheless, Lorcan's father had many soldiers, servants, land, and cattle.
   At age 10 Lorcan was sent to Dermot as a hostage to guarantee his father's fidelity to the new order. For a time Lorcan lived in Dermot's castle, until the day his father refused to obey an order. Lorcan was taken to a stony, barren region, to be punished for his father's sin. At the end of the journey was a miserable, dilapidated hut with a leaky roof. There he forced to practice austerity because he was given only enough bread and greens and water to keep him alive, no clothes, and no companionship except a guard. For two years he lived in this desolate manner until threats restored him to his father.

   The bishop of Glendalough was the mediator between Dermot and O'Tuathail and young Lorcan was sent across the hills to him. The bishop first introduced Lorcan in Saint Kevin's sanctuary to the quiet recollectedness of Christian life and studies. His father arrived a few days later and, in thanksgiving for the safe return of his son, proposed dedicating one of his sons--to be chosen by casting lots--to the service of God and Saint Kevin. Lorcan laughed for the only time in his dolorous life, telling his father that he would most willingly choose God as his inheritance.
   So, he became a student at the school for novices in Glendalough, where he stayed for 22 years as novice, monk, then abbot. Lorcan's character was annealed in the ascetic training of the early Irish Church whose austerities would seem fabulous if they were not well authenticated. He stood in the direct descent of Saint Kevin and the early anchorites of Glendalough, spending each Lent throughout his life in lonely, but joyful, contemplation on the rocky shelf beneath Saint Kevin's monastery, and practicing austerities as a normal part of his life.
   The tall, extremely thin Lorcan was elected abbot in 1153 at the age of 25. His tenure of office gave him the widest exercise of ruling men (abbots in Ireland even overruled bishops). Within the household he had to reckon with the envy and malice provided by his early elevation; outside the enclosure he had distress to alleviate in the mountainous lands that gave precarious support to the population, and he had to ensure peace and order along roads harassed by robbers.
Lorcan's unbounded charity first became evident during a famine that marked the beginning of his office. He used the resources of the monastery and also his father's fortune to minister to the poor as a servant, rather than a prelate. He spent freely on church building, and from this period dates the beautiful priory of Saint Saviour's at the eastern end of the valley.
After four years of service as abbot, his spiritual stature was so plainly evident that men sought to make him bishop of Glendalough. He refused stating that he was not of canonical age. For 10 years the administration of the monastery engaged his full zeal and charity; he was in touch with the great reform synod of Kells in 1152. His name is inscribed on the 1161 charter of the new Augustinian foundation at Ferns, where years later the fugitive King Dermot, its founder, sought a monk's disguise when he was deserted by his kinsmen and friends.

In 1161 Gregory, archbishop of Dublin, died and Lorcan was unanimously elected to succeed him by Danish and native clergy and laity, including the High King O'Loughlin and even his former captor, Dermot McMurrough, who was now married to Lorcan's sister Mor.
   Momentously for the Irish Church, Lorcan was consecrated the following year in the Danish Christ Church, Dublin, founded by Sitric, which had never seen a native prelate. And the sacrament was conferred by Gelasius of Armagh, the primate, in the presence of his suffragan bishops. Dublin had been a Norse town for 300 years, and, because the Norse were evangelized by Anglo-Saxons, the Irish Church had always looked to Canterbury rather than Armagh. The vicissitudes of his immediate predecessor are evidence of the racial and ecclesiastical jealousies that his election allayed and the manner of his consecration (at the hands of the Irish primate, rather than the English one) is signal testimony to the new consolidation of the Irish hierarchy, which was a principal object of the Irish Reform movement in the 12th century.
   Reform was necessary because the monastic system had been corrupted under the Norse rule during which the abbot or comarba who ruled the monastery as heir of the saintly founder was commonly a layman. The vices of laicisation were rampant, even in the primatial see of Armagh which was in lay hands for generations. There was a collateral necessity to organize according to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church; the authority of the bishop, archbishop, and primate had to be defined and established upon a territorial basis.

Behind every reform movement there is a saint. In Ireland that person was Saint Malachy, having as precursors Cellach of Armagh and Gilbert of Limerick. Their movement carried on from synod to synod beginning with Rath Bresail in 1111, achieved its main purpose in the synod of Kells in 1152, when among other decisions the sees of Dublin and Tuam were erected to archbishoprics and the number and limits of the present dioceses were substantially fixed. Minor outstanding disciplinary reforms were completed in synods held in 1162, 1167, and 1172--all of which were attended by Lorcan.
After his consecration Lorcan had to move from being an 'other worldly' man to a man of the world. He might have lamented like Saint Bernard: "I am become the chimaera of my century, neither cleric nor layman." Nevertheless, Lorcan managed with saintly charm to integrate his inner and outer life. Tall, graceful Lorcan wore the bishop's vestments with dignity, and a hairshirt underneath, for example.

He dispensed discreetly liberal hospitality to rich and poor in his home beside his cathedral; among rich foods choosing for himself the plainest and coloring water with wine for courtesy and company's sake. Each day at his table 30 to 60 of the poor dined among his other guests that the rich may be encouraged to do the same. From the day he donned the white Augustinian robes he never ate meat, and on Fridays he fasted on bread and water.
Three times daily he used the discipline (self-flagellation); his nights were lonely vigils or spent in the choir. Assiduous in attendance at Divine Office, when at dawn the canons left the choir for their cells, he remained in solitary prayer. Twice during his long periods of adoration, the Corpus on the Crucifix before the kneeling prelate spoke. When day came he regularly went out to the cemetery to chant the office of the dead. His life was what the old Irish homily calls the "white martyrdom" of abnegation and labor.
    The bull of his canonization recites his constancy in prayer and his austere mortification. These were the secret springs of his energy and profuse charity. This white-robed figure of whose speech hardly four sentences remain is seen always in the gracious gesture of giving and with the gravity of silence about him.
    Crowds depend upon him, recognizing in him a source of supernatural power. The records of his canonization attest to his miracles. He lived through two famines and two sieges and saw the city of his adoption sacked. He moves through hardships with the equilibrium of the saint and a saint's equal mind. But also with the saint's energy.
He had hardly taken his episcopal seat when his zeal turned to the reform of his clergy. His predecessors had been trained in a milder climate and under laxer monastic rules. The service of the cathedral had suffered. Looking abroad for a model he persuaded his secular canons to join him in community life as Augustinian regulars of the Arroasian Rule and converted the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity into a priory. His community became a school for bishops: Albin of Ferns, Marianus of Cork, and Malachy of Louth who were subsequent witnesses to his sanctity.
In the Irish monasteries psalmody occupied a central place in the monk's life. Lorcan raised the Gregorian chant, still so little heard in Irish churches, to its proper place about the altar and restored its appropriate splendor to the Divine Office. He commended the rebuilding of the cathedral and added to the number of parish churches.
   During a famine which afflicted the city that destitute flocked to his doors. He exerted himself in the public relief, not merely by prodigally multiplying his personal charities but by organized assistance, quartering the city poor upon the abbey lands of his cathedral--Swords, Lusk, and Finglas. When these were filled and the famine still continued, he sent others farther afield throughout Ireland, recommending them to the popular charity and chartering a vessel at great cost to convey others to England.
King Dermot McMurrough is often associated with Lorcan in these charities, but Dermot's later actions invited the Anglo-Normans into Ireland. Dermot abducted Dervorgilla, wife of Prince Tiernan O'Rourke of Brefni. In 1166, O'Rourke and his allies reduced Dermot to ruin. He sailed to England for help, taking with him his daughter Eva, Bishop O'Toole's niece, whose beauty and nobility made her a desirable as a potential spouse. Although King Henry II of England was still engaged in his conflict against Saint Thomas Becket and Aquitaine, he saw the revolt and Dermot's arrival as an opportunity to realize his designs to possess Ireland.
    Then came the scourge of war in 1170, King Henry promised Richard de Clare, Earl of Pembroke ("Strongbow"), the hand of the beautiful Eva and succession to the throne of Leinster. He dispatched Strongbow at the head of an army of nobles and his Anglo-Norman adventurers landed in Ireland and took Waterford. Richard de Clare married Lorcan's niece Eva in Waterford Cathedral before marching on to Dublin.
The rest of Lorcan's episcopate was conditioned by events that followed. He was in the very act of negotiating terms with Dermot, when the city was seized by Strongbow's sudden, treacherous irruption, and the peacemaker turned to save the wounded, to bury his dead, to guard ecclesiastical property from spoliation, and to recover the looted Church vessels and books.
Thoroughly aroused for his country, the saint urged a united front under King Roderick (Rory, Ruaidri) O'Connor. Henceforth he had to double as both a Mercier soldier and a Saint Vincent de Paul. The princes of Ireland were moved to action by the patriotic zeal of the archbishop, who joined with Ruaidri in rallying the country and its allies, sending missives abroad to Gottred of Man and to the other lords of the Isles.
When Dermot died suddenly, the Earl of Pembroke declared himself king of Leinster, but was recalled to England by Henry. Before Pembroke could return, the Irish united behind O'Connor, and the earl barricaded himself in Dublin as the Irish forces attacked. While Lorcan was trying to effect a settlement, Pembroke suddenly attacked and won an unexpected victory.
   The rest of Lorcan's political life was busied with embassies of peace. When Henry II came to Dublin in October 1171. Although his real purpose was to receive the submission of the Irish princes, he publicly denounced the misconduct of the English in Ireland, portraying a benevolent king on a mission of welfare. His overture was rejected by Bishop Gelasius, the high king, and the northern princes, but the princes of the south took King Henry at face value. The patriot Lorcan journeyed to Connaught to call forth the dissident nobility.
    Henry arranged with the papal legate, Christian of Lismore, for the convocation of a synod at Cashel. The English king's decrees presented nothing not already observed in Ireland, except the celebration of the Divine Office according to the English usage. At this time, Armagh was recognized as the primatial see of Ireland under the submission of no see but that of Rome. This was the beginning of the Irish "troubles" with England that were to endure for another eight centuries. On the strength of such fair assurances the leaders of both Church and State accepted Henry.
    Then Henry began to distribute Crown lands, until he was forced to leave Ireland in April 1172 in the face of threatened excommunication for the murder of Thomas Becket. In the meantime, Henry's envoys reached Rome with the news of his success in Ireland. Henry was pardoned by Pope Alexander III after walking through the streets barefoot in penance.
In 1175 the situation is reversed; Lorcan is Ruaidri's (Rory O'Connor) envoy to King Henry II, sent to negotiate the Treaty of Windsor, a mission that required the high qualities of skill and statesmanship, where the contracting parties represented the feudal system opposed to Irish law and custom.
    The task was not made easier by a mischance that occurred. While saying Mass at the shrine of Saint Thomas at Canterbury, a madman who had heard of Lorcan's reputation for sanctity, thought that he would meritoriously make another martyr and felled the saint to the ground with a club before the high altar. The traces of this blow on the head were verified by the Cardinal Archbishop of Rouen in 1876 on examining the body. Unlike the martyred Becket, Lorcan was able to finish the Mass.
Meanwhile synods had been held at Armagh, Cashel, and Dublin, which Lorcan attended in his subordinate place. None of them shows any trace of his leadership or statesmanship.
In 1178, Henry II provided his son John with the title "Dominus Hiberiae," which was not as exalted as the royal title allowed by Rome in order to ensure Ireland's subordinate position. That same year, the papal legate to Scotland and Ireland, Cardinal Vivian, arrived in Ireland. He was indignant at the incursions and slaughter of the invading de Courcy, whom he admonished to withdraw. When his command was unheeded, the cardinal exhorted King MacDunlevy of Ulster to defend his country.
In 1179, Lorcan left for Rome to attend the Third General Lateran Council with five other Irish bishops, more than attended from Scotland and England combined. On their passage through England, Henry compelled them to promise not to seek anything at the council that was prejudicial to the king or his kingdom.
    Some 300 bishops attended the council, and from that great assembly Lorcan passed into the closest confidence of the Holy See. He obtained from Alexander III a bull confirming the rights and privileges of the see of Dublin. Jurisdiction was conferred over five suffragan sees and the pope took the archbishop's church in Dublin and all its possessions under Saint Peter's protection and his own, defining and confirming its possessions and ensuring it and the property of his suffragans by strictest penalties against any lay or ecclessial interference. Finally, on his return home Alexander gave him the supreme mark of his confidence in naming Lorcan as papal legate.
    In the brief space of life that was left to him, Lorcan exercised his new powers with exemplary decision. With the invaders new abuses had crept amongst his clergy. Some abuses he refused to forgive and dispatched at least 140 clerics to Rome.
    Henry was not pleased with the steps Lorcan had taken in Rome. A new Thomas Becket had touched his authority. And, therefore, on a final peace mission for Ruaidri, when Lorcan crossed the Irish Sea to take the king's son as a hostage to Henry, he found the Channel ports closed against his return by royal edict. After three weeks of virtual imprisonment in the monastery of Abingdon, Lorcan followed the king to Normandy. He landed near Treport at a cove which still bears his name, Saint-Laurent. There the saint fell ill and was taken to Saint Victor's abbey at Eu, where he was received by the monks and where his bones still rest.
A priest companion was sent to find Henry. He brought back word that Henry would again meet with King Rory. Saint Lorcan had done all that he could.

   Only two sentences are recorded of his last hours. Asked by the abbot to make his will: "God knows, I have not a penny under the sun." A little later a farewell in his native tongue, thinking of his own people.
   A good and just man, Giraldus calls him; he died in exile--an exile and a fugitive, the Abbot Hugues wrote to Innocent III, pro libertate ecclesiae --an exile as well, he might have written, of charity and patriotism.
So many miracles were reported at his tomb that less than five years after his death, his remains were enclosed in a crystal case and translated to a place of special honor before the high altar of the church at Eu. The canons and faithful of that city forwarded his formal canonization.
   His life was written and rewritten at Eu from information eagerly gathered by the canons from the saint's disciples and other pilgrims from Ireland who journeyed to his shrine; from his nephew Thomas, Abbot of Glendalough; his intimates Albin, bishop of Ferns, Marianus of Cork, and Malachy of Louth; and from Jean Comyn, who succeeded him in the see of Dublin. In 1225, 45 years after his death, he was canonized by Honorius III and thereupon became patron of the archdiocese of Dublin (Attwater, Curran, Curtayne, Curtis, D'Arcy, Delaney, Healy, Kenney, Legris, Messingham, O'Hanlon, Plummer, Sullivan) .
1163 Blessed Fastred of Cambron abbot-founder of Cambron obligation to poverty OSB Cist. Abbot (AC).

(also known as Fastrede de Cavamiez) Born in Hainault; Fastred de Cavamiez was received into the Cistercians by Saint Bernard (1153 Dr of the Church). In 1148, he was dispatched with a colony of monks to be abbot-founder of Cambron in Cambrai diocese. In 1157, he became abbot of Clairvaux and, in 1162, of Cîteaux itself. Nevertheless, he never released himself from the obligations of poverty (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia)
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1164 St Leontius the Bishop and Wonderworker of Rostov Uncovering of the relics.
The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23 was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970) and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Saint Leontius, Bishop of Rostov, is commemorated today with the other Rostov saints. He reposed on May 23, 1073, and his holy relics were uncovered in 1164.

Synaxis of the Saints of Rostov:  The celebration of the Synaxis of the Rostov and Yaroslav Saints on May 23 was established by resolution of His Holiness Patriarch Alexis I (+ 1970) and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, on March 10, 1964.
Archimandrite Abraham the wonderworker (October 29, 1073-1077) Prince Basil (+ 1238) Metropolitan Demetrius (+ October 28, 1709 and September 21) Bishop Ignatius (+ May 28, 1288) Monk Irenarchus the Hermit (+ 1616) Bishop Isaiah, wonderworker (+ May 15, 1090) Blessed Isidore, Fool-for-Christ (+ 1474) Bishop James (+ November 27, 1391) Blessed John of the Hair-Shirt (the Merciful), Fool-for-Christ (+ 1580) Bishop Leontius (+ May 23, 1073) Peter, Tsarevich of Ordynsk (+ 1290) Archbishop Theodore (+ November 28, 1394)
Yaroslav Wonderworkers: Princes Basil (+ 1249), Constantine (+ 1257), Theodore (+ 1299) and his sons David (+ 1321) and Constantine (XIV)
Pereslavl Wonderworkers: Prince Alexander Nevsky (+ 1263) Prince Andrew of Smolensk (15th c.) Monk Daniel the Archimandrite (+ 1540) Monk Nikita the Stylite (+ 1186)
Uglich Wonderworkers: Monk Cassian (+ 1504) Tsarevich Demetrius (+ 1591) Monk Ignatius of Lomsk (+ 1591) Monk Paisius (+ 1504) Prince Roman (+ 1285)
Poshekhonsk Wonderworkers: Hieromartyr Adrian (+ 1550) Monk Gennadius of Liubimograd and Kostroma (+ 1565) Monk Sebastian (+ 1542) Monk Sylvester of Obnora (+ 1379)
1182 Blessed Bernard the Penitent Many miraculous cures occurred at his tomb OSB Monk (AC).
NOTHING is known of the early years of this Bernard except that he was born in the diocese of Maguelone in Provence, and even his contemporary biographer could never ascertain of what crimes he had been guilty beyond his participation in a rising which had resulted in the death of an unpopular governor. We have, however, the exact wording of the certificate which he obtained from his bishop before entering upon his penitential life.
John, by the grace of God Bishop of Maguelone, to all the pastors and faithful of the Catholic Church, eternal salvation in the Lord. Be it known to you all that in expiation of the horrible crimes committed by him, we have imposed upon Bernard, the bearer of this present letter, the following penance. He is to go barefoot for seven years: he is not to wear a shirt for the rest of his life:  he is to observe the forty days before the Birthday of our Saviour like a Lenten fast: he is to abstain from meat and fat on Wednesdays and from everything but bread and a little wine on Fridays. On the Fridays of Lent and Embertide he shall drink nothing but water, and on all Saturdays which are not great festivals he shall take no meat or fat unless illness requires it. Therefore we ask you of your charity in Jesus Christ, for the redemption of your souls and in a spirit of compassion, to give to this very poor penitent the necessary food and clothing and to shorten his penance so far as reason may allow. Given at Maguelone in the year of the Incarnation of our Lord 1170 in the month of October. In force for seven years only.
In the garb of a penitent and loaded with heavy iron fetters, Bernard undertook a number of pilgrimages, during which he endured and even courted hardships of all sorts. Three times, it is said, he visited Jerusalem, and once went as far as India to implore the intercession of St Thomas. At last one day when he arrived at Saint-Omer, it was revealed to him that his travels were now to cease. A generous citizen gave him a little house abutting on the monastery of Saint-Berth, and the monks allowed him access at all hours to their church. He was always the first at the night offices and he would stand barelegged and barefooted on the stone flags even in the depth of winter when his flesh was cracked and frozen with the cold. He loved to make himself useful by nursing the poor or by cleaning the churches.
Bernard came to be a familiar and popular figure as he passed through the streets on his errands of mercy, replying to all greetings with the words, “God grant us all a good end”. The time came when he ventured to ask the monks to give him the habit, and they welcomed him, for they regarded him as a saint. Towards the end of his life he was endowed with the gift of prophecy and many miracles were attributed to him; and after his death the church was thronged by such crowds that the monks had the utmost difficulty in proceeding with the funeral: everyone was begging for some fragment of his garments or for something he had used. Bd Bernard’s biographer testifies that he had been an eye-witness of many of the wonderful cures which he relates.

This life printed in the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. ii, purports to have been written by one John, a monk of the abbey of Saint-Bertin.
Born in Provence, France; died at Saint Omer, 1182. Bernard committed some unspecified, apparently horrible, crime for which the bishop of Maguelonne (Provence) mandated seven years of public penance in 1170. Bernard performed the penance loaded with seven heavy iron bands. These he dragged from shrine to shrine-- Compostella, Rome, Palestine--until he reached Saint Bertin (Sithiu) Abbey. There he lived as a hermit until he mustered the courage to ask the monks of the abbey to receive him into their community. The monks readily welcomed him because they regarded him as a living saint. Many miraculous cures occurred at his tomb (Attwater2, Benedictines).
1184 Benedict the Bridge-Builder shepherd Eighteen miracles took place body found incorrupt 500 yrs (AC)
(also known as Bénezet, Benet, Benoît)
Born at Hermillon, Savoy (or in the Ardenne), France, c. 1163;
The children's song "Sur le pont d'Avignon" concerns the bridge built by Bénezet, a local shepherd boy, a bridge rebuilt in the 14th and 17th centuries. The legend still dances on the arches that collapsed so suddenly. From the broken fragment of the original bridge over the raging waters, people still throw a shower of flowers into the river during the Rhône festivals. For Avignon retains a tender love for its broken bridge and Bénezet. Bénezet, shepherd over the waves, as Fréderic Mistral says, built this magnificent bridge by the order of God in a vision; after 700 years, his memory still stands guard over the arches which live on, albeit half-dead.
   According to a legend, the bridge was built without difficulties, at least not of a financial character. In fact, while still a child, Bénezet once saw a poor Jewish woman who was being tormented by a flea which the hump on her back prevented her from reaching and some street urchins who were laughing at her contortions. Bénezet ran to her assistance. After scattering the boys, he found and crushed the offending flea.
   In her gratitude the rheumy-eyed, hunch-backed old woman blessed Bénezet and predicted that he would do great things later in life. In order to help him realize them, she told him where the cache containing the treasure of the Jews lay. Time passed. Bénezet, the little shepherd, hardly thought about the treasure, nor did he indulge in any ambitious dreams. He was simply a 15-year-old shepherd concerned about his flock.
    One day, the sun suddenly went into hiding: a solar eclipse always frightens the flocks and their guardians. A voice as sweet as honey spoke to him amid the darkness: "In the name of Christ, Bénezet, go as far as the Rhône to Avignon and build a bridge there," the voice bade him.
   Now, it may sound strange that God would ask for a bridge to be built or that it would be a reason for canonization. In the Middle Ages, however, the construction and repair of bridges was regarded as a work of mercy. Perhaps the child simply had pity for the many who drowned in the rushing waters. I think it is more likely that he was indeed called by God.
Responding to the voice, the child objected that he could not leave his flocks unattended.
"I will watch over them," said the voice, "I'll send you an angel for a guide."

Leaving his sheep, Bénezet set out for the spot that had been designated to him--just as other shepherds, one night, had trustingly set out for Bethlehem. Soon he met the angel whom only he could see, and also arrived at the river Rhône. He had to cross it. The Jewish ferryman picked Bénezet's pocket clean. The lad only had three pennies to his name, but after cursing him, the ferryman finally took him on board and the boat left. But where to? Bénezet asked himself, while remaining utterly calm.
Finally, he arrived at the bishop's palace, where he sought the prelate's blessing and help. Build a bridge? The bishop swelled with indignation and sent little Bénezet to the magistrate promising him that he would be flayed and his hands and feet chopped off as was done to impostors in those days. But the angel, inside the young man's heart, said: "Go!"
The magistrate took a dim view of the matter:
 "You, the lowliest of the low, you who don't own an acre in the sun, you want to build a bridge there where Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and Charlemagne himself have been helpers? So be it! Do you see this stone embedded in the palace courtyard? Well pull it out and carry it there and I'll believe you! Call the people to watch this spectacle. But if you fail..."

The invisible angel in Bénezet's heart smiled. As calm and self-assured as ever, about 1177, the little shepherd boy extracted this block of stone that weighed a hundred quintals and upon laying it in the bed of the river, he said, "This will be the first stone of the foundations!"
Delirium seized the crowd of onlookers. There were shouts of "Miracle! Miracle!" Immediately, in keeping with the rule, the blind again saw the light of day, the deaf again heard hosannahs, the crippled suddenly walked straight and the hunch-backed heard their vertebrae crack, stretch, and straighten out! Eighteen miracles took place, according to the legend.
The magistrate, sobbing in remorse, gave 300 sous for the building of the bridge, the crowd volunteered 5,000 more. The treasure of the Jews must have done the rest, because the bridge soon rose, proudly, between the waters and the sky.
Alas! Bénezet did not live to see the bridge finished. He died in 1184--because his mission had been accomplished. The last stone was laid two years after his death. The bridge was adorned with a chapel dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the patron of mariners, in which Saint Benedict's relics were enshrined until 1669 when a flood washed away part of the bridge. His coffin was recovered and his body found to be incorrupt--500 years after his death--even the bowels were perfectly sound, and the color of the eyes lively and sprightly, though, through the dampness of the situation, the iron bars about it were much damaged with rust. It was translated to Avignon cathedral and moved again to the Celestine church of Saint Didier.
Even now when coming down the major water-way of the Rhône you will see the man at the prow and the crew in the boats passing by the broken bridge where Saint Bénezet wrought his miracle, salute the shepherd boy who became a saint and Saint Nicholas, the saint of long-standing. After all, two saints are not too much for the taming of these waters among the treacherous, and even for taming the sky overhead, where the mistral blows, churning up powerful, angry waves.
Contemporary sources record the principal episodes of Saint Benedict's life, and an episcopal inquiry was conducted shortly after his death (1230) (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Gill, Husenbeth, Walsh).
In art, Saint Benedict is portrayed as a boy carrying a large stone on his shoulder (Roeder). He is venerated as the patron of Avignon (Coulson, Roeder).
1186 Our Holy Father Nikita Stylites monastery close to Pereyaslavl enveloped his body in chains and shut himself up in a pillar healer
He lived an unrestrained and vicious life as a youth. When once he happened to enter a church, he heard the words of the Prophet Isaiah: `Wash you (your sins), make you clean' (1:16). The words penetrated deeply into his soul, and effected a complete change in his life. Nikita left his home, his wife and his land and entered a monastery close to Pereyaslavl, where he laboured until his death in strict asceticism. He enveloped his body in chains and shut himself up in a pillar, being therefore known as a Stylite.

God granted him great grace, and he healed people afflicted with various torments.
He healed Michael, Prince of Chernigov, of palsy. One day some evildoers saw the chains on him and, seeing them gleam, thought them to be silver, so they killed him one night, took the chains off him and carried them away. This happened on May 16th, 1186.

He appeared to a certain elder, Simeon, after his death and told him to place the chains, when they were found, in the grave beside his body.   SerbianOrthodoxChurch.net
1189 St. Gilbert of Sempringham a priest chose to share his wealth with the poor miracles wrought at his tomb were examined and approved  built 13 monasteries (9 were double)
Born 1083  Despite rigors of such a life he died at well over age 100
Gilbert was born in Sempringham, England, into a wealthy family, but he followed a path quite different from that expected of him as the son of a Norman knight. Sent to France for his higher education, he decided to pursue seminary studies.  He returned to England not yet ordained a priest, and inherited several estates from his father. But Gilbert avoided the easy life he could have led under the circumstances.
Instead he lived a simple life at a parish, sharing as much as possible with the poor. Following his ordination to the priesthood he served as parish priest at Sempringham.
Among the congregation were seven young women who had expressed to him their desire to live in religious life.
In response, Gilbert had a house built for them adjacent to the Church. There they lived an austere life, but one which attracted ever more numbers; eventually lay sisters and lay brothers were added to work the land. The religious order formed eventually became known as the Gilbertines, though Gilbert had hoped the Cistercians or some other existing order would take on the responsibility of establishing a rule of life for the new order.
The Gilbertines, the only religious order of English origin founded during the Middle Ages, continued to thrive. But the order came to an end when King Henry VIII suppressed all Catholic monasteries.

Over the years a special custom grew up in the houses of the order called "the plate of the Lord Jesus." The best portions of the dinner were put on a special plate and shared with the poor, reflecting Gilbert's lifelong concern for less fortunate people.
Throughout his life Gilbert lived simply, consumed little food and spent a good portion of many nights in prayer.
Despite the rigors of such a life he died at well over age 100.

Comment:   When he came into his father’s wealth, Gilbert could have lived a life of luxury, as many of his fellow priests did at the time. Instead, he chose to share his wealth with the poor. The charming habit of filling “the plate of the Lord Jesus” in the monasteries he established reflected his concern.
Today’s Operation Rice Bowl echoes that habit: eating a simpler meal and letting the difference in the grocery bill help feed the hungry.

St. Gilbert of Sempringham Gilbert was born at Sempringham, England, son of Jocelin, a wealthy Norman knight. He was sent to France to study and returned to England to receive the benefices of Sempringham and Tirington from his father. He became a clerk in the household of Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln and was ordained by Robert's successor, Alexander. He returned to Sempringham as Lord on the death of his father in 1131. In the same year he began acting as adviser for a group of seven young women living in enclosure with lay sisters and brothers and decided the community should be incorporated into an established religious order. After several new foundations were established, Gilbert went to Citeaux in 1148 to ask the Cistercians to take over the Community. When the Cistercians declined to take on the governing of a group of women, Gilbert, with the approval of Pope Eugene III, continued the Community with the addition of Canons Regular for its spiritual directors and Gilbert as Master General. The Community became known as the Gilbertine Order, the only English religious order originating in the medieval period; it eventually had twenty-six monasteries which continued in existence until King Henry VIII suppressed monasteries in England. Gilbert imposed a strict rule on his Order and became noted for his own austerities and concern for the poor. He was imprisoned in 1165 on a false charge of aiding Thomas of Canterbury during the latter's exile but was exonerated of the charge. He was faced with a revolt of some of his lay brothers when he was ninety, but was sustained by Pope Alexander III. Gilbert resigned his office late in life because of blindness and died at Sempringham. He was canonized in 1202.

Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder (RM) Born at Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England, c. 1083-85; died there, February 4, 1189; canonized 1202 by Pope Innocent III at Anagni; feast day formerly on February 4. Saint Gilbert, son of Jocelin, a wealthy Norman knight, and his Anglo-Saxon wife, was regarded as unfit for ordinary feudal life because of some kind of physical deformity. For this reason, he was sent to France to study and took a master's degree.
Upon his return to England, Gilbert started a school for both boys and girls. From his father, he received the hereditary benefices of Sempringham and Torrington in Lincolnshire, but he gave all the revenues from them to the poor, except a small sum for bare necessities. As he was not yet ordained, he appointed a vicar for the liturgies and lived in poverty in the vicarage.

In 1122, Gilbert became a clerk in the household of Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln and was ordained by Robert's successor Alexander, and was offered, but refused, a rich archdeaconry. Instead, upon the death of his father in 1131, Gilbert returned to Sempringham as lord of the manor and parson. By his care his parishioners seemed to lead the lives of religious men and, wherever they went, were known to be of his flock by their conversation.
That same year of 1131, he organized a group of seven young women of the parish into a community under the Benedictine rule. They lived in strict enclosure in a house adjoining Sempringham's parish church of Saint Andrew. As the foundation grew, Gilbert added laysisters and, on the advice of the Cistercian Abbot William of Rievaulx, lay brothers to work the land. A second house was soon founded.

In 1148, Gilbert went to the general chapter at Cîteaux to ask the Cistercians to take on the governance of the community. When the Cistercians declined because women were included, Gilbert provided chaplains for his nuns by establishing a body of canons following the Augustinian rule with the approval of Pope Eugene III, who was present at the chapter. Saint Bernard helped Gilbert draw up the Institutes of the Order of Sempringham, of which Eugenius made him the master. Thus, the canons followed the Augustinian Rule and the lay brothers and sisters that of Cîteaux. Women formed the majority of the order; the men both governed them and ministered to their needs, temporal and spiritual. The Gilbertines are the only specifically English order, and except for one foundation in Scotland, never spread beyond its border .

This order grew rapidly to 13 foundations, including men's and women's houses side by side and also monasteries solely for canons. They also ran leper hospitals and orphanages. Gilbert imposed a strict rule on his order. An illustration of the enforced simplicity of life was the fact that the choir office was celebrated without fanfare.

As master general of the order, Saint Gilbert set an admirable example of abstemious and devoted living and concern for the poor. Gilbert's diet consisted primarily of roots and pulse in small amounts. He always set a place at the table for Jesus, in which he put all the best of what was served up, and this was for the poor. He wore a hair-shirt, took his short rest in a sitting position, and spent most of each night in prayer.
And, he was never idle. He travelled frequently from house to house (primarily in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire), forever active in copying manuscripts, making furniture, and building.

The later years of his long life were seriously disturbed. When he was about 80, he was arrested and charged with assisting Saint Thomas á Becket, who had taken refuge abroad from King Henry II after the council at Northampton (1163). (Thomas, dressed as a Sempringham lay brother, was said to have fled north to their houses in the Lincolnshire Fens before doubling back on his tracks south to Kent.) Though he was not guilty of this kindness, the saint chose to suffer rather than seem to condemn that which would have been good and just. Eventually the charge was dropped, although Gilbert still refused to deny it on oath.

Later still there was a revolt among his laybrothers, who grievously slandered the 90-year-old man, saying that there was too much work and not enough food. The rebellion was led by two skilled craftsmen who slandered Gilbert, obtained funds and support from magnates in the church and state, and took the case to Rome. There Pope Alexander III decided in Gilbert's favor, but the living conditions were improved.
Saint Gilbert lived to be 106 and passed his last years nearly blind, as a simple member of the order he had founded and governed.
He had built 13 monasteries (of which nine were double) and four dedicated solely to canons encompassing about 1,500 religious. Contemporary chroniclers highly praised both Gilbert and his nuns. His cultus was spontaneous and immediate. Miracles wrought at his tomb were examined and approved by Archbishop Hubert Walter of Canterbury (who ordered the English bishops to celebrate Gilbert's feast) and the commissioners of Pope Innocent III in 1201, leading to his canonization the following year. His name was added to the calendar on the wall of the Roman church of the Four Crowned Martyrs soon after his canonization. His relics are said to have been taken by King Louis VIII to Toulouse, France, where they are kept in the Church of Saint Sernin.

Because the Gilbertine Order was contained within the borders of England, it came to an end when its 26 houses were suppressed by King Henry VIII (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Farmer, Graham, Husenbeth, Walsh, White) .
Saint John the Anchorite 1190
Acitrezza   is a small comune (municipality) in Catania province which was declared to be  autonomous around 1800. Its history derives from the time of the Spanish domination  of Sicily. In the 1600s, its name was 'Terra di Trezza', founded by Prince  Stefano of the Riggio dynasty who constructed a church dedicated to St. Joseph and a small jetty. In the 1900s, fishing became the main source of revenue ```for the people to such an extent that Acitrezza registered the highest development of fish commerce. The town's particular attraction is the Faraglioni at the front of the town, noted for their historical and scientific importance. They are monolithic rocks, rising up from the sea's surface, singly or in groups.   Moreover, the invention of ice cream is partly attributed to Acitrezza.  Lachea Island is part of the small Lacheo archipelago that is in front of the sea of Acitrezza.  (The island), as commonly it is called from
 the inhabitants of the place, has an irregular shape, the side in front of Acitrezza is approximately of 250 metres of extension, it has got a surface large more than two hectares. The top of the island is constituted by clays of sandy colour that are situated on the basaltic formations. Always in the advanced part, reachable by stone stairs, there is a manufacturing which is the centre of the ichthyic museum, an old sink and a small dwelling dug into the hardened clay, that probably it was the dormitory of Saint John the anchorite, hermit at the end of the XI century
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1192 St. Margaret of England Cistercian nun Miracles followed her burial
She was born in Hungary, to an English mother who was related to St. Thomas of Canterbury, England. She went with her mother on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and lived a life of austerity and penance in Bethlehem. Her mother died there, and Margaret made pilgrimages to Montserrat, in Spain, and to Puy, France. There she entered the Cistercian convent at Suave-Benite. When she died, her tomb became a pilgrimage shrine.

Margaret "of England," OSB Cist. V (AC) Born in Hungary (?), died 1192. Saint Margaret was possibly born in Hungary to an English mother and is probably related to Saint Thomas of Canterbury. She took her mother on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they both led an austere life of penance for some years in Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Her mother died there but Margaret continued on to Our Lady of Montserrat in the Spanish Catalonia, before joining the Cistercian nuns at Seauve-Bénite, in the diocese of Puy-en-Velay. She was greatly venerated in that district. Miracles followed her burial at Seauve-Bénite and her shrine became a principle feature of the church. Crowds came there to invoke 'Margaret the Englishwoman.' The local tradition that she was English was accepted by the Maurists and Gallia Christiana, yet an older French manuscript preserved by the Jesuits of Clermont College in Paris relates that she was indeed a Hungarian of noble birth (Attwater2, Benedictines, Coulson, Farmer, Husenbeth)
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1193 St. Bartholomew of Farne miracle works Feast Day 24th June
A Benedictine hermit and miracle worker associated with Durham, England. He was born in Whitby, in Northumbria, England, and was called Tostig. After going to Norway, Bartholomew was ordained and returned to Durham, where he entered the Benedictine Order. He became a hermit on the island of Farne, on the coast of Northumbria, remaining there for forty-two years. Bartholomew was noted as a miracle worker.

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW of FARNE
A rumbustious, rugged individual, Bartholomew was born at Whitby to Scandinavian parents and was given the name Tostig. This name seemed to cause such ridicule that as soon as he was able he changed it to William. By all accounts he was a most dissolute youth, but a change to his way of living came when he refused, what was probably an arranged, marriage. He fled to Norway and became a priest there. Returning to England he spent three years in parochial ministry. Sometime in the late 1140s he became a monk at Durham, as a novice he had a vision of Christ on the Rood inclining his head towards him and stretching out his arms to embrace him. He was greatly moved by his vision, the first of many, that soon after his profession he went to live, as a hermit on the island of Inner Fame, made famous by Cuthbert, here, except for a few short intervals, he spent the rest of his life.

Bartholomew relished the stormy weather and arduous conditions on this exposed site and practised with extraordinary vigour the privations and penances customary to the hermit life. Never easy to get on with, Bartholomew soon so annoyed another hermit, Aelwin that he left, never to return. Years later he shared the island with the ex-prior Thomas, but the two could not agree about the quantity and duration of their meals. This time Bartholomew returned to Durham for a short time; but they soon came to an agreement and lived afterwards in peace.

But Bartholomew had another side to his character, it is said he was continually cheerful, he loved fishing and had a great fondness of his pet bird, he showed great generosity to his many visitors. He was no respecter of persons, often rebuking the rich and powerful, who sometimes were so struck by his venerable presence that they abandoned oppression and took to alms giving. Once a Flemish woman, a friend of his early life, visited him and was so indignant at being refused entry to the chapel, saying she was treated like a dog, but when she tried to enter she was thrown on her back, "as if by a whirlwind". She recovered only at Bartholomew's intervention.

For most of his 42 years on Inner Fame Bartholomew spent his life praying and working, he was often heard striding over the island singing psalms, praising God in his splendid voice. Eventually he was stricken by a painful illness. Just before his death in 1193 he carved his own sarcophagus, possibly identical to the one that stands just outside the chapel to this day. After his death a local cult quickly sprang up and miracles were reported at his tomb. Bartholomew must have been both a headache and inspiration to the authorities and a delight to everyone else he came into contact with.
John Hayward
1193 St Thorlac, Bishop Of Skalholt; daily rule of life, which began with the singing of the Credo, Pater noster, and a hymn directly he awoke; he recited a third of the psalter every day, and had an especial devotion to the titular saints of the churches in which he ministered; formed a community of canons regular, of which he was abbot; Two books of the miracles of Thorlac Thorhallsson were written down within a few years of his death.
Christianity was planted in Iceland at the end of the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh century, and made such progress that the island was soon divided into two dioceses, Skalholt and Holar, which in 1152 were made suffragans of Nidaros (Trondhjem): Iceland had been colonized and evangelized from Norway.
   During the twelfth century two bishops, one from each see, were venerated as saints locally and in Norway, namely, John of Holar and Thorlac of Skalholt. The life of Thorlac is narrated in the Thorlakssaga by a cleric of Skalholt. We are told that Thorlac Thorhallsson was a deacon when he was fifteen and a priest three years later, and then, being a promising young man, was sent abroad to study:  he is said to have visited Lincoln.
After ten years, in 1161, Thorlac returned to Iceland full of reforming zeal. He was joyfully received by his mother and sisters, who expected him to settle down to the semi-secular life led by most of the clergy there in those days, but instead he devoted himself to study and the ministry. His biographer gives an account of Thorlac’s daily rule of life, which began with the singing of the Credo, Pater noster, and a hymn directly he awoke; he recited a third of the psalter every day, and had an especial devotion to the titular saints of the churches in which he ministered.
   Some years later an heirless farmer died, leaving his land and house to the Church with instructions that Thorlac should establish a monastery there, and he accordingly formed a community of canons regular, of which he was abbot. We are told that Thorlac’s mother went with him to Thykkviboer to be cook and housekeeper for the new community. In 1178 he became bishop of Skalholt, and was consecrated by Archbishop St Eystein in Nidaros.
The way was now clear for Thorlac to introduce and promote the higher spiritual standards and improved ecclesiastical discipline, which he knew that the good of souls required and the Church demanded. On the side of discipline this resolved itself chiefly into endeavours to impose the observance of clerical celibacy and to abolish lay patronage and impropriation, with their associated abuse of simony, and his episcopal career is a record of his efforts in these directions and the
successes, difficulties and checks with which he met. He received far more opposition than encouragement, often from men of goodwill or from those to whom he could reasonably look for support, but to the end he did not withdraw from the struggle or modify his policy.
   He had the encouragement of his metropolitan, the forceful St Eystein Jan 26, who was fighting a similar battle in Norway, and with his approval used the weapon of excommunication for the first time in Iceland. In his sixtieth year Thorlac determined to resign his see and retire to the abbey of Thykkviboer, but death overtook him before he could put this resolution into effect, on December 23, 1193. Five years later he was canonized by the althing (assembly) of Iceland. This proceeding of course had no valid ecclesiastical effect, but it encouraged the popular and liturgical cultus that was undoubtedly accorded to Thorlac until the change of religion. The Holy See has not confirmed this cultus. Two books of the miracles of Thorlac Thorhallsson were written down within a few years of his death.

There are certain fragments of Latin lives or breviary lessons relating to St Thorlac, which have been printed by Langebek in his Scriptores rerum Danicarum, vol. iv, pp. 624—630, as well as the Thorlakssaga. A pretty full notice is devoted to him by Gley in the Biographie universelle, but otherwise it seems difficult for any who are not specialists in the Scandinavian languages to learn much about Bishop Thorlac that is reliable. Cf. also Baumgartner in Kirchenlexikon, s.v. Island. The Saga of Thorlac may be read in a German translation by W. Baetke, Islands Besiedlung und älteste Geschichte (1928).
1193 St. Barlaam Hermit of Russia on the Volga River; His burying-place was the scene of miracles, and his relics were solemnly enshrined in 1452.
Barlaam came from a wealthy family from Novgorod and was christened Alexis. When his parents died, he became a hermit on the Volga. So many disciples joined him there that he had to found a monastery. He took the name Barlaam at that time. He died on November 6, 1193. His grave was a popular site for pilgrims.

The mitre of dark-green velvet is originated from the Khutyn monastery. It has got its modern shape in the late 18-th century when it was altered, but all details the mitre made in 1643 had, were kept and have been transfered to the new one. These are the silver gilt plaques adorned with the engraved compositions of “The Holy Virgin of the Sign, Deisis with Barlaam from Khutyn, the Reverend of Novgorod, the cherubim. Against the velvet background on a base which is worked of round thin small plaques made of plated wire in spectacular manner are laid threaded pearls. Of great interest is a narrow stripe adorned with incased donative inscription that reads, year 7151 (1643) March, 1 this hat was made to the house of his Gracious Reverend Barlaam at Khutyn.
Den hellige Barlaam av Khutyn ( -1193)

Minnedag: 6. november Den hellige Barlaam (Varlaam) ble født som Alexej på 1100-tallet i en velstående kjøpmannsfamilie i Novgorod i Russland. Da hans foreldre døde, solgte han alt han eide og ga bort det meste av pengene til de fattige. Selv dro han for å leve som eneboer i Khutyn [Kutyn, Choutinsk] ved bredden av elva Volga. Her bygde han et trekapell.

Etter hvert som hans ry for hellighet spredte seg, kom det mange disipler og sluttet seg til ham der. Da han ikke lenger kunne sørge for dem alle, organiserte han dem som et monastisk fellesskap og styrte dem selv som abbed. Det var på den tiden han tok navnet Barlaam. Trekapellet ble erstattet av en steinkirke viet til Herrens forklarelse. Blant pilegrimene og andre besøkende som strømmet til det nye klosteret, var hertug Jaroslav av Novgorod, som ble dets velgjører.

Men Barlaam levde ikke lenge etter at kommuniteten var endelig etablert. Etter å ha sørget for dets underhold og utnevnt en munk ved navn Antonius til å etterfølge ham, døde han den 6. november 1193. Det ble meldt om mirakler ved hans grav, som ble et populært valfartsmål. Hans relikvier ble høytidelig skrinlagt i 1452. Hans minnedag er dødsdagen 6. november. Hans biografi ble skrevet av en serbisk munk ved navn Pakhomios, og han minnes i den russiske liturgien under forberedelsene av brødet og vinen.

Barlaam and Josaphat (bär`läəm, jō`səfăt), legend popular in medieval times. It corresponds in part to the legend of Buddha. Versions of the story have been found in nearly every language. At the birth of Josaphat (or Joasaph), the son of the Indian king Abenner, it was prophesied that the young prince was destined for greatness not as a royal leader but as a holy man. The king did all that was possible to stop the prophecy from coming true, but the prince, through the teachings of the monk Barlaam, was converted to religion (according to Western legend, Christianity). After the death of Abenner, Josaphat abdicated the throne and lived out the remainder of his days with Barlaam, as a religious recluse.

Khutyn Monastery of Saviour's Transfiguration and of St. Varlaam used to be the holiest monastery of the medieval Novgorod Republic. The monastery is situated on the right bank of the Volkhov River 10 km away from Novgorod, in the area known as Khutyn, whose name is derived from the Old Russian word for “devilry.

The cloister was founded by the Novgorodian boyar Oleksa Mikhailovich, who was appointed its first hegumen in 1192 and died the next year. As many miracles were reported at his tomb, Oleksa was canonized by the Russian Orthodox church as Saint Varlaam. He was the patron saint of Novgorod and the patrilineal ancestor of many families of Russian nobility, including Chelyadnins and Pushkins, of which Alexander Pushkin was a member.

As the story goes, Ivan III visited the cloister and wished to see the relics of Saint Varlaam in 1471. When they opened the saint's tomb, it was full of smoke and fire. Afraid of inflicting divine wrath, Ivan III fled the monastery and Novgorod altogether, leaving his staff as a curiosity to local monks. This staff was exhibited at the cloister's sacristy for centuries to come.

Ivan's son Vasily III, wishing to augment his influence in newly-conquered Novgorod, ordered the old monastery cathedral to be demolished and replaced with a noble six-pillared edifice, intended to demonstrate the might and wealth of Muscovite rulers. The new church, completed by 1515, was evidently patterned after the Assumption Cathedral in Rostov. It was the first piece of Muscovite architecture in the Russian North-West and a venerated model for many subsequent churches in the region.

The annex of St Gabriel, added to the cathedral in 1646, received its present name after the poet Gavrila Derzhavin had been interred here in 1816. The refectory with St Varlaam Church was built on behest of Ivan IV in 1552. The Neoclassical belltower dates from the reign of Catherine the Great.
During the first decades of Soviet rule the monastery housed a lunatic asylum. It was restored to the church in 1993.

1193 ST BARLAAM OF KHUTYN, ABBOT
HE was born into a wealthy family at Novgorod and was christened Alexis. On the death of his parents he sold his property, giving away much to the poor, and went to live as a solitary at a place called Khutyn on the banks of the river Volga. The fame of his virtues in time brought companions to him, and these he organized as a monastic community, ruling over them as abbot, with the name of Barlaam (Varlaam). His wooden chapel was rebuilt in stone, and dedicated in honour of the Transfiguration. Pilgrims and other visitors flocked to the new monastery, among them the Duke Yaroslav, who became its benefactor. St Barlaam did not live long after the final establishment of this community; after having provided for its continuance and upkeep, and having nominated the monk Antony to succeed him, he died on November 6, 1193. His burying-place was the scene of miracles, and his relics were solemnly enshrined in 1452.

A Serbian monk named Pachomius wrote the life of St Barlaam of Khutyn; in the Russian use of the Byzantine Mass he is commemorated at the preparation of the holy things.

See Martynov’s Annus ecclesiasticus Graeco-Slavicus in Acta Sanctorum, October, vol. xi; and cf. note under St Sergius on September 25 herein.

1194 Hugh of Bonnevaux possessed singular powers of discernment and exorcism OSB Cistercian, Abbot (AC)
 Gratianópoli, in Gállia, sancti Hugónis Epíscopi, qui multis annis in solitúdine vitam exégit, et miraculórum glória clarus migrávit ad Dóminum.
       At Grenoble in France, Bishop St. Hugh, who spent many years of his life in solitude, and departed for heaven with a great reputation for miracles.
A nephew of Saint Hugh of Grenoble, Saint Hugh of Bonnevaux became a Cistercian monk at Mezières. In 1163, he was made abbot of Léoncel, and, in 1169, promoted to the abbacy of Bonnevaux. Hugh possessed singular powers of discernment and exorcism, but he is chiefly remembered as the mediator between.

1194 ST HUGH OF BONNEVAUX, ABBOT his powers of divination and exorcism The Mother of Mercy, with a look of great kindness, addressed him, saying, “Bear yourself like a man and let your heart be comforted in the Lord; rest assured that you will be troubled no more by these temptations.”
IN one of his letters St Bernard of Clairvaux mentions with great praise a novice called Hugh, who had renounced considerable riches and entered the abbey of Mézières at a very early age against the wishes of his relations. He was nephew to St Hugh of Grenoble. Once, when greatly troubled by temptations and longings to return to the world, he entered a church to pray for light and help. As he raised his eyes to the altar, he beheld above it a figure which he recognized to be that of our Lady, and then, beside her, appeared the form of her divine Son. The Mother of Mercy, with a look of great kindness, addressed him, saying, “Bear yourself like a man and let your heart be comforted in the Lord; rest assured that you will be troubled no more by these temptations.” Hugh afterwards gave himself up to such severe penances that his health broke down and he seemed to be losing his memory. He owed his recovery to the wise common-sense of St Bernard, who ordered him off to the infirmary with instructions that he should be properly tended and allowed to speak to anyone he liked.
Not long afterwards he was made abbot of Bonnevaux, and in Hugh’s care the abbey became very flourishing. It was noted that the abbot could read men’s thoughts and was quick to detect any evil spirit which had access to the minds of his brethren. The stories that have come down to us testify to his powers of divination and exorcism. Like so many of the great monastic luminaries, both men and women, Hugh did not confine his interests to his own house or even to his order. Moved by what he felt to be divine inspiration he went to Venice in 1177, there to act as mediator between Pope Alexander III and the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. To him is due the credit of negotiating between them a peace which has become historic. St Hugh died in 1194, and his ancient cultus was approved in 1907.

In the Acta Sanctorum, April, vol. i, certain meagre details have been collected front the chroniclers Helinandus, Vincent of Beauvais, etc. On the other hand in vol. xi of the Cistercienser-Chronik (1899) G. Muller has compiled an adequate account, distributed through several numbers, drawing upon the cartularies of Bonnevaux and Léoncel, which have been published by Canon Ulysse Chevalier. And see the unpublished vita in Collectanea O.C.R., vol. vi (1939), pp. 214—218, edited by A. Dimier, and that writer’s St Hugues de Bonnevaux
1196 St. Richard of Andria Bishop of Andria, Italy and patron of that see known for miracles and his extraordinary sanctity
He is believed to have been an Englishman appointed to Andria by Pope Adrian IV, who was likewise from England. He attended the third general council of the Lateran in 1719. There was also a legend about an Englishman named Richard who became the first bishop of Andria, appointed by Pope St. Gelasius II.

Richard of Andria B (RM) Born in England; died after 1196. The English Saint Richard became bishop of Andria in Italy. He was known for miracles and his extraordinary sanctity. The date of his life is often erroneously given as 5th century; however, no bishop is recorded in that see prior to the 8th century and the English were not converted before the 7th century (Benedictines, Encyclopedia, Husenbeth)
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March 27 1197 Blessed William Tempier Bishop Many miracles occurred at his tomb, which became a pilgrimage site B (AC)
In 1184, William was promoted to episcopal chair of Poitiers after having been a canon regular at Saint-Hilaire-de-la- Celle. He was persecuted for his determined insistence upon maintenance of discipline and championing of ecclesiastical liberty. Many miracles occurred at his tomb, which became a pilgrimage site (Attwater2, Benedictines, Encyclopedia)
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1199 Homobonus of Cremona life of the utmost rectitude integrity; known for his charity concern for poor devoted profits to relief some he looked after in his own house. (RM)
Cremónæ, in Insúbria, sancti Homobóni Confessóris; quem, miráculis clarum, Innocéntius Papa Tértius in Sanctórum númerum rétulit.
    At Cremona, in the duchy of Milan, St. Homobonus, confessor, renowned for miracles, whom Innocent III placed among the saints.

1197 ST HOMOBONUS: lay saint; honest merchant, prayer accompanied all his actions; not content with giving his tenths to the distressed members of Christ, he seemed to set no bounds to his alms; he sought out the poor in their homes and, whilst he relieved their corporal necessities, he exhorted them to a good life;

COMMERCE, as Alban Butler justly remarks, is often looked upon as an occasion of too great attachment to the things of this world and of too eager a desire of gain, as well as of lying, fraud and injustice. That these are the vices of men, not the faults of the profession, is clear from the example of this and other saints. Homo­bonus was son of a merchant at Cremona in Lombardy, who gave him this name (which signifies “good man”) at baptism. Whilst he trained his son up to his own mercantile business without any school education, he inspired in him both by example and instruction a love of probity, integrity and virtue. The saint from his childhood abhorred the very shadow of untruth or injustice. To honesty Homobonus added economy, care and industry. His business he looked upon as an employment given him by God, and he pursued it with diligence and a proper regard to himself, his family and the commonwealth of which he was a member. If a tradesman’s books are not well kept, if there is not order and regularity in the conduct of his business, if he does not give his mind seriously to it, he neglects an essential and Christian duty. Homobonus was a saint by acquitting himself diligently and uprightly, for supernatural motives, of all the obligations of his profession.

In due course St Homobonus married, and his wife was a prudent and faithful assistant in the government of his household. Ambition, vanity and ostentation are no less preposterous than destructive vices in the middle classes of society, whose characteristics should be modesty, moderation and simplicity. Whatever exceeds this in dress, housekeeping or other expenses is unnatural and affected, offensive to others, and uneasy and painful to the persons themselves. A man of low stature only becomes frightful by strutting upon stilts. The merchant may be an honour and support of society, but an ostentatious parade least of all suits his character or conduces to the happiness of his state. St Homobonus avoided such common rocks on which so many traders dash. And, moreover, not content with giving his tenths to the distressed members of Christ, he seemed to set no bounds to his alms; he sought out the poor in their homes and, whilst he relieved their corporal necessities, he exhorted them to a good life. The author of his life assures us that God often recognized his charity by miracles in favour of those whom he relieved. It was his custom every night to go to the church of St Giles, for prayer accompanied all his actions and it was in its exercise that he gave up his soul to God. For, on November 13, 1197, during Mass, at the Gloria in Excelsis he stretched out his arms in the figure of a cross and fell on his face to the ground, which those who saw him thought he had done out of devotion. When he did not stand up at the gospel they took more notice and, coming to him, found he was dead. Sicard, Bishop of Cremona, went himself to Rome to solicit his canonization, which Pope Innocent III decreed in 1199.

A short Medieval Latin life was printed in 1857 by A. Maini under the title S. Homoboni civis Cremonensis Vita antiquior, but besides this we have little more information than is provided by a few breviary lessons. St Homobonus is, however, mentioned by Sicard of Cremona, his contemporary, and he was canonized (Potthast, Regesta, vol. i, p. 55 less than two years after his death. As patron of tailors and cloth workers his fame spread not only over Italy, but into Germany (under the name “Gutman”) and into France. A volume of quite imposing dimension, was published about him in 1674 by 0. Belladori under the title of Il trafficante celeste, oceano di santità e tresoriero del cielo, Huomobuono iI Santo, cittadino Cremonese. More modern popular booklets have been written by F, Camozzi (1898), D. Bergamaschi (1899), R. Saccani (1938) and others. Marco Vida, the sixteenth-century neo-classical poet (who disapproved the “low style” of Homer), was a native of Cremona and honoured St Homobonus with a hymn, of which Alban Butler quotes four stanzas. He greatly admired Vida and here calls him “the Christian Virgil”.

(Also known as Homobonius) Born in Cremona, Lombardy, Italy; died November 13, 1197; canonized on January 12, 1199, by Pope Innocent III. Son of a wealthy merchant, Homobonus Tucingo was prophetically baptized Uomobuono, 'good man.' His father taught him the business and he successfully managed it after his father's death. He married and led a life of the utmost rectitude and integrity. Homobonus was known for his charity and concern for the poor because he devoted a large part of his profits to the relief of those in want, some of whom he looked after in his own house. Morning and evening he could be found in Saint Giles Church in Cremona, where, in fact, he died suddenly on November 13 while attending Mass. His virtues were not appreciated by his wife until after his death, when the people of Cremona clamored for his canonization which was decreed two years later by Pope Innocent III (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia, Schamoni).

In art he is a merchant surrounded by beggars and the sick. At times there is a flask of wine near him or angels are shown making garments for him. He is the patron of burghers, merchants, smiths, tailors, clothworkers, and shoemakers. Venerated at Cremona (Delaney, Roeder).

1197 St. Homobonus Confessor patron of tailors cloth workers.
He was born in Cremona, Italy, where he became a merchant. Married, he was a model of virtue beloved by all. Homobonus died on November 13 while attending Mass at St. Giles Church in Cremona. His fellow citizens petitioned the Holy See for his canonization, which was performed in 1199.