Saint Bernard of Thiron | |
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| Born | 1046 Abbeville, France |
| Died | 14 April 1117 Tiron Abbey, Thiron Gardais, France |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | 27 April |
Bernard of Thiron, also known as Bernard of Ponthieu and Bernard of Abbeville, was the founder of the Tiron Abbey and the Tironensian Order. [1]
Born near Abbeville [2] in 1046. At the age of 19 he was accepted at the monastery of Saint-Cyprien, near Poitiers. He remained there ten years, before being transferred to Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe to fill the position of prior. When the abbot was convicted of simony in 1082, Bernard assumed the responsibilities of superior. [1] Bernard left Saint-Savin in 1101 when his nomination as new abbot was disapproved by Cluny and Pope Paschal II. [3]
Bernard went first to the hermit Peter of l’Etoile, before travelling to Vital of Savigny’s earlier hermit community at Dompierre near Passais, where following the example of the Desert Fathers, he lived detached from the world, in great poverty and strict penance. As a hermit, he supported himself by woodworking. He then went to Saint-Médard, in the region of Saint-Mars-sur-la-Futaie. He lived as a hermit there for a short period of time before being discovered by fellow monks from Saint-Savin. Unwilling to return to his previous post, Bernard fled to the island of Chausey, between Jersey and Saint-Malo, where he braved harsh conditions and lived in a cave, before finally listening to his former companions, Bernard returned to the mainland, settling in Fontaine-Géhard near Châtillon-sur-Colmont. [4]
There he gained many followers to his hermit way of life, including Adelelmus of Flanders. The community grew into a centre for hermits, with many building cells around his. Bernard fame grew eventually gaining the attention of the Saint Cyprien Monastery. Abbot Renault then called for Bernard to return to the monastery bringing with him his new followers. Bernard returned and resumed the habit as well as being appointed Renault's successor. [5]
In 1100, Bernard was elected Abbot of Saint-Cyprien Monastery. He attended the Council of Poitiers, and Bernard and Robert of Arbrissel excommunicated Philip I, king of the Franks. That same year Paschal II made Saint-Cyprien subordinate to Cluny. The following year, Bernard, Robert of Arbrissel, and Vitalis of Savigny preach in Normandy. [4]
In 1102 Bernard went to Rome to press Saint-Cyprien's claims against the Cluny Order. Once again retires briefly to Chausey, before forming a hermit community at Chennedet, which separates from Vitalis of Savigny's earlier community. Desiring to live a life of greater austerity, in 1107 he and his friend Geoffrey (later Abbot of Tiron), build a small house in a solitary place near Fougeres. A community began to form there. [6]
The success of the community aroused the jealousy of the Cluniac monks of Saint-Denis of Nogent-le-Rotrou claim tithes and burial fees from Tiron. Bernard then refounded his monastery on adjacent land in Thiron-Gardais granted to him by Bishop Ivo of Chartres. Here Bernard established the monastery that would become the Abbey of Tiron. [6] With the aid of donations from the kings and nobles of France, England and Scotland, Bernard established the Abbey of the Holy Trinity of Tiron in 1114. The Abbey founded a number of daughter houses. From here Bernard founded the Tironensian Order, based on a strict observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict and an emphasis on manual labour. He remained there until his death in 1117.
Saint Adelelmus | |
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 Statue of St. Adelelmus in the Monastery of Etival-en-Charnie | |
| Born | Flanders, Belgium |
| Died | 1152 |
| Venerated in | Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | 27 April |
Adelelmus was a hermit and disciple of St. Bernard of Thiron. Born in Flanders, Belgium, Aldelelmus is best known for founding the Monastery of Etival-en-Charnie . [7]
The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict, are a monastic religious order of the Catholic Church following the Rule of Saint Benedict. They are also sometimes called the Black Monks, in reference to the colour of their religious habits. They were founded in 529 by Benedict of Nursia, a 6th-century monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule.
Ivo of Chartres, also known as Saint Ivo in the Roman Catholic Church, was the Bishop of Chartres, France from 1090 until his death, and an important canonist during the Investiture Crisis.
The Tironensian Order or the Order of Tiron was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey in the woods of Thiron-Gardais in Perche, some 35 miles west of Chartres in France). They were popularly called "Grey Monks" because of their grey robes, which their spiritual cousins, the monks of Savigny, also wore.
Alberic of Cîteaux, sometimes known as Aubrey of Cîteaux, was a French monk and abbot, one of the founders of the Cistercian Order. He is now honored as a saint.
Cluny Abbey is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter.
Ulrich of Zell, also known as Wulderic, sometimes of Cluny or of Regensburg, was a Cluniac reformer of Germany, abbot, founder and saint.
Robert of Arbrissel was an itinerant preacher, and founder of Fontevraud Abbey. He was born at Arbrissel and died at Orsan Priory in the present department of Cher.
Vitalis of Savigny was the canonized founder of Savigny Abbey and of the Congregation of Savigny (1112).
The monastic Congregation of Savigny started in the abbey of Savigny, situated in northern France, on the confines of Normandy and Brittany, in the Diocese of Coutances. It originated in 1105 when Vitalis of Mortain established a hermitage in the forest at Savigny in France.
Prior is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be lower in rank than the abbey's abbot or abbess.
Odilo of Cluny was the fifth Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, holding the post for around 54 years. During his tenure Cluny became the most important monastery in western Europe. Odilo actively worked to reform the monastic practices not only at Cluny, but at other Benedictine houses. He also promoted the Truce of God whereby military hostilities were temporarily suspended at certain times for ostensibly religious reasons. Odilo encouraged the formal practice of personal consecration to Mary. He established All Souls' Day in Cluny and its monasteries as the annual commemoration to pray for all the faithful departed. The practice was soon adopted throughout the whole Western church.
Ligugé Abbey, formally called the Abbey of St. Martin of Ligugé, is a French Benedictine monastery in the Commune of Ligugé, located in the Department of Vienne. Dating to the 4th century, it is the site of one of the earliest monastic foundations in France. The original abbey having been destroyed during the French Revolution, the current monastic community dates from 1853, and belongs to the Solesmes Congregation.
Saint Berno of Cluny or Berno of Baume was the first abbot of Cluny from its foundation in 909 until he died in 927. He began the tradition of the Cluniac reforms which his successors spread across Europe.
Savigny Abbey was a monastery near the village of Savigny-le-Vieux (Manche), in northern France. It was founded early in the 12th century. Initially it was the central house of the Congregation of Savigny, who were Benedictines; by 1150 it was Cistercian.
Sigo was a Burgundian abbot of the sixth century. He is a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, an Orthodox saint and the reputed founder of the Abbey of Saint-Seine and in the Orthodox Church.
Gerald of Sales was a French monastic reformer from Salles, Lot-et-Garonne near Bergerac, Dordogne in the south-west of France. His feast day is on April 20.
Caldey Abbey is an abbey of the Trappists situated on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, south of Tenby.
Saint Sturm, also called Sturmius or Sturmi, was a disciple of Saint Boniface and founder and first abbot of the Benedictine monastery and abbey of Fulda in 742 or 744. Sturm's tenure as abbot lasted from 747 until 779.
Hugh of Anzy le Duc OSB was a French Benedictine monk, who had a significant influence on monastic reform in the 9th and 10th centuries. He is also known by the name of Hugh of Autun. His birthdate is unknown. He was a native of Poitiers in France. He died in the year 930. He was a friend of Berno of Cluny, the first abbot of the Benedictine monastery at Cluny. His feastday is on April 20.
Caldey Priory is a Grade I-listed priory on Caldey Island off the coast of Pembrokeshire, Wales, some 300 metres (330 yd) south of the modern Caldey Abbey. The priory gardens are listed on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.
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