St Bernard (1090 – 1153) was born into royalty, the third in a family of ten children at Fontaine-Les-Dijon, France. He excelled at school and developed a special devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary; a devotion that, in later life, he preached to others.
At 19, when his mother died, St Bernard decided to join the Cistercian Order. There he founded Clairvaux Abbey and was appointed its Abbot. The regime that he set within the Abbey, was so austere that even he became ill. However, followers flocked to it including, his father and all his brothers.
St Bernard defended the rights of the Church against the encroachments of Kings and Princes’. He assisted in ending a disagreement within the Church regarding Papal appointments and was called upon to help combat heresy.
St Bernard is a noted Doctor of the Church. His Feast Day is the 20th of August. He is the Patron Saint of the Cistercians, Burgundy, Gibraltar, Queens’ College, Cambridge, and the Knights Templar.
St Bernard of Clairvaux:
Pray for us that we will seek God’s mercy and the forgiveness of all our sins.
Glory be to the…
