Saint Bernard of Clairvaux

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, often referred to as Saint Bernard, was a significant figure in the 12th century. He was born around 1090 in Fontaine-lès-Dijon, Burgundy, Kingdom of France. He is venerated as an abbot, mystic, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

Bernard was the third of seven children, and he received an especially good education in response to a local man’s prophecy that he was destined for great things. After his mother’s death, Bernard began to consider a life of solitude and prayer. He joined the monastery at Citeaux, near Dijon, which was a group of monks who had gathered in 1098 with the intention of returning to St. Benedict’s original rule of monasticism from the sixth century.

Three years into his life as a monk of Citeaux, Bernard received a commission from his abbot to become the head of a new monastery, practicing the same rule of life. This new monastery was located in a place Bernard himself dubbed “Clairvaux,” or “Clear Valley”.

Bernard played a significant role in the first general chapter of the Cistercian order, which drew up its constitutions and rules. He also outlined the rule of life for the Knights Templars, the Catholic military order charged with the defense of the Holy Land.

Bernard passed away on August 20, 1153, at Clairvaux Abbey, Clairvaux, Champagne, Kingdom of France. He was canonized on January 18, 1174, by Pope Alexander III. In 1830, Pope Pius VIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.

(1) Bernard of Clairvaux - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_of_Clairvaux.

(2) St. Bernard of Clairvaux: monastic reformer and adviser to popes. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/23144/st-bernard-of-clairvaux-monastic-reformer-and-adviser-to-popes.

(3) St. Bernard of Clairvaux - Christian Classics Ethereal Library. https://ccel.org/ccel/bernard.

(4) St. Bernard of Clairvaux - Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bernard-of-Clairvaux.

(5) Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/portrait-of-saint-bernard-de-clairvaux-french-abbot-and-news-photo/526265158.