Abbot and doctor of the Church
Dijon, France, 1090 – Clairvaux-Clairvaux, 20 August 1153
Bernardo, after Roberto, Alberico and Stefano, was the father of the Cistercian Order. Obedience and the good of the Church often pushed him to leave the monastic quiet to dedicate himself to the most serious political-religious issues of his time. Master of spiritual guidance and educator of generations of saints, in his sermons commenting on the Bible and the liturgy he leaves an exceptional document of monastic theology tending, more than towards science, towards the experience of mystery. He inspired a devoted affection for the humanity of Christ and the Virgin Mother. (Rom. Message)
Patronage: Beekeepers
Etymology: Bernardo = bold as a bear, from German
Emblem: Pastoral Staff, Book
Roman Martyrology: Memory of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church, who entered the new monastery of Cîteaux together with thirty companions and later became founder and first abbot of the monastery of Clairvaux, wisely directed with his life, doctrine and example the monks on the path of God’s precepts; he traveled throughout Europe to restore peace and unity and enlightened the whole Church with his writings and his ardent exhortations, until in the territory of Langres in France he rested in the Lord.
LIFE
At twenty-two he became a monk, taking with him about thirty relatives. The monastery is the one founded by Robert of Molesmes in Cîteaux (Cistercium in Latin, hence Cistercians). At 25 they sent him to found another in Clairvaux, an uninhabited countryside, which became the Clara Vallis of him and the monks. He is reserved, almost shy. But there is his character. The Pope and the Church are his fixed stars, but many clergymen go against him. He is also severe with the monks of Cluny, who in his opinion are too polished, with churches that are too adorned, “while the poor are hungry”.
He asks his Cistercians for fewer functions, less reading and a lot of work. He hurls his mythical tillers onto uncultivated Europe, apostles with the hoe, who put the earth and the water, and with them the animals, in order, changing European history with effort and prayer. And he, the leader, is often called to top missions, as when he travels throughout Europe to make Pope Innocent II (Gregorio Papareschi) recognized there, undermined by the antipope Pietro de’ Pierleoni (Anacleto II). And the schism ends, with the help of his prestige, his persuasive vigor, but above all his humility. This ascetic, however, is not always able to appreciate those who explore other paths of faith. Bernard harshly attacks the Trinitarian doctrine of Gilberto Porretano, bishop of Poitiers.
In 1145 his disciple Bernardo dei Paganelli (Eugenius III) ascends to the pontificate, and he sends him a treatise good for every pope, but adapted for him, with the invitation not to delude himself about those around him: “Can you show me one who has greeted your election without having received money or without the hope of receiving any? And the more they profess to be your servants, the more they want to dominate.” Eugene III then calls him to preach the crusade (the second) in defense of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem. But the undertaking will fail in front of Damascus.
Bernardo arrives in a city and the streets are filled with people. But, back in the monastery, he was again obedient to the rule like everyone else: prayer, fasting, and a lot of work. We have 331 sermons by him, plus 534 letters, plus famous treatises: on grace and free will, on baptism, on the duties of bishops… And the affectionate writings on Mary, mother of Jesus, whom he calls mediator of graces (but does not recognize the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception).
Bitter moments in recent years: difficulties in the Order, the spread of heresies and physical suffering. He dies of stomach cancer. He is buried in the monastery church, but with the French Revolution his remains were dispersed; except his head, now in the cathedral of Troyes.
Alexander III proclaimed him a saint in 1174. Pius VIII, in 1830, gave him the title of Doctor of the Church.