Saint Bernard

Abbot of Clairvaux (1090-1153)

Feast – August 20

The Old Testament often mentions the blessings and prosperity faithful Jews enjoyed throughout Israel’s history. Sadly, for many of them this prosperity, fame, and position of power became the goal of their lives. They would work hard to achieve those goods as proof of being in favor with God. For them prosperity and power became a new god. For example, the grandfather of Karl Marx was a Dutch Rabbi, his father was a lawyer who converted and join the state Evangelical Church of Prussia to reach upper middle-class income. Karl Marx the author of The Communist Manifesto created an international organization named the Communist League which was behind numerous uprisings across Europe in 1848 with the goal of taking over the world.

In twelfth century, a similar figure to Karl Marx was Pietro Pierleoni, great-great grandson of Benedictus, (Baruch in Hebrew) a Jew who converted to Catholicism and was the son of consul Pier Leoni. The Pierleoni were conceded to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful senatorial families of Rome, risen to that position by usury. The Pierleoni family staunchly supported the Popes throughout the fifty years’ war for reform and freedom. Pietro’s grandfather was baptized by Pope Leo IX and named after him. Leo was also a faithful adherent of Pope Gregory VII.

Leo’s son Peter, from whom the family acquired the appellation of Pierleoni, became leader of the faction of the Roman nobility which was at enmity with the Frangipani clan. He attempted to install his son as Prefect of Rome in 1116. Though favored by the Pope, the attempt was resisted by the opposite party with riot and bloodshed. His second son, Pietro was destined for an ecclesiastical career. He studied in Paris and after finishing education, he became a monk in the monastery of Cluny, but before long he was summoned to Rome by Pope Paschal II and created Cardinal-Deacon of SS. Cosmas and Damian. He accompanied Pope Gelasius on his trip to France, and was employed by successive pontiffs in important affairs, including legations to France and England.

When in 1130, Pope Honorius lay on his deathbed Pietro Pierleoni was determined to buy or force his way into the Papal Chair. He could count upon the votes of thirty cardinals, backed by the support of the mercenary populace and of almost every noble family in Rome.

The Cardinals following a Pope’s Nicholas II bull In nomine Domini, (In nomine Domini was codification of the resolutions of the 1059 synod of Rome, to avoid future controversy in papal elections and to curb the outside influence exerted by non-ecclesiastical parties) decided to entrust the election to a commission of eight men led by papal chancellor Haymaric. They elected and compelled, under threat of excommunication, the reluctant Cardinal of San Giorgio, Gregory Papareschi to accept the pontifical mantle. He took the name of Innocent II.

Later in the day the party of Pierleone assembled in the Church of St. Mark and proclaimed him Pope, with the name of Anacletus II. Both claimants were consecrated on the same day the day after Pope Honorius’ death, 14 February.

Supporters of Anacletus II were powerful enough to take control of Rome. His victory seemed complete; he became the most powerful man in the world.

Pope Innocent II was forced to flee north to France where the last Father of the Holy Church and one of its most famous Doctors, St. Bernard came to his rescue.

St. Bernard was born at the castle of Fontaines, in Burgundy near Dijon, in 1090. His parents were Tescelin de Fontaine, lord of Fontaine-les-Dijon, and Alethe de Montbard, both members of the highest nobility of Burgundy. Bernard was the third of seven children, six of whom were sons.

Under the care of his pious parents at age nine, he was sent to a school at Chatillon-sur-Seine

Notable for his remarkable piety, spirit of recollection and the vigor of his intellect he had an interest in literature and rhetoric. 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, in the year 1111, at the age of 21, St. Bernard left his home to join the monastic community of the Cistercian Order of Citeaux. His five brothers, two uncles, and some 30 young friends followed him into the monastery. Within four years, a dying community had recovered enough vitality to establish a new house. The Holy Abbot, St. Stephen, seeing the great progress St. Bernard had made in the spiritual life, sent him with twelve monks to establish a new monastery in the nearby valley of Wormwoods, soon renamed Clairvaux, the valley of light, with St. Bernard as abbot. During the absence of the Bishop of Langres, St. Bernard was blessed as abbot by William of Champeaux, Bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne. From that moment a strong friendship sprang up between the abbot and the bishop, who was professor of theology at Notre Dame of Paris, and the founder of the Abbey of St. Victor in Paris. Once appointed Abbot he began active life which has rendered him the most conspicuous figure in the history of the 12th century.

St. Bernard’s holy example attracted so many novices that many other monasteries had to be built. In 1118 Trois-Fontaines Abbey was founded in the diocese of Châlons; in 1119 Fontenay Abbey in the Diocese of Autun; and in 1121 Foigny Abbey near Vervins, in the diocese of Laon. Unsparing for himself, he at first expected too much of his monks, who were disheartened by his severity. Soon perceiving his error, he led them forward to wonderful perfection by the sweetness of his correction and the mildness of his government. His aged father exchanging wealth and honor for the poverty of a monk, joining him in the monastery of Clairvaux. From all family one sister alone remained behind; she was married and loved the world and its pleasures. Splendidly clothed, one day she came to visit St. Bernard, and he refused to see her. He finally consented to do so, not as her brother but as the minister of Christ. The words he then spoke moved her so deeply that two years later with her husband’s consent retired to a Benedictine convent of Jully-les-Nonnains, dying later in the reputation of sanctity.

In spite of his desire to remain secluded, the fame of his sanctity spread far and wide.

The monks of the powerful Benedictine abbey of Cluny were unhappy to see Cistercians take the lead role among the monastic orders, they attempted to make it appear that the rules of the new order were impracticable. At the solicitation of William of St.-Thierry, St. Bernard defended the Cistercians with his Apology. He proved himself and his order innocent of the charges, Cluny established a reform, the minister of Louis VI of France, Abbot Sugar, was persuaded and Peter the Venerable, abbot of Cluny assured him of his admiration and friendship.

In provincial affairs he defended the rights of the Church against the encroachments of kings and princes, and recalled to their duty Henri Sanglier, archbishop of Sens and Stephen of Senlis, bishop of Paris.

In the year 1128, St. Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar, a Catholic, military order founded in 1119 who carried mission: to protect European travelers visiting sites in the Holy Land.

When in 1130 Pope Innocent II took refuge in France, King Louis VI convened a national council of the French bishops at Etampes. St. Bernard by consent of the bishops, was chosen to judge between the rival popes. He decided in favor of Pope Innocent II and became his staunch supporter.

The Saint states his reasons for deciding in favor of Innocent in a letter to the Bishops of Aquitaine (Op. cxxvi). “The life and character of our Pope Innocent are above any attack, even of his rival; while the others are not safe even from his friends. In the second place, if you compare the elections, that of our candidate at once has the advantage over the other as being purer in motive, more regular in form, and earlier in time. The last point is out of all doubt; the other two are proved by the merit and the dignity of the electors. You will find, if I mistake not, that this election was made by the more discreet part of those to whom the election of the Supreme Pontiff belongs. There were cardinals, bishops, priests, and deacons, in sufficient number, according to the decrees of the Fathers, to make a valid election. The consecration was performed by the Bishop of Ostia, to whom that function specially belongs.”

After the council of Etampes, St. Bernard persuaded King Henry I of England to support Pope Innocent.

Then he went into Italy and reconciled Pisa, Genoa and Milan with the Pope. The same year Bernard was again at the Council of Reims at the side of Pope Innocent II. He then went to Aquitaine where he succeeded for the time in detaching William X, Duke of Aquitaine, from the cause of Anacletus.

Germany had decided to support Innocent through Norbert of Xanten, who was a friend of St. Bernard’s. Holy Roman Emperor Lothair II became Innocent’s strongest ally among the nobility. This caused the pope to be recognized by all the great powers in Europe.

Meanwhile Anacletus maintained his popularity in Rome by the lavish expenditure of his accumulated wealth and the plundered treasures of the churches.

Although the councils of Etampes, Würzburg, Clermont, and Rheims all supported Innocent, large portions of the Christian world still supported Anacletus.

After that, St. Bernard spent most of his time in Italy persuading the Italians to pledge allegiance to Innocent. He traveled to Sicily in 1137 to convince the king of Sicily to follow Innocent. When Anacletus died on 25 January 1138 the preference of the Romans for Innocent was so pronounced that the antipope, Victor IV, whom the party chose as his successor, soon came as a penitent to St. Bernard and by him was led to the feet of the Pope. Thus ended eight years of schism which threatened serious disaster to the Church.

In 1139, the Tenth Ecumenical Council was called. The Council assembled at the Lateran Palace and nearly a thousand prelates attended among them St. Bernard. In his opening statement Pope Innocent II deposed those who had been ordained and instituted by Anacletus or any of his adherents. King Roger II of Sicily was excommunicated for maintaining a schismatic attitude.

The council drew up measures for the amendment of ecclesiastical morals and discipline which the council fathers considered had grown lax and condemned the teachings of the Peter of Bruys and Henry of Lausanne.

In June 1145, at the invitation of Cardinal Alberic of Ostia, St. Bernard traveled in southern France to confront followers of Peter of Bruys known as Henricians, led by Henry of Lausanne. His preaching, aided by his ascetic looks and simple attire, helped doom the new sects. Both the Henrician and the Petrobrusian faiths began to die out by the end of that year.

In 1144 news came from the Holy Land that alarmed Christendom. Siege took place from November 28 to December 24, 1144, resulting in the fall of the capital of the crusader County of Edessa to Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo. The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other Crusader states were threatened with similar disaster. Deputations of the bishops of Armenia solicited aid from the pope.

Pope Eugene III commissioned St. Bernard to preach the Second Crusade and granted the same indulgences for it which Pope Urban II had accorded to the First Crusade. By his fervor, eloquence, and miracles he attracted many royalties, but an even greater show of support came from the common people. St.  Bernard wrote to the pope a few days afterwards, “Cities and castles are now empty. There is not left one man to seven women, and everywhere there are widows to still-living husbands.” Two large armies were organized.

The last years of his life were saddened by the failure of the Second Crusade, the entire responsibility for which was thrown upon him.  St. Bernard considered it his duty to send an apology to the Pope and it is inserted in the second part of his “Book of Considerations.” There he explains how the sins of the crusaders were the cause of their misfortune and failures.

Many dioceses asked for him as their bishop. Through the help of Pope Eugenius III, his former subject, he escaped this dignity. Nonetheless, his retirement was continually invaded. The poor and weak sought his protection; bishops, kings, and popes applied to him for advice.

St. Bernard had a deep love of the Virgin Mary. According to various medieval stories in 1146 at Speyer Cathedral the Holy Virgin had appeared to him and he received milk from Her breast. He wrote several works about the Queen of Heaven and his name is often connected to the Memorare, one of the most popular Marian prayers of all time.

He died at age sixty-three on 20 August 1153, after forty years of monastic life and was buried at Clairvaux Abbey. Just 21 years after his death he was canonized by Pope Alexander III.

His very precious writings have earned for him the title of The Last Father of the Holy Church.

In 1830 Pope Pius VIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.

 

References and Excerpts:

[1]          F. Media, “Saint Bernard of Clairvaux | Franciscan Media.” https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bernard-of-clairvaux (accessed Aug. 07, 2021).

[2]          C. Online, “St. Bernard of Clairvaux – Saints & Angels,” Catholic Online. https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=559 (accessed Aug. 07, 2021).

[3]          “Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux.” https://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_bernard.html (accessed Aug. 07, 2021).

[4]          “Bernard of Clairvaux,” Wikipedia. Jul. 05, 2021. Accessed: Aug. 07, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernard_of_Clairvaux&oldid=1032116509

[5]          “CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Anacletus II.” https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01447a.htm (accessed Aug. 07, 2021).