St. Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church

St. Bernard was born into a noble family at Fontaines, near Dijon, France, about 1090. In 1112, with thirty-one other young noblemen—some of whom were his brothers—he entered the Cistercian monastery at Cîteaux, and three years later (1115) the abbot, St. Stephen Harding (1134), appointed Bernard and twelve monks to establish a new monastery at Clairvaux. With Bernard as its abbot, Clairvaux eventually became one of the chief monastic centers in Europe, and he became one of the most influential ecclesiastics in the Church. In 1117, his father, now somewhat advanced in age, and his younger brother Nivard entered his community. During the period when there was both a pope and an antipope, Bernard persuaded the antipope Anacletus II (1130–38) to submit to Innocent II (1130–43) and, thus, he restored peace to the Church. With the election of Pope Eugene III (1145–53)—Bernard’s pupil, former monk at Clairvaux, and abbot of the Cistercian monastery of SS. Vincenzo and Anastasio outside Rome—Bernard’s influence increased. Eugene commissioned (1146) Bernard to preach the Second Crusade, and Bernard spent 1146 and 1147 traveling through France fulfilling that commission. Within his own Cistercian Order, he was known for his sermons, which were almost always commentaries on Scripture or the liturgy, for example, those on the Song of Songs. In the sphere of theology, there are his On Loving God and On Grace and Free Will. Bernard’s writings show a faith nurtured by a sublime mysticism. It was his saintliness and personality that made him so influential and popular. He died, worn out by austerities and illness, at Clairvaux on August 20, 1153, and was canonized by Pope Alexander III in 1174. In 1830, Pope Pius VIII declared him a doctor of the Church. Each of the prayers in the Mass today has a reference to St. Bernard’s life: He is called a radiant light, who strove to bring harmony to the Church and whose teachings can help us to become wise.