Feast of St. Bernard

 

St. Bernard (1090? - 1153) was a mystic and is a Doctor of the Church . And not just a any Doctor - he's known as "The Mellifluous Doctor" (which coincidently was my nickname in high school). He was by most accounts the most influential Catholic of the 12th Century because he helped end the schism of 1130 and was the main voice of conservatism during the so called Renaissance of the 12th century. He also preached in favor of the Second Crusade (thanks to the influence of King Louis VII), which ended in a thrashing for the good guys (that would be the Catholics).

He is considered the second founder of the Cistercians monks, who split from the Benedictines when they thought the Benedictines were getting a little too undisciplined. You know - late night pizza parties, ringing the doorbell of the convent and running away, telling people that for penance they had to hop on one foot to the altar to say their Hail Marys. That kind of thing.

He is most definitely not the guy they named the dogs after...that was St. Bernard de Menthon.

The painting is "The Vision of St Bernard" by Fra Bartolommeo, painted around 1504.