Portal:Catholic Church/Patron Archive/May 28 2007

Saint Bernard of Menthon (Bernard of Montjoux), Born in 923, probably in the Château de Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy; died at Novara, 1008. He was descended from a rich, noble family and received a thorough education. He refused an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service of the Church. Sneaking away from the chateau the day before the wedding, he fled to Italy and joined the Benedictine order. Placing himself under the direction of Peter, Archdeacon of Aosta, under whose guidance he rapidly progressed, Bernard was ordained priest and on account of his learning and virtue was made Archdeacon of Aosta (966), having charge of the government of the diocese under the bishop. Seeing the old pagan ways still prevailing among the people of the Alps, he resolved to devote himself to their conversion. For forty-two years he continued to preach the Gospel to these people and even into many cantons of Lombardy, effecting numerous conversions and working many miracles. In popular legend it is said that during his flight from Château de Menthon, Bernard cast himself from his window only to be captured by angels and lowered gently to the ground 40 feet below. In actuality he used a chain of knotted bed sheets. Since the most ancient times there has been a path across the Pennine Alps leading from the valley of Aosta to the Swiss canton of Valais. The traditional route of this pass is covered with perpetual snow from seven to eight feet deep, and drifts sometimes accumulate to the height of forty feet. Though the pass was extremely dangerous, especially in the springtime on account of avalanches, yet it was often used by French and German pilgrims on their way to Rome. For the convenience and protection of travelers St. Bernard founded a monastery and hospice at the highest point of the pass, 8,000 feet above sea-level, in the year 962, whence the pass came to bear his name. A few years later he established another hospice on the Little St. Bernard Pass, a mountain saddle in the Graian Alps, 7,076 feet above sea-level. Both were placed in charge of Augustinian monks after pontifical approval had been obtained by Bernard during a visit to Rome.

The last act of St. Bernard's life was the reconciliation of two noblemen whose strife threatened a fatal outcome. He was interred in the cloister of St. Lawrence. Although venerated from the twelfth century in such places of northern Italy as Aosta, Novara and Brescia, he was not formally recognized as a saint until his canonization by Innocent XI in 1681. Pope Pius XI confirmed Bernard as patron saint of the Alps in 1923.

Attributes:In the mountains, with a dog

Patronage:mountaineers, skiers, the Alps

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