Ribera's Vision of St. Bruno

Saint Bruno is the founder of the Carthusian Order, a medieval congregation that caught the public eye recently through the acclaimed documentary Into Great Silence.

Born to a noble family of Cologne in 1030, Bruno excelled in his classical and religious studies at schools both at home and in Rheims.  After completing his education, Bruno taught in Rheims, was ordained to the priesthood, and over time was granted various responsibilities in the diocesan administration of Rheims.  At some point, ecclesiastical politics drove Bruno to seek refuge in the countryside, where he and a few companions happened upon a way of life that combined the solitary observance of hermits with the communal prayer and fraternity of monks. The result was a type of return of western Benedictine monasticism to its eremitical roots in the near eastern deserts of Palestine and Egypt.

After regularizing this way of life in southeast France, at what is today called the Grand Chartreuse, Bruno was called to Rome and reentered the world of church governance.  His learning and erudition were well known, and the pope needed his counsel.  Bruno fulfilled his tasks in the papal court well, but he kept his distance from intrigue and worked quietly out of the spotlight.  While in Rome, Bruno befriended the clergy of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy.  There he helped them to establish a rule of life similar to what he lived in southeast France.  It was among his new disciples in Reggio Calabria that Bruno died in 1101.  

St. Bruno’s two foundations in Italy and France were the first seeds of what would eventually become the Carthusian Order.

For more on the life and spirit of St. Bruno, click here.

Only one Carthusian monastery exists here in the United States.  The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration is located in southern Vermont.

Below you’ll find two rare glimpses of Carthusian life taken from Into Great Silence.  The first shows the monks of the Grand Chartreuse celebrating the Feast of Corpus Christi.  In the second an elderly Carthusian shares what he has discovered to be the secret of happiness.

 

Father, you called Saint Bruno to serve you in solitude.  In answer to his prayers help us to remain faithful to you amid the changes of this world.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.  Amen.