Saint Bruno of Cologne

Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, around the year 1030, of the Hartenfaust, one of the principal families of the city.

He studied at the Cathedral school at Rheims and upon his return home at the age of 25, was ordained and became a Canon at Saint Cunibert’s. He was recalled to the school the following year as a professor of theology and shortly after, was made head of the school. This included the oversight of all the educational establishments of the diocese as well.

He remained for 20 years where he developed an excellent reputation as a philosopher and theologian.

At the age of 45, he was appointed chancellor of the Archdiocese of Reims. Manasses of Gournay had been elected as Archbishop and grew in greed while bribing others to get his way. Several Canons, Pope Gregory VII, and Bruno, fought against this disorder and the decadence of clergy who supported and aided Archbishop Manasses who was eventually driven out and took refuge with Emperor Henry IV. The retaliation caused him great suffering including the plundering of his own house.

With the archbishop position vacant, Bruno became a major candidate but refused. Instead, he followed a vow to renounce secular concerns. He withdrew, along with 2 of his friends to an eminent solitary in Seche-Fontaine. After a short time, he found it to not be his vocation and went with 6 companions to Bishop Hugh of Grenoble. The bishop had received a recent vision of these men under a chaplet of 7 stars and proceeded to provide them with land in Chartreuse, a mountainous region of the lower Alps.

An oratory was constructed, and they lived in isolation and poverty, entirely occupied in prayer and study. They followed the rules of Saint Benedict and began the Carthusian Order.

One of his previous students, Eudes of Chatillon, became Pope Urban II, and he was called to Rome in 1090 to continue the work of reform. This included the Pope’s struggle against Antipope Clement III and Emperor Henry IV. For protection his work and influence as an advisor remained hidden and confidential from the rivalries in Rome and within the curia. The papal office, aids, and advisors were forced to evacuate when Henry IV arrived with his antipope Manasses.

Him and his followers set up a new retreat in the Diocese of Squillace, with several patrons to assist. One of the patrons was the future King of Sicily. Through his generosity, the monastery of Saint Stephen was built in 1095. Bruno remained there in his small wooden cabin until his death from illness on October 6, 1101.

He is the patron saint of exorcists, possessed persons, calming storms and turbulent times, and of the Carthusian Order.

His feast day is October 6.

For God’s Glory.