Bernard of Clairvaux

Bernard of Clairvaux, O. Cist. (Latin: Bernardus Claraevallensis; 1090 – 20 August 1153), venerated as Saint Bernard, was an abbot, mystic, co-founder of the Knights Templar, and a major leader in the reformation of the Benedictine Order through the nascent Cistercian Order.

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Saint Bernard of Clairvaux O. Cist.
San Bernardo by Juan Correa de Vivar, held in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain
Doctor of the Church Doctor Mellifluus Last of the Fathers Confessor Abbot
Born	c. 1090 Fontaine-les-Dijon, Burgundy, Kingdom of France
Died	20 August 1153 (aged 62–63) Clairvaux Abbey, Clairvaux (modern-day part of Ville-sous-la-Ferté), Champagne, Kingdom of France
Venerated in	Catholic Church Anglican Communion[1] Lutheranism[2]
Canonized	18 January 1174, Rome, Papal States, by Pope Alexander III
Major shrine	Troyes Cathedral
Feast	20 August
Attributes	Cistercian habit book crosier
Patronage	Cistercians Burgundy beekeepers candlemakers Gibraltar Algeciras Queens' College, Cambridge Speyer Cathedral Knights Templar Binangonan, Rizal

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He was sent to found Clairvaux Abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val d'Absinthe, about 15 kilometres (9 mi) southeast of Bar-sur-Aube. In the year 1128, Bernard attended the Council of Troyes, at which he traced the outlines of the Rule of the Knights Templar,[lower-alpha 1] which soon became an ideal of Christian nobility.

On the death of Pope Honorius II in 1130, a schism arose in the church. Bernard was a major proponent of Pope Innocent II, arguing effectively for his legitimacy over the Antipope Anacletus II.

In 1139, Bernard attended the Second Council of the Lateran and criticized Peter Abelard vocally. Bernard advocated crusades in general and convinced many to participate in the unsuccessful Second Crusade, notably through a famous sermon at Vézelay (1146).

Bernard was canonized just 21 years after his death by Pope Alexander III. In 1830 Pope Pius VIII declared him a Doctor of the Church.