Pope Francis marks first millennium since birth of St. Bernard, patron of mountaineers

Vatican City, Nov 11, 2024 / 11:30 am

At the Vatican on Monday, Pope Francis recalled the hospitality and peacemaking of St. Bernard of Aosta, the patron saint of mountaineers and Alpine travelers who lived one millennium ago and gave his name to the St. Bernard dog breed.

Bernard, also known as St. Bernard of Menthon, lived from about 1020–1081 in what are now the countries of France, Switzerland, and Italy. 

A priest and missionary to mountain villages, he created the Great St. Bernard Hospice to help pilgrims crossing the treacherous Pennine Alps and founded the institute of consecrated life known as the Canons Regular of the Hospitaller Congregation of Great Saint Bernard.

Addressing members of the Canons Regular of Great Saint Bernard in the Apostolic Palace on Nov. 11, Pope Francis said he was happy to celebrate the end of the group’s “jubilee year dedicated to the centenary of the proclamation of St. Bernard of Aosta as patron saint of mountaineers, travelers, and inhabitants of the Alps, as well as the ninth centenary since his canonization and the first millennium since his birth.”

The pontiff recalled St. Bernard’s gifts of preaching and hospitality, in particular the “charitable adventure” for which he is best known: “taking care of pilgrims and wayfarers who were crossing the Alpine passes near Mont Blanc — passes that still bear his name today — to enter Italy from France and Switzerland, and vice versa, on international journeys.”

Noting that some of the consecrated canons regular are ski instructors and guides in the Alps, the pope drew on the symbolism of a mountain climber’s tools — the pickaxe and the rope — in his speech.

“St. Bernard’s pickaxe was the word of God, with which he was able to break into the coldest and most hardened hearts; his rope was the community, with whom he walked — and helped others to walk — even along risky paths, to reach the destination,” he said.

The pope also recalled another important story in the life of St. Bernard: when he tried to encourage peace by convincing Emperor Henry IV to not wage war against Pope Gregory VII.

Already sick, the saint ultimately died soon after his return from the unsuccessful journey to Pavia to speak with the emperor. 

The fact that St. Bernard did not manage to keep the peace “makes him even more noble in our eyes,” Francis said, “because it shows him engaged in a delicate and uncertain undertaking, with no guarantee of success.” 

“To promote peace, without being discouraged, even in the face of defeat — and how much we need this courage even now,” the pope said.