Saint Alberic of Citeaux
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux (died January 26, 1109 at Cîteaux, Burgundy, France) was a French Benedictine monk and the second Abbot of Cîteaux Abbey, the founding house of the Cistercian Order. Together with Saint Robert of Molesme and Saint Stephen Harding, Alberic is venerated as one of the three founders and patriarchs of the Cistercian Order—the most influential monastic reform movement of the twelfth century, which transformed Western monasticism and produced over five hundred monasteries across Europe within a century of its founding. Alberic served as the second abbot of Cîteaux from 1099 until his death in 1109, during the critical period when the new community risked extinction from shortage of vocations before the entrance of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux revitalized it. His feast day is celebrated on January 26.
Alberic represents the essential link in the chain of the Cistercian founding: he was the prior of Cîteaux during the lifetime of its first abbot Robert and succeeded him as abbot; it was under his governance that the community received the white habit from the Virgin Mary in a vision (a tradition preserved in Cistercian hagiography), adopted the white habit as their distinctive dress (distinguishing themselves from the black-habited Cluniacs), and received the first papal confirmation of their foundation. Without Alberic's steady governance during the precarious early years of Cîteaux, the reformed community might not have survived long enough for Bernard of Clairvaux to transform it into one of the great forces of medieval Christianity.
Stored in Cargo: Saint Alberic Of Citeaux
| Saint Alberic of Citeaux | |
|---|---|
| Feast Day | January 26 |
| Profession | Benedictine/Cistercian Monk; Abbot |
| Rel. Affiliation | Cistercian Order (co-founder); Cîteaux Abbey |
| Patronage | Cistercian Order (with Robert and Stephen Harding) |
| Attributes | White Cistercian habit; abbatial staff; image of the Virgin Mary |
| Birthplace | Burgundy, France (exact location unknown) |
| Death Place | Cîteaux Abbey, Burgundy, France |
| Cause of Death | Natural causes |
| Primary Shrine | Abbaye de Cîteaux, Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or, France |
| Liturgical Class | Not included (universal calendar); feast within Cistercian Order |
| Historic Class | Not included |
Biography
Birth
The birth date and family origins of Alberic are not recorded in the surviving sources. He was born in Burgundy, probably in the second half of the eleventh century. He appears in the historical record as an already-formed monk when he is first encountered at Molesme Abbey in Burgundy, one of the reforming monasteries of the late eleventh century.
Early Life
Alberic's monastic formation took place at Molesme Abbey, founded by Saint Robert of Molesme in 1075. Molesme was itself a reform monastery, seeking to return to a stricter observance of the Rule of Saint Benedict against the ease and comfort that had developed in established Benedictine houses. At Molesme, Alberic distinguished himself as a monk of serious commitment and became the prior of the community—effectively its second-in-command under Abbot Robert.
As prior, Alberic was Robert's closest collaborator in the governance of Molesme and in the growing conviction that the monastery needed to go further in its reform program. Over time, Robert, Alberic, and a group of like-minded monks became convinced that they needed to leave Molesme and found a new community that would observe the Rule of Saint Benedict without compromise, in its primitive purity—sine glossa ("without gloss"), as the Cistercian phrase would have it.
Occupation
In 1098, Robert, Alberic, Stephen Harding, and a group of about twenty monks left Molesme with the permission of the papal legate and founded the "New Monastery" (Novum Monasterium) in the marshy forest of Cîteaux in Burgundy. The name Cîteaux (Latin: Cistercium) gave the new Order its name: Cistercians.
The early years of Cîteaux were extremely difficult. The community struggled with harsh physical conditions, shortage of food and resources, and—most critically—a near-total failure to attract new vocations. When Robert was recalled to Molesme in 1099 (under papal pressure from Molesme's supporters), Alberic was elected to succeed him as second Abbot of Cîteaux.
Alberic's abbacy (1099–1109) was the period in which the community came closest to extinction through lack of novices, and also the period in which its distinctive character was formed. It was during Alberic's abbacy that:
- The community received papal confirmation from Pope Paschal II (1100).
- The monks adopted the undyed white habit that would become the Cistercian mark, distinguishing them from the black-habited Benedictines and Cluniacs (hagiographic tradition records that the white habit was given to them by the Virgin Mary in a vision).
- The first elements of what would become the Carta Caritatis (the constitutional document of the Cistercian Order, drafted under Stephen Harding) were developed.
- The community endured years without a single novice entering, threatening the survival of the foundation.
Vocation
Alberic's vocation was that of a monastic reformer: a man who had staked his life on the conviction that the Rule of Saint Benedict, taken seriously and literally, was a path to genuine union with God, and who was willing to endure every hardship to prove it. His governance of Cîteaux during its most precarious years—before the entrance of Bernard of Clairvaux transformed it into a movement—was an act of extraordinary faith and perseverance.
He combined in his person the contemplative depth of the great monastic tradition with the reforming zeal that characterized the Gregorian Reform era. His relationship with Robert of Molesme (his abbot and founding figure) and with Stephen Harding (his prior and eventual successor) was that of a threefold cord of complementary gifts: Robert provided the founding vision, Alberic the stability and governance during the critical middle period, and Stephen the intellectual framework and organizational genius that made the Cistercian Order a durable institution.
Death
Alberic died peacefully on January 26, 1109, at Cîteaux, having governed the community for ten years after Robert's departure. He died without seeing the great expansion of the Cistercian Order—Bernard of Clairvaux entered Cîteaux in 1113, just four years after Alberic's death—but the foundation he had preserved through its most difficult years was now ready to become one of the transforming forces of medieval Christianity.
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux met his end peacefully on January 26, 1109, at the Abbey of Cîteaux, dying as the second abbot of the founding house of the Cistercian Order after ten years of faithful governance through the community's most precarious years.
Significant events
- Formed as a monk at Molesme Abbey; became prior under Saint Robert of Molesme.
- Left Molesme in 1098 with Robert and Stephen Harding to found the "New Monastery" at Cîteaux.
- Elected second Abbot of Cîteaux in 1099 when Robert was recalled to Molesme.
- Received papal confirmation of Cîteaux from Pope Paschal II (1100).
- The community adopted the white Cistercian habit during his abbacy.
- Governed Cîteaux through the difficult years of few novices; the community nearly failed.
- Died January 26, 1109; Saint Bernard entered Cîteaux four years later (1113).
- Venerated as one of the three founding patriarchs of the Cistercian Order.
Significant locations
Legend
Birth location: None
Death location: Cîteaux Abbey, Burgundy, France
Notable location: Founding abbey of the Cistercian Order; site of his abbacy and death (Abbaye de Cîteaux, Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or, France)
Notable location: Monastery from which the Cistercian founders departed to found Cîteaux (Molesme Abbey (Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Molesme), Molesme, Côte-d'Or, France)
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Parishes
No parishes dedicated to Saint Alberic of Cîteaux have been added to the database yet.
Media
No media found for this saint.
Shrines
Dynamic shrines
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No shrines where this saint is the primary saint.
List of shrines
Abbaye de Cîteaux, Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or, France
- The Abbey of Cîteaux, still home to a community of Cistercian monks, is the mother house of the entire Cistercian Order and the site of Alberic's abbacy and death. Pilgrims may visit the abbey, attend the liturgy with the monks, and venerate the memory of the three founding fathers of Cîteaux at the abbey's church and museum.
- Pilgrimage details: Abbaye de Cîteaux, 21700 Saint-Nicolas-lès-Cîteaux, Côte-d'Or, France. Open for visits; check schedule with the abbey. Diocese: Diocese of Dijon.
- Facts: Cîteaux is the source of the Cistercian Order, which at its peak in the thirteenth century had over five hundred monasteries across Europe and produced saints including Bernard of Clairvaux, Aelred of Rievaulx, and Blessed Guerric of Igny.
Canonization
Servant of God
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux was recognized through the ancient process of universal veneration within the Cistercian Order, predating the formal canonization process.
Canonization
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux is venerated as a canonized saint through the ancient process of equivalent canonization, confirmed by his continuous veneration within the Cistercian Order and his inclusion in the Roman Martyrology.
Miracles
No specific miracles for beatification or canonization have been authenticated through the modern Congregation for the Causes of Saints process.
Other notable miracles
- Cistercian hagiographic tradition records that the Virgin Mary appeared to the community and gave them the white habit, a sign of her special protection of the new foundation.
Patronage
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux is venerated as one of the three founding patrons of the Cistercian Order, alongside Saint Robert of Molesme and Saint Stephen Harding.
Feast day
January 26
Veneration
Saint Alberic of Cîteaux is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church with a feast day on January 26. His feast is observed within the Cistercian Order (including the Trappists) and in the broader tradition of Benedictine monasticism. He is depicted in the white Cistercian habit of the Order he helped to found, holding an abbatial staff or a model of Cîteaux. He is venerated alongside Robert of Molesme and Stephen Harding as the triple foundation of the Cistercian tradition.
Prayers
Authored
There are prayers authored by this saint in prayers list yet.
Intercessory
There are no prayers asking for this saint's intercession in prayers list yet.
Books
Written about the saint
- Louis J. Lekai, The Cistercians: Ideals and Reality (1977) — the standard history of the Cistercian Order, with full treatment of the founding period.
- Books about the founding of the Cistercian Order and the three patriarchs
Written by the saint
- No writings by Saint Alberic are known to survive.