Saint Bruno

Saint Bruno

Learn about Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusian Order, who led six followers into the wilderness of the French Alps to embrace the call of Jesus Christ in 1084.

Carthusian History

Carthusian History

 Carthusian communities today nurture a sacred lineage founded in the Medieval world of 11th-century France.  

Charterhouses

CHARTERHOUSES

Today, twenty-one Carthusian monasteries around the world continue Bruno’s sacred legacy, which has remained an unbroken tradition for over 900 years.

Carthusian-symbol

The Carthusian Order

SAINT BRUNO

Bruno was born in Cologne around 1030. He was still a youth when he was sent to Rheims, in France, to study at one of the most reputed universities in Europe. After completion of his studies, he started teaching at that university. In 1056, Archbishop Gervais chose him to be the Rector of the “schools” of Rheims; he held the office of Rector of studies for 20 years. Towards the end of 1076, Bruno chose exile because of the conflict between Manasses of Gournay, the archbishop of Rheims, and several important institutes of the city, including the Benedictine monastery of Saint Remi.

On December 27, 1080, Gregory VII had to resolve to ask the clergy of Rheims to drive the corrupt archbishop away and to elect a new one. Bruno was chosen for this post of high responsibility and power, one of the highest ecclesiastical positions in the kingdom of France. But he had other plans. He had decided to follow Christ to the desert. It is only around the Feast of St John-Baptist, approximately on June 24, that he and six companions reached the far end of the desert of Chartreuse, under the guidance of Hugh, the young bishop of Grenoble.

Carthusian emblem

Prayer to Saint Bruno

O God, merciful Father, who called Saint Bruno to the solitude of the desert to found the Carthusian Order; We ask that through his intercession you free us from the sorrows of this world and grant us the gift of peace and spiritual joy that you have promised to those who persevere in seeking you.

Amen

For six years, Bruno was able to enjoy the life he had chosen with his brothers. In the first months of 1090, Urban II, a former student of his, summoned him to Rome to help him in the service of the Church, but just a few months later, Bruno obtained the Pope’s permission to return to eremitic life, provided that he would establish his hermitage in southern Italy, then under the rule of the Norman princes. Bruno chose a vast desert in the diocese of Squillace : Santa Maria della Torre.

Saint Bruno died on October 6, 1101 in the Italian region of Calabria.  He was beatified by Pope Leo X in 1514 and was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on February 17, 1623.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE LIFE OF SAINT BRUNO

Life of Saint Bruno: Part I

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

Life of Saint Bruno: Part II

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

Life of Saint Bruno: Part III

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

Life of Saint Bruno: Part IV

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

Life of Saint Bruno: Part V

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

Life of Saint Bruno: Part VI

The following excerpted from André Ravier's (1905-1999) biography of Saint Bruno : Saint Bruno The Carthusian, written in 1981 and translated by Bruno Becker, O.S.B., Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1995. It is reproduced here with the kind permission of Ignatius...

CARTHUSIAN HISTORY

In 1084, Saint Bruno led six followers into the wilderness of the French Alps to embrace the call of Jesus Christ. Today, 21 Carthusian monasteries around the world uphold Bruno’s sacred lineage in a tradition unbroken for over 900 years.

Inspired by the Desert Fathers, the Carthusian monastery (known as a Charterhouse) has always perceived itself as a “desert” where God draws His people to speak to their hearts. The Carthusian enters an authentic silence and solitude stripped of comforts and consolations. There, God leads him on a journey of surrender that eclipses the illusory happiness of worldly success and possessions

Twenty-one Carthusian communities today nurture a sacred lineage founded in the Medieval world of 11th-century France. Saint Bruno, a highly respected and much-loved Dean of the cathedral school at Rheims, grew inflamed by a call to the monastic life. He eventually withdrew from university life and, in 1084, settled along with six companions in the wild, uninhabited mountains outside the city of Grenoble. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they gradually developed a semi-eremitic form of monastic life, which became known as Carthusian. (“Chartreuse”, “Carthusian”, and “Charterhouse” evolve from Cartusia, the Latin name of the mountain range where this small band of monks settled.)

Gradually, similar groups appeared in the same region. Drawn to the spirituality of Saint Bruno and his monks, these early followers repeatedly requested a written account of his manner of life. Eventually, Guigo — the fifth prior of the Grand Chartreuse (as this first community became known) — wrote The Customs, which the other groups adopted as their rule of life. For many years, the leaders of these groups sought to strengthen their relationships with the community of the Grande Chartreuse and, finally, persuaded its Prior to hold a common chapter in his house. At the first General Chapter in 1141, all the Priors united with the Grande Chartreuse in promising the obedience of themselves and their monks. Contemporaneously, a community of nuns in Prebayon spontaneously embraced the Carthusian life.

A_Carthusian_Saint_Visiting_the_Plague_Strickenjpg

A Carthusian monk visiting the plague stricken

Carthusian-symbol

The Carthusians have so well retained the spirit of their founder,
father and lawgiver that unlike other religious bodies, their Order has
never…needed any amendment or, as they say, ‘reform.’

Blessed Pope Pius XI, Apostolic Constitution "Umbratilem", #7

The General Chapters of the Carthusian Order, ever since this earliest beginning, have guaranteed its continuing authenticity and distinctive charism. Like any living organism, the Carthusian life has evolved with vitality and integrity, yet its basic structure has retained its original form for over 900 years. The Order has managed to escape the evils of two extremes: rigid atrophy and loss of identity.

In response to the Second Vatican Council in 1962, the Carthusians reviewed their lifestyle to serve a changing, contemporary world while perpetuating the essence of Saint Bruno’s teachings.

The Order includes monks from every continent. The community has spread from La Grande Chartreuse to seven other countries in Europe (Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, England and Slovenia) and three in the Americas (United States, Brazil and Argentina), as well as in Korea. The Charterhouse of the Transfiguration alone has monks from Canada, Ethiopia, France, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines and the United States.

La Grande Chartreuse
saint bruno prays in La Torre Calabria

Saint bruno prays in La Torre Calabria

Saint Bruno refuses the Archbishopric of Reggio Calabria

Saint Bruno refuses the Archbishopric of Reggio Calabria

The Second Vatican Council invited the Carthusians to re-examine their unique lifestyle in a changing contemporary world. The Church advanced guidelines the Order used to perpetuate the essence of Bruno’s teachings. As an example, whereas the brothers and fathers had separate places during the Liturgy, the brothers may now join the fathers at Mass and in the chanting of the Divine Office.

For over nine centuries, the Popes have nurtured the enduring vitality of the Order and have encouraged its members to remain the “Pauperes Christi” or the “Poor of Christ”, as the early Carthusians were known. Today, the Carthusian continues to symbolize a beggar standing before the presence of God emptied of all but his constant striving for complete availability to Him.

Please visit chartreux.org to learn more Carthusian history.

The Carthusian Life is a 30-page color printed PDF with forewords by the bishop of Burlington and the Superior General of the Carthusian Order.  It describes succinctly all aspects of the Carthusian way of life, its spirituality, and the vocation. It contains 27 photographs of various areas of and around the monastery

The Carthusian Life

CHARTERHOUSES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD

LA GRANDE CHARTREUSE
LA GRANDE CHARTREUSE

(1084-1794 ; 1816-1903 ; reoccupied in 1940)

1084 Allée de la Grande Chartreuse
F-38380 Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse
FRANCE

Charterhouse of PORTES
Chartreuse de PORTES

(1115-1791 ; 1855-1901 ; restored in 1971)

F-01470 Bénonces
FRANCE

Charterhouse of MONTRIEUX
Chartreuse de MONTRIEUX

(1132-1792 ; 1861-1901 ; reoccupied in 1929)

F-83136 Méounes lès Montrieux
FRANCE

LA CERTOSA
LA CERTOSA

(1090-1197 ; 1514-1808 ; restored in 1856)

Piazzale Santo Stefano, 1
I-89822 Serra San Bruno VV
ITALY

Certosa di FARNETA
Certosa di FARNETA

(1338-1806 ; restored in 1903)

Via per Chiatri, 1358/a
I-55100 Lucca LU
ITALY

Charterhouse of LA VALSAINTE
Chartreuse de LA VALSAINTE

(1294-1778 ; reoccupied in 1863)

Route de La Valsainte 122
CH-1654 Cerniat
SWITZERLAND

Cartuja de PORTA CŒLI
Cartuja de PORTA CŒLI

(1272-1808 ; 1814-1835 ; restored in 1945)

Apartado 130
E-46117 Bétera (Valencia)
SPAIN

Cartuja de MONTALEGRE
Cartuja de MONTALEGRE

(1415-1808 ; 1814-1820 ; 1823-1835 ; restored in 1867)

Apartado 5
E-08391 Tiana (Barcelona)
SPAIN

Certosa di FARNETA
Cartuja de Santa María de MIRAFLORES

(1442-1808 ; reoccupied in 1814)

Apartado 43
E-09080 Burgos
SPAIN

cartuja.org

Kartuzija PLETERJE
Kartuzija PLETERJE

(1403-1595 ; reoccupied in 1901)

SI-8310 Šentjernej
SLOVENIA

kartzuzija-pleterje.si

PARKMINSTER – St. HUGH'S Charterhouse
PARKMINSTER – St. HUGH’S Charterhouse

(founded in 1873)

Partridge Green
Horsham, West Sussex RH 13 8EB
UNITED KINGDOM

parkminster.org.uk

Kartause MARIENAU
Kartause MARIENAU

(built in 1964)

D-88410 Bad Wurzach
GERMANY

Cartuxa Nossa Senhora MEDIANEIRA
Cartuxa Nossa Senhora MEDIANEIRA

(founded in 1984)

Rod. RS 348, s. n.- zona rural
98160-000 Ivorá
BRAZIL

Cartuja San Jose
Cartuja San José

(founded in 1998)

CC 46
X 5200 ZAA Deán Funes (Córdoba)
ARGENTINA

Charterhouse NOTRE-DAME de KOREA
Charterhouse OUR LADY of KOREA

(founded in 2002)

251-70, Sudoweon
SOUTH KOREA