The well-known Hartenfaust family welcomed Bruno into the world in 1030 in Cologne, Germany. Little is known about his early life other than the fact that he studied theology in Reims, which is now in France, before returning to his native place, where he was probably ordained as a priest around 1055.
After Heriman, the school's director, left in 1057 to join the consecrated life, he immediately took over as head of the school when he returned to Reims the following year. Before being appointed Chancellor of Reims by its Archbishop, Manasses, in 1075 at the age of 45, Bruno oversaw and taught at the institution for nearly twenty years, building a renowned reputation as a philosopher and theologian.
During Bruno's tenure as chancellor, Reims was in commotion due to the actions of its new bishop, Manasses de Gournai. Bruno participated in the dismissal of Bishop Manasses and backed Pope Gregory VII in his battle against the debauchery of the clergy. When Bruno and several other priests declared Manasses ineligible for the position of Papal Legate in 1076, they were compelled to leave Reims.
When Manasses was overthrown in 1080, Bruno went back to Rheims but eventually traveled to Cologne. Despite the desire of the Rheims populace for Bruno to become archbishop, Bruno chose to live an eremitical life.
In order to enter religious life, Bruno and two of his companions decided to give up their possessions and positions in the world. In 1084, Bruno and a few other intellectuals who wanted to become monks moved to the Chartreuse Mountains after Bruno was moved by a dream to seek advice from the bishop who would later become known as Saint Hugh of Grenoble.
They built an oratory and individual cells, roughly following the rule of St. Benedict, and thus began the Carthusian Order. Although they did not yet have a formal code of conduct, they embraced a life of abject poverty, manual labor, prayer, and manuscript transcription.
Bruno's former student was elected Pope Urban II in 1088. After six years as an alpine monk, Bruno was summoned to leave his isolated monastery to help the Pope in his conflict with a rival claimant to the papacy as well as the hostile Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.
During a crucial time of reform, Bruno was the Pope's close advisor. He also turned down a different opportunity to become a bishop about this time, this one in the Calabria region of Italy. Bruno was allowed to return to monastic life with the Pope's approval, but he was compelled to stay in Italy rather than go back to his monastery in France because he had a duty to assist the Pope occasionally.
Bruno made a close connection with Count Roger of Sicily and Calabria in the 1090s, who gave his community of monks land in 1095, enabling the establishment of a significant monastery. The monks were revered both then and now for their strict observance of austerity, poverty, and prayer as well as for their unusual organizational structure that combined the hermit's solitary existence with the communal life of more traditional monks.
On October 6, 1101, St. Bruno passed away after making a noteworthy declaration of faith that was recorded for history. In his last testimony, he placed special stress on the doctrine of Christ's Eucharistic presence, which was already being questioned in some quarters of the Western Church.
“I believe,” he testified, “in the sacraments that the Church believes and holds in reverence, and especially that what has been consecrated on the altar is the true Flesh and the true Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which we receive for the forgiveness of our sins and in the hope of eternal salvation.”
He published various commentaries on the Psalms and the epistles of St. Paul. Due to the Carthusians' dislike of receiving public accolades, he was never formally canonized; however, Pope Leo X allowed the Carthusians to observe his feast day in 1514, and his name was added to the Roman calendar in 1623. But in 1674, Pope Clement X extended his feast to the entire Church, and today, it is observed on October 6.
Other Saints of the Day
Saint Sagar
Saint Nicetas
Saint Magnus
Saint Francis Trung
Saint Ceollach