Feast January 23 Patronage Agricultural workers | Name Bernard Vienne | |
Venerated in Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church Canonized 1907 (cultus confirmed) Died January 23, 842 AD, Vienne, France | ||
Saint Bernard of Vienne, also known as Saint Bernard of Romans, (778 – 23 January 842) was bishop of Vienne from 810 until his death.
Before his monastic career, Bernard was a soldier under Charlemagne. The death of his mother and father after seven years of military service had a deep impact on Bernard and caused him to spend all his wealth on charitable purposes, dividing it into three parts: for the church, for the poor, for his children. He bought the monastery in Ambronay, of which he became abbot. In 810, after resistance, he became bishop of Vienne.
Bernard, like many other clerics, supported the unity of the Frankish Empire. He took a position on the side of Lothair I against his father Louis the Pious, for which he was deposed in the Synod of Thionville, although this was never carried out.
Towards the end of his life, he enjoyed retiring to a spot on the banks of the Isère River, where the town of Romans is today.