Bruno of Cologne

Saint Bruno, born around 1030 in Cologne, was a major figure of his time. After a successful career as a teacher at the prestigious cathedral school of Reims, where he became chancellor, he grew disgusted with simony and ecclesiastical corruption. Seeking a life of solitude and intense prayer, in 1084, he withdrew with six companions to the Chartreuse mountains, near Grenoble, where he founded the first monastery of the Carthusian Order. Called to Rome by his former pupil, Pope Urban II, to serve as his advisor, court life did not suit him. He refused the bishopric of Reggio and retired to Calabria, where he founded a second Carthusian house (Santa Maria della Torre). He died there on October 6, 1101. His cult, recognized locally from the 12th century, was extended to the universal Church by Pope Gregory XV in 1623. He is considered the perfect example of a contemplative hermit.