Saint Berthold

It was the time when all of Europe had rushed to Asia to conquer the holy places: Bertold took the cross, and vowed that he would enter religious life if the Christian army was delivered from a pressing danger in which it was engaged. Heaven having heard his prayer, he thought of fulfilling the promise he had made to God, and went to Mount Carmel where he requ ested the h Mont-Carmel Place of retreat for the hermits for whom the rule was written. oly habit of the servants of Mary.

Now, while Bertold was entirely devoted to the work of his sanctification, it happened that Aymerie, Patriarch of Antioch and his own brother, was sent to the Holy Land as legate of the Holy See: the legate, having paid a visit to Mount Carmel, admired the heavenly life of the religious there and drew up a new rule for them. The superior of the Order having gone to God in the interval, Aymeric installed, in the vacant office, Bertold, whom a unanimous election had called to this dignity, and conferred upon him, in the manner of the Latins, the title of Prior General. prieur général First Prior General of the Order of Carmel. He whom his brothers had chosen because of his prudence and his holiness believed himself unworthy of the honor bestowed upon him: overcome at last by the prayers of his brothers, and believing moreover that such was the will of heaven, he bowed his shoulders under the burden imposed upon him.

A faithful observer of the laws of monastic regularity, he preached to his brothers as much by his example as by his words. He had such a tender love for the Blessed Virgin, the special Protectress of his Order, that he would not let an hour of the day pass without prostrating himself on the ground and greeting her with tender words and pious affections. The charity with which his soul was inwardly burning was reflected on his face, which often appeared as if surrounded by the rays of the sun. God made known to him in advance the calamities that were about to descend upon the Holy Land and the overflow of evils of which the persecution by the infidels would be the signal: he saw the souls of a great number of his brothers, whom the scimitar of the Saracens had harvested, ascending to heaven, carried on the wings of angels. Full of merits and illustrious for his miracles, Bertold fell asleep in the Lord at the decline of the 12th century: he had li ved one hundred prieur du Carmel Religious order to which the cited blesseds belong. and fifteen years and had been Prior of Carmel for forty-five years.

Carmelite Breviary a Bréciaire des Carmes Liturgical source for the biography. nd Acta. — New trans.