Saint Hugh of Cluny

A few months after his election, he attended the Council of Reims, presided over by Leo IX, and occupied the second rank among all the abbots of Christendom. The speech he was tasked with delivering there a gainst simonie Buying or selling of spiritual goods, a major struggle of the saint. simony and the concubinage of clerics had great resonance and success; its conclusions were sanctioned by the council. "Hugh, Abbot of Cluny, we read in the acts of the council, by the voice of the second, said: I have given nothing and I have promised nothing to obtain the dignity of abbot. The flesh desired it, but the spirit and reason opposed it." One may note here the humility of this holy abbot who, by acknowledging that he had given nothing to obtain his office, seems to confess that he had been tempted to do so. From Reims, Hugh followed the Pope to Rome, attending, on the way, the Council of Mainz, where forty bishops sat; then another council in Rome, in which the errors of Berengar of Tours, the oldest of the precursors of Luther, were discussed for the first time. In the Roman council, Hugh, the youngest of the abbots, again held the second place. Shortly after, he went to Cologne to hold the son of the Emperor of Germany at the baptismal font. He celebrated the feast of Easter in that city, where the Germans could not tire of admiring the sweetness of his conversation, the graces of his countenance, and the gravity of his manners at such an early age, for the holy abbot was not yet thirty. Scarcely back at Cluny, he rushed to Hungary to reconcile King Andrew with the Emperor.

Important events rarely occurred without Hugh taking a major part in them. Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, angered by the death of his son, killed by the people of Auxerre, had declared himself the enemy of the Bishop of Autun and was ravaging Burgundy. A council assembled at Autun in 1055. The Duke proudly refused to appear. Hugh calmed him, swayed him, and brought him without resistance into the holy assembly, where the Abbot of Cluny spoke with such eloquence that Robert, touched to the depths of his heart, forgave his son's murderers and restored peace.

At another time, the bishops of Chalon and Mâcon owed their reconciliation to Saint Hugh. He presided over the Council of Avignon as legate of Pope Nicholas II. His insights illuminated all the assemblies of the Church of France. At Toulouse in 1068; at Chalon in 1072; at Autun again in 1077; at Clermont in 1095; everywhere Catholic synods were honored by his presence. His reputation for virtue was so great that Pope Stephen IX, ill in Florence, wished to keep him there to assist him on his deathbed and receive his final sighs.

But G regory VII a Grégoire VII Pope during whose pontificate Saint Gausbert died. bove all, that illustrious and holy Pope who was first prior of Cluny, showed Abbot Hugh the most filial and affectionate trust. He had not been on the Holy See for a year when, already in 1074, he complained tenderly of not yet having seen his friend, the Abbot of Cluny, in Rome. At the height of his misfortunes and the anxieties of his public life, he found no greater consolation than to pour into Hugh's heart all the sorrows of his own, and to make him the intimate confidant of his eloquent complaints regarding the sadness of the Church. More than once, Saint Gregory named him arbiter and judge of important ecclesiastical disputes; for example, notable cases of the Church of Auvergne and the Bishop of Orleans. He regarded him as one of his legates in the Gauls.

During the great and terrible quarrel that divided Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV, Hugh knew how to remain faithful to the affection he owed to Henri IV Emperor and father of Itta. his spiritual son, and to the submission due to the Sovereign Pontiff. He averted more than once the storm raised against Gregory; but he also defended Henry IV until death, against the ingratitude of his son, and arranged, in 1077, through his influence with the famous Countess Matilda, the reconciliation of the Emperor w ith Saint Gregory comtesse Mathilde Influential countess who aided in the reconciliation at Canossa. . It was to Hugh that the dethroned and fugitive Emperor wrote with sorrow the details of the revolt of Henry V; and the Abbot of Cluny did not disregard the benefits he had received from the imperial family.

In those memorable times, the role of the Abbey of Cluny was immense. It was from there that two of the most illustrious Popes to occupy the chair of Saint Peter emerged, who, by the elevation of their spirit as well as the severity of their morals, were worthy of continuing the work of Gregory: Urban II Urbain II Pope who preached the First Crusade. and Paschal II. Both, disciples of Hugh, were sent to Gregory VII by the Abbot of Cluny, and succeeded one another immediately on the pontifical throne. This singular fact alone suffices to make one understand the moral preponderance of the Burgundian monastery in the 11th and 12th centuries.

Urban II, upon his accession, hastened to announce it to Abbot Hugh, his master, in terms of respect and fraternity, still full of memories of the house where he had been raised. Coming to the famous Council of Clermont, he went as far as Cluny, blessed the high altar of the new church that had just been built, and left with Hugh for the Catholic assembly where the First Crusade was decided. Hugh was highly honored and had much influence in this council.

Paschal II, having bec ome pope, Pascal II Pope reigning during the episcopate of Geoffrey. came to see Cluny again; from there he went back up toward Dijon, where he consecrated the church of Saint-Bénigne. He was to Hugh what Urban II had been; and both renewed and confirmed all the privileges that Gregory VII had already renewed, in a long bull, in favor of the abbey and the Abbot of Cluny.

It was nearly the case that Hugh persuaded the King of France, Philip I, through his familiar conversations, to come and do penance for his past life under the habit of a Cluniac monk. The king, however, contented himself with submitting the Abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs to Hugh.

But nothing equa led the dev Alphonse VI King of Spain, protector and devoted friend of Hugh. oted friendship that Alfonso VI, King of Castile, bore for the Abbot of Cluny. Alfonso, held prisoner by his brother Sancho, had owed his deliverance to the prayers and authority of Hugh. In his gratitude, he founded two monasteries in Spain subject to Cluny, and he doubled the annual tribute that his father, Ferdinand, had promised to the abbey. Had Hugh not restrained him on the throne, he would have become a monk in Burgundy; he wished at least, while retaining the kingship, to contribute generously to the construction of the basilica, the immense building of which the Abbot of Cluny undertook. Hugh came to Burgos to see King Alfonso, and, on this journey, he is credited with the honor of having introduced the Roman rite into the Church of Spain in place of the Gothic or Mozarabic rite.

The same year, Hugh's arbitration was sought by two princes, Raymond of Burgundy, Count of Galicia, and Henry, Count of Portugal, who sent him a treaty of partition regarding the succession of their father-in-law, Alfonso, King of Castile and Leon.

A Count of Mâcon, Wido, entered the monastery of Cluny with his sons, thirty knights, and a large number of servants. The countess, his wife, retired to the convent of Marcigny, founded by Saint Hugh. Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, ceded his states to his brother Odo and came to end his days at Cluny in Christ Guillaume le Conquérant Duke of Normandy and successor to Edward on the English throne. ian austerities. William the Conqueror begged our holy abbot to come and spend some time in England to take charge of all the monasteries in that land. He implored him to send at least six monks. Hugh refused, not wishing to have any part in the violence of this conqueror, who was stripping and dismissing the Anglo-Saxon clergy and replacing them with a Norman clergy.

The monastic houses and all the resources of the Abbey of Cluny grew unceasingly. In the will of William the Bastard, there was an annual bequest for Cluny. The first daughter of the Abbey of Cluny, La Charité-sur-Loire, was founded. Theobald III, Count of Troyes, and Adela, his wife, made a considerable donation to Cluny. The monastery of Saint-Arnould of Crespy was submitted to it by Count Simon of Crespy; that of Saint-Bertin, by Robert, Count of Flanders; that of Rimesingue, by Emperor Henry; that of Saint-Wulmar, by the Count of Boulogne; that of Nogent-le-Rotrou, by Count Geoffrey. The Bishop of Orléans, the Bishop of Basel, the Archbishops of Lyon, Besançon, and Reims, granted the Abbot of Cluny the monasteries of their dioceses. In Auxerre, in Auch, in Tarbes, in Limoges, throughout all of Aquitaine, there were new concessions everywhere that would be too long to enumerate.

Popes and kings were not satisfied with protecting the progressive enlargement of the monastery of Cluny with their charters; they themselves submitted monastic establishments to it. Urban II, in the midst of a council, exalted and privileged the Abbey of Cluny, and had his bull signed by the Fathers of the council. He threatened those who disturbed Cluny with all spiritual penalties. Finally, he gave Hugh the right to wear pontifical ornaments during solemn feasts.

After this portrait of the public life of Saint Hugh, let us briefly look at the wonders of his private life. He was austere in his living, prudent in all his actions, grave and serious in his speech, modest in all his movements, charitable toward all, a friend of silence, an enemy of idleness; he prayed without ceasing, and if he took any rest, it was only to begin his work again with more ardor. He took great care that his monks had everything necessary for their maintenance, for fear that the lack of these things might prejudice the observance of the Rule. Heavenly aid did not fail him either for the government of his Order. A monk of Cluny, many say Hildebrand, who was later Gregory VII, one day saw Jesus Christ sitting in a choir stall next to Hugh, dictating to him the decrees and monastic rules. He knew by revelation what was happening in his monasteries. One day, at Saint-Jean-d'Angély, it seemed to him, in a vision, that lightning fell on Cluny. He immediately went to that monastery, and not having been able to learn there what fault had been committed to attract the wrath of God in this way, he began to pray, and heaven revealed to him that one of his monks had gravely offended God. At the monastery of La Charité-sur-Loire, he gave the kiss of peace to all the monks, except for a novice whose secret faults God had made known to him. One day when he was with the bishops of Châlons and Mâcon, he read the heart of someone who was there, and convinced him to confess a fault he had not dared to admit. A messenger came one day to tell him at Nanteuil: "Villeuque is dead." "You are mistaken," the Saint replied, "it is not Villeuque, but Oric." He knew by revelation, as seen in the life of Saint Anselm, of the death of his persecutor William Rufus, and informed him of it.

He had often warned one of his monks, named Durand de Bridon, to abstain from certain jokes, unbecoming in the mouth of an ecclesiastic and a monk: he had even predicted a severe punishment for him. Indeed, this monk having died, he appeared to another named Séguin, with a horrible mouth, which seemed to bear the punishment for the words it had spoken, despite the prohibition of Saint Hugh: this poor deceased man recommended to Séguin to account to the Abbot of Cluny for the sufferings he was enduring in purgatory. Hugh ordered seven of his monks to keep silence for a week, and to offer continuous prayers for his deliverance. At the end of the week, the dead man appeared again, and complained that because the silence had been broken by one of the brothers, his relief had been delayed. This silence was therefore kept for another seven days: then Durand appeared a third time, but all shining with light, a mark of the eternal happiness into which he had just entered.

In the Beauvaisis, Hugh received great honors at the home of Albert, lord of Gornay; he predicted to his wife, Ermengarde, that the child she carried in her womb was a son, and that he would one day enter the Order of Cluny. The event verified this prediction in every respect. He also predicted to Hoël, archdeacon of Le Mans, that the following year he would be bishop of Le Mans, and exhorted him to respond to such a great grace.

Once when Hugh was crossing the Alps to go to Rome, a poor old woman, hidden in the hollow of a rock, frightened his mule, which fell with him into a precipice: the whole procession was terrified and believed him dead; but he was held by the branches of a tree; he was rescued, and no sooner was he out of danger than the mysterious tree disappeared. This miraculous protection, God granted not only to the Saint, but to others, through his prayers and even his intercession; and, during his lifetime, he restored perfect health to a young boy who, falling from the top of a bell tower, had broken all his limbs. A cleric, returning from Spain, had fallen into a precipice in the Pyrenees mountains; but invoking the name of the holy abbot, he was held by a branch that preserved him. Another was about to be submerged in the Loire, but he was delivered by invoking Abbot Hugh, praying to him, even though absent, to help him. A monk, named William, no longer knowing what remedy to use for an ailment he had in his leg, decided to ask for his healing from Our Lord Jesus Christ, through the intercession of his holy abbot. Having fallen asleep over this, he saw in his sleep two men dressed in white, who were pouring a heavenly oil on his leg; and, upon waking, he found himself perfectly healed.

But, among these miracles, one must not omit the one he performed in Paris, in the very church of Sainte-Geneviève, where he had celebrated Holy Mass. He had the chasuble of Saint Peter brought to him, which was kept there very religiously, and, applying it to a paralytic named Robert , he said to him the sam chasuble de saint Pierre Relic used by Hugh for a miracle in Paris. e words that this Prince of the Apostles had once said to Aeneas of Lydda: "The Lord Jesus Christ heals you, arise and make your bed." And, at that very hour, this man was healed, and returned home, without the help of anyone and in good health, giving thanks to God, to Saint Peter, and to the venerable abbot. There was a holy dispute there between those present and Saint Hugh: the former attributing the miracle to him, and he attributing it to Saint Peter. He had, if I may say so, acquired such esteem before God, that pilgrims were warned, at the sepulcher of the Apostles, by a heavenly vision, to go to Cluny, of which they had never heard.

His charity never tired; always surrounded by the poor, he always gave; he had clothes and food prepared for them in advance, because, he said, mercy must not be made to wait. His indulgence equaled his charity. One day, as he was returning from Spain, he brought back with him a young Moor who had been newly baptized. This young man, whose soul, says the legend, was even blacker than his face, dared to rob his master; but the holy man forgave him and would never abandon the new convert on the road. Another time when he was visiting his monasteries in Gascony, he noticed near the road a poor leper's roof: it was a man who had once been rich and healthy, who had come to hide in this solitude. Everyone fled and kept away from the contagion. Hugh alone entered the hut, spoke to the leper, touched him, consoled him, gave him his tunic, and healed him.

He who practiced such extraordinary mortifications moderated those of his spiritual children. The legate, Peter Damian, visiting the abbey of Cluny, wanted to increase the severities of the Rule; but Hugh, consulting both his experience and his fatherly kindness for his monks, said to him: "Work with us, live our life for eight days, and you will decide afterward." The legate did not insist further and did not wish to submit to the test.

Is it any wonder that, under such an abbot, the monks of Cluny became so numerous? In a single Chapter, Hugh saw himself surrounded by three thousand monks, and a contemporary author, Orderic Vitalis, asserts that ten thousand lived under the guidance of our Saint. It was he who had the church built at Clu ny, in église Benedictine abbey in Burgundy, center of the Cluniac reform. the Romanesque style, whose ruin we recounted on January 13th: it was the largest in the entire universe at that time, and it has not been surpassed in size since, except by Saint Peter's in Rome. Its description can be seen in the history of the Abbey of Cluny, by M. Lorain.

Hugh also made several fine regulations concerning the Divine Office; among others, that on the feast and during the octave of Pentecost, the proper hymn *Veni Creator* should be sung at Terce, which has since been received by the entire Catholic Church.

Finally, as the time of his death approached, God made it known to him in several ways: a plowman named Bertin, from Varennes, being in the middle of a field, saw a great number of men following a lady of admirable beauty; one of the company having asked him to whom this field belonged, he replied simply that it belonged to Saint Peter and to Abbot Hugh: "It is therefore mine," replied the one who had questioned him, "because I am Peter; and as for these whom you see, they are so many saints walking in the train of the Virgin, Mother of the Savior of the world; go then and tell Abbot Hugh that he will soon die, and that he should set his house in order." Bertin brought him this news, the most pleasant he had received in all his life. He prepared himself to die well, and, having fallen ill, he received the Sacraments with marvelous devotion. The priest gave him the holy Viaticum, and having asked him if he recognized the life-giving flesh of his Lord, he replied firmly: "Yes, I recognize it and I adore it."

Then, having had himself carried to the church of the Blessed Virgin, and placed upon ashes and sackcloth, he departed from this world on April 29 in the year of Our Lord 1108, according to Hugh of Cluny, who wrote his life, and 1109, according to Baronius, at the age of eighty-five, after having been abbot for sixty years. Saint Godfrey, Bishop of Amiens, who was then in Rome, knew by a vision that this holy abbot had passed away, because it seemed to him that he saw the monks of Cluny who were begging him to give the last Sacraments to their superior Hugh. A good nun of Jouarre, named Sabine, also learned of this holy death through a vision. She saw the Blessed Virgin, assisted by a great number of Saints, in the midst of whom there was a magnificent seat, which she was told was prepared for Abbot Hugh. There were many other revelations of his passing and his glory.

The body of Saint Hugh was buried with pomp behind the morning altar in the great church of Cluny. It was later raised and placed upon the high altar to receive the homage of the people. Shortly after, he was numbered among the Saints by Pope Callixtus II.

Saint Hugh did not leave many writings. Of all the letters he must have addressed to so many illustrious figures with whom he was in contact, only seven remain to us: one to William the Conqueror; another to Philip I, King of France; a third to Urban II; three to Saint Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury; and the seventh to one of his disciples, Anastasius. A few pious counsels to his brothers, recommendations for his convent of Marcigny which he cherished, some monastic regulations concerning alms and the library books, and a sort of general confession—this is just about all that remains of this great man; and, although the Latinity is quite pure and the style remarkable for the period, we speak of them only out of respect for such a glorious memory. However, the letters addressed to him by Popes, kings, and bishops, a great number of which survive in various collections, prove, had they been gathered, the full variety of Hugh's correspondence and how valuable it would be today for general history.

Before the pillaging by the Protestants, a vermeil statue of Saint Hugh could be seen at Cluny. The Saint wore a mitre and a crozier enriched with diamonds. He held a gilded church in his hand, and within this church was enclosed the head of Saint Hugh. Surrounding the main statue were depicted several gilded holy figures, each in a separate niche.

See Histoire de l'abbaye de Cluny, by M. Lorain.