St. Bernard of Clairvaux: monastic reformer and adviser to popes

[ad_1] St. Bernard of Clairvaux. / Credit: Sistermaryhelen, FAL, via Wikimedia Commons CNA Staff, Aug 20, 2024 / 04:00 am (CNA). Every year on Aug. 20, the Catholic Church honors St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the 12th-century monk who helped to build up the Cistercian order — some of whom are known today as the Trappists.Bernard is considered the last of the Church Fathers in the Western tradition.He was born during the year 1090 near the French town of Dijon. His…