ST BERTRAND OF COMMINGES (+1123 AD) IMPOSING CELIBACY ON THE FRENCH FEAST DAY 16th OCTOBER;
ST BERTRAND OF COMMINGES (+1123 AD) IMPOSING CELIBACY ON THE FRENCH FEAST DAY 16th OCTOBER OK – St Bertrand is the B Team for this Feast Day but I am at a loss to determine why he is not more popular. His story is taken completely from my favourite liturgical history book, “The Bad Catholic’s Guide to Good Living”* This son of a military family entered the priesthood and rose to become the bishop of Comminges. But he was no less militant in a mitre than his father had been in a helmet; somehow, wherever Bertrand went, trouble seemed to follow. Perhaps it had something to do with his zeal for reform. (Zealous reformers – don’t you just love them? Name three of your favourites right now). Bertrand helped impose monastic poverty and clerical celibacy on the local priests: you can imagine how popular that made him in France. He went on the work on a synod which excommunicated the king, and was stoned by a mob on his way out of the meeting. He opened and consecrated an extremely controversi...