Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) was a Cistercian monk and reformer of the Church. He entered the Abbey of Cîteaux in 1112 and founded the Abbey of Clairvaux in 1115, which he directed with rigor. A great preacher, he played a key role in the propagation of the Cistercian order in Europe. He influenced the Pope and preached the Second Crusade in 1146. A defender of mystical and Marian theology, he wrote numerous spiritual works. Canonized in 1174, he was proclaimed Doctor of the Church in 1830. He is the patron saint of beekeepers and Cistercians.
