Saint Bernard Tolomei

Saint Bernard, from one of the leading houses of Sie na, was born in 1272. At his baptism, he received the name John, but he later changed it to Bernard. He was raised by Christopher Ptolemy , his relative. He was a Dominican friar of g reat learning and rare piety, who later became a bishop. At the same time that Bernard was making rapid progress in the sciences, he was fervently practicing all the Christian virtues. He distinguished himself among the most edifying members of the congregation of Saint Ausanus, martyr of Siena , and filled the highest positions of his homeland with all possible zeal and integrity. But the danger of vainglory inspired in him the plan to abandon the world entirely. He sold his possessions, the price of which was distributed to the poor, and retired to a desert located ten miles from Siena, which was very difficult to access. There, he practiced incredible austerities and withstood with heroic constancy the violent assaults launched against him by the enemies of the saint. As some people had joined him, the Pope, who was then residing in Avignon, advised him to choose the way of life of so me reli gious Order approved by the Church. He adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict and the white habit. Guy, Bishop of Arezzo , in whose d iocese he was, confirmed his choi ce, as well as his institutions, in 1319; and his Order became known as the Congregation of the Virgin Mary of Mount Olivet. It was succe ssively approved by Popes John XXII, Clement V I, and Gregory XI.