Saint
Odilon de Cluny
Cinquième
abbé de Cluny (+ 1049)
L'Ordre des bénédictins en France unit la mémoire de saint Odilon à la fête de saint Maïeul. Il succéda en effet à saint Maïeul comme abbé de Cluny pendant cinquante-cinq ans en un temps où l'influence de cette abbaye s'étendait sur l'Europe entière. Austère pour lui-même, il était d'une grande bonté et d'une grande indulgence pour ses moines. Artisan de paix, il unit ses efforts à ceux de Richard de Saint-Vanne pour mettre en œuvre la "trêve de Dieu" qui interdisait tout acte de guerre et de brigandage du mercredi soir au lundi matin. L'Église lui doit aussi la commémoration des fidèles défunts, c'est lui qui introduisit la liturgie de l'intercession pour les morts, le 2 novembre. Il est fêté le 31 décembre, au jour de sa naissance au ciel en 1049.
Né en 962 à Saint-Cirgues, Odilon, paralysé dans son enfance, doit sa guérison à une intervention de la Sainte Vierge. Éduqué à Brioude, il y rencontre l'abbé de Cluny Mayeul en 990. Il décide de le suivre. Il participe ainsi à la grande aventure de réforme clunisienne. Cette réforme est un retour strict à la règle de Saint Benoît: rigueur morale, respect des vœux de pauvreté, d'obéissance et de chasteté, primauté de la vie liturgique et contemplative. En 994, Odilon est élu abbé de Cluny, il le restera jusqu'en 1049. Doué d'une volonté de fer c'est un remarquable organisateur. Avec lui, Cluny prend une dimension exceptionnelle.
Il meurt le 1er janvier 1049, reconnu immédiatement comme saint. (Saints du diocèse du Puy-en-Velay)
...Célèbre pour son inlassable charité, c'est lui qui instaura la Commémoration
de tous les fidèles défunts le 2 novembre. Il prit également une part
importante à l'établissement de la trêve de Dieu. St Odilon est sanflorain
d'adoption car il érigea le prieuré bénédictin de St-Flour, bâtit l'église,
entoura la cité de remparts et construit un pont sur la rivière du Lander... (diocèse de Saint-Flour, illustration)
"Le moine qui succéda à Saint Mayeul (910-994) à la tête de l'abbaye de
Cluny est le promoteur de la 'Paix de Dieu' et de la fête des défunts, le 2
novembre." (Saint Odilon de Mercœur 961 - 1049 - Église catholique en
France)
"Ô Croix mon refuge, ô Croix mon chemin et ma force, ô Croix étendard imprenable, ô Croix arme invincible. La Croix repousse tout mal, la Croix met les ténèbres en fuite; par cette Croix je parcourrai le chemin qui mène à Dieu." (Invocation à la Croix par Saint Odilon - Église catholique en France)
"...Dans le triomphe de ce jour, Et dans sa joie, célébrons Dieu..." (Hymne pour la fête de l'Assomption par Saint Odilon - Église catholique en France)
- il est patron de l'église de La Charmée, près de Chalon-sur-Saône en Saône et Loire
Au martyrologe romain, au 1er janvier, on note: à Souvigny en Bourbonnais, en
1049, le trépas de saint Odilon, abbé de Cluny. Sévère pour soi mais doux et
miséricordieux pour les autres, il institua la trêve de Dieu entre les belligérants
et, en temps de famine, mit tout en œuvre pour soulager les affligés, enfin, il
institua le premier en ses monastères la commémoraison de tous les fidèles
défunts, le lendemain de la fête de Tous les Saints.
Martyrologe romain
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/369/Saint-Odilon-de-Cluny.html
04/01 -
SAINT ODILON DE CLUNY
ÉPOQUE : XIÈME SPAYS :
FRANCE
Odilon est un nom peu
connu… et pourtant au XIe siècle, ce saint Abbé de Cluny avait certainement
autant d'importance que le Pape lui-même dans l'Occident chrétien. Odilon de
Mercoeur naquit en Auvergne vers 961. Il reçut sa première formation religieuse
en l'abbaye Saint-Julien de Brioude. Il suivit saint Mayeul en Bourgogne, à
Cluny où il lui succéda bientôt comme Abbé : il avait à peine 30 ans. Cette
charge, il la garda jusqu'à sa mort en 1048.
Cluny : un nom prodigieux
! Il n'est pas certain qu'aujourd'hui il y ait un centre spirituel comparable,
influençant l'ensemble de l'Europe, à part peut être Taizé, qui se trouve
d'ailleurs dans la même région. Fondée un demi-siècle plus tôt, Cluny était
devenue, par la qualité de ses Abbés (Odilon est le 5e), comme la capitale d'un
véritable empire monastique, rayonnant par ses abbayes filiales dans toutes les
dimensions de l'Europe. L'Abbé Odilon donna à Cluny une nouvelle impulsion : en
cette époque où la Papauté était entravée par l'anarchie qui l'emportait à
Rome, l'Abbé Odilon de Cluny fut le véritable chef de la Chrétienté en Occident
!
Comme Bernard de
Clairvaux le fera pour le XIIe siècle, Odilon de Cluny marque en profondeur le
siècle précédent. Moine d'une grande austérité, il savait être très humain avec
ses frères. À l'extérieur des cloîtres, son influence fut considérable aussi
bien auprès des Princes qu'à l'intérieur de la vie ecclésiale. Ce grand Abbé de
Cluny était aussi, en effet, un diplomate ; c'est ainsi qu'il contribua à
imposer la "Trêve de Dieu", pendant l'Avent et Noël. Dans le domaine
de la Liturgie, on lui doit - sur la base d'une tradition Celtique - la
Commémoration des fidèles défunts le 2 novembre, à la suite de la Fête de Tous
les saints. Il faut dire encore que saint Odilon manifestait concrètement une
grande compassion pour les pauvres et les déshérités. Ainsi, pendant la famine
atroce de 1006, il ne se contente pas de vendre les ornements liturgiques
précieux de son monastère, il se fait mendiant avec les mendiants !
Saint Odilon, abbé de
Cluny mais de 994 à 1049, ne doit pas être confondu avec Saint Odon, qui fut
également abbé de Cluny mais de 927 à 942.
Odilon est un nom d'origine germanique, qui signifie "richesse".
SOURCE : https://www.lejourduseigneur.com/saint/saint-odilon-de-cluny
Saint
Odilon : une vie liée à Marie (vers 962-1049)
Saint Odilon fut le
cinquième abbé du monastère de Cluny.
Il est né en Alverne vers
962. Enfant, il ne pouvait pas se remuer normalement à cause d'une paralysie
enfantine. Pendant un voyage, alors qu'il visitait une église dédiée à Marie,
il s'agrippa à la nappe de l'autel et à l'instant il reçut la guérison. Cette
circonstance serait à l'origine de sa grande dévotion envers la Mère du Seigneur.
Entré au monastère de Cluny
en 991, il devint abbé et resta à la charge plus de cinquante années.
En se consacrant à la
Mère de Dieu dans le sanctuaire de Notre Dame du Puy, afin de confirmer son
intention de lui offrir sa liberté personnelle, il s'est mis une corde au cou
et il a mis le bout de la corde sur l'autel de la Vierge,
et il a prononcé la prière suivante :
« O Vierge très
pieuse, Mère du Sauveur de tous les siècles, à partir de maintenant prends-moi
à ton service.
En chaque circonstance,
reste toujours avec moi, o miséricordieuse avocate.
En effet, je ne mets
au-dessus de toi personne sauf
Dieu ;
et comme ton serviteur,
je me mets sous ta maîtrise. » 1
Cette volonté comportait
pour Odilon des engagements très pratiques et, avant tout, l'imitation des
vertus et des exemples de Marie pour
- la foi inébranlable,
- la sincère humilité,
- la chasteté rigoureuse
- et la pauvreté
intégrale qu'elle avait pratiqué dans sa vie.
Ce que Saint Ambroise
disait de Marie, c'est-à-dire que pendant que son corps reposait son esprit
restait dans un état de veille, le biographe Iotsaldo l'applique à la prière du
saint abbé : « Souvent le sommeil le surprenait pendant qu'il était
en train de psalmodier encore dans son lit ; et cependant le psaume n'abandonnait
jamais la bouche du dormeur. » 2
Homme de grandes
capacités, Odilon consolida et développa la réforme clunisienne, en portant de
37 à 65 les fondations affiliées au monastère de Cluny.
Sa pensée mariale
s'exprime spécialement dans ses sermons (pour les fêtes de la Nativité, de la
Purification et de l'Assomption...)
Saint Odilon est un excellent témoin de la doctrine mariale qui l'a précédé. Le
plus original est l'application faite de la dévotion mariale à la vie
monastique.
1 Vita
Odilonis 2, 1, PL 142, 915-916
2 Vita
Odilonis 1, 6, PL 142, 901 C.
Lire aussi :
G. BAVAUD, La
dévotion de saint Odilon à la Vierge Marie,
in CongrZag III, pp. 571-582.
O. RINGHOLZ, S. Odilo der grosse Marienverehrer,
Einsiedeln 1922
Extraits de : L.
GAMBERO, Maria nel pensiero dei
teologi latini medievali, ed San Paolo, 2000, p. 98-104, présentés par
F. Breynaert.
Lire aussi :
Les
expressions bibliques : serviteur, servante
Esclave
d’amour : un sens littéral dans l’impasse
Que
disent les papes de l’esclavage d’amour ?
Les
effets merveilleux de la consécration (Montfort)
Marie
et la vie monastique (Odilon de Cluny)
La réforme de
Cluny a conduit à une floraison de monastères et de construction
d'églises. Elle a aussi grandement développé la dévotion mariale.
Saint Odilon (vers
962-1049) a souligné quelques vertus de Marie qui présentent une analogie
évidente avec les vœux monastiques :
L'épisode de la
présentation de l'enfant Jésus au temple lui offre l'opportunité d'insister
sur la pauvreté de la Mère :
« Elle était pauvre
de possessions terrestres, mais pleine de bénédictions célestes... Elle était
tellement pauvre qu'elle n'avait pas d'agneau à offrir pour le péché ;
mais elle était aussi tellement riche que, tout en conservant sa virginité,
elle put engendrer l'agneau qui enlève le péché du monde. » 1
Odilon était convaincu
que la pauvreté totale de la Mère de Dieu ne fût pas incompatible avec son
origine royale de la maison de David,
parce qu'il s'agit d'une disposition intérieure qui, loin d'appauvrir l'âme,
lui confère une richesse spirituelle incomparable.
Au sujet de la
virginité de Marie, Odilon revient plutôt fréquemment, pour en faire
applications à la vie du moine :
« Elle a préparé à
celui qui venait dans le monde un temple consacré par la vertu céleste
et dédié à une virginité perpétuelle. » 2
Le saint abbé se réfère
en particulier à l'épisode du Calvaire, quand Jésus confia à Marie Jean comme
fils et vice versa,
pour expliquer comment cette confiance réciproque fût motivé par le fait que
Marie et Jean étaient
deux vierges. 3
En
rappelant saint Ambroise et saint Jérôme saint Odilon fait une mise au
point : Marie est le modèle que doivent imiter non seulement les vierges
qui ont consacré leur vie au Seigneur,
mais aussi les hommes et en particulier les moines :
« De
ce sermon même [de S. Jérôme], les femmes vierges, et pas seulement les femmes
vierges mais aussi les hommes vierges peuvent apprendre comme ils doivent
militer virginalement et
virilement pour la Vierge des
vierges. » 4
L'obéissance de la
Mère de Dieu, selon Odilon, se confond avec son humilité admirable. En
commentant sa réponse à l'ange :
« Voici la servante du Seigneur,
qu'il m'advienne selon ta parole »(Lc 1, 38) Odilon affirme :
« Alors qu'elle
pouvait se reconnaître Dame de tous les fidèles sans préjudice pour sa sincère
humilité, elle n'hésita pas à se proclamer servante de Seigneur. » 5
La
contemplation. L'engagement caractéristique de la vie monastique consiste
dans l'exercice de la contemplation et Odilon n'a pas de difficulté à
reconnaître dans la vie de la Vierge un
modèle sublime de contemplation.
Il n'ignore pas que Marie
a aussi mené une vie active et il en propose l'exemple de sa visite à la
cousine Elisabeth. Mais il fait le point : en un tel cas, la Mère de Dieu
s'est consacrée à l'action avec le but unique de faire du bien aux
autres, et plus précisément à la mère âgée du futur précurseur du Christ.
Cependant sa préférence
allait clairement à la pratique de la contemplation, comme en témoigne la
circonstance où elle reçut l'annonce de l'ange,
celui-ci l'avait trouvé immergée dans une profonde prière contemplative. 6
1 Sermo
III, PL 142, 1000 D.
2 Sermo
XII, PL 142, 1023 A.
3 Cf.
ibid., PL 142, 1027 B.
4 Vita
Odilonis 1, 6, PL 142, 901 C.
5 Sermo
IV, PL 142, 1003 A
6 Cf.
Saint Ambroise, De virginibus, 2, 2, 10, PL 16, 221 BC ; Bibliotheca
Ambrosiana 14/1, 172-174.
Lire aussi :
G. BAVAUD, La
dévotion de saint Odilon à la Vierge Marie,
in CongrZag III, pp. 571-582.
O. RINGHOLZ, S. Odilo
der grosse Marienverehrer, Einsiedeln 1922
Extraits de : L.
GAMBERO, Maria nel pensiero dei
teologi latini medievali, ed San Paolo, 2000, p. 98-104, présentés par
F. Breynaert.
Lire aussi :
L'ordre
bénédictin et la Vierge Marie
La
crainte de Dieu et l'obéissance de Jésus et Marie (Lc 1, 50)
Marie
et la Béatitude des pauvres
Heureux
les cœurs purs (Benoît XVI)
La
foi est un germe de la vraie vie (Benoît XVI)
Prière
de Saint Odilon de Cluny pour les « Âmes du purgatoire »
Invoquons Saint Odilon
pour la « délivrance des âmes du purgatoire ». Saint Odilon de Cluny
(962-1049), cinquième Abbé de l’Abbaye de Cluny, est le Promoteur de l'Institution
de la Commémoration des Fidèles Défunts du 2 novembre et apparaît comme le
principal intermédiaire entre l'ici-bas et l'au-delà.
Invocation à Saint Odilon pour la délivrance des âmes du purgatoire :
« Ô Dieu, qui avez choisi Saint Odilon pour devenir non seulement un
modèle de vertus et un instrument de grands miracles, mais aussi pour être,
près de votre miséricorde, un puissant intercesseur en faveur des âmes qui
expient dans les souffrances du purgatoire les fautes de leur vie passée:
daignez, ô mon Dieu, nous donner part, et à tous ceux qui nous sont chers, aux
mérites et à la puissante intercession de votre bienheureux serviteur. Par
Jésus-Christ Notre Seigneur qui vit et règne avec Dieu dans l'unité du
Saint-Esprit. Amen. »
Saint Odilon de Cluny, puissant avocat des âmes détenues dans le purgatoire,
intercédez pour elles !
Prions : « Ô mon Dieu ! C’est votre amour infini qui vous a fait
descendre parmi nous; et rien ne vous coûte, quand il s'agit de rapporter au
bercail sur vos épaules la brebis égarée. Ô Roi des rois ! Qui ne manquez
à aucune créature dans ses besoins, et qui donnez abondamment à chacune ce que
sa nature exige, donnez-moi votre secours; afin que, renonçant au monde, je
puisse marcher toujours à votre suite. Amen. »
Saint Odilon de Cluny (962-1049)
Voir également de Saint Odilon de Cluny :
La Prière de Saint Odilon de Cluny pour les « Âmes du purgatoire »
La Prière de Saint Odilon de Mercoeur d’invocation à la Croix « la Croix du Seigneur est avec moi et je L’adore sans cesse »
La Prière Mariale de Saint Odilon de Cluny « Ô très tendre Vierge, je me livre à Votre domination »
L’Hymne de Saint Odilon de Cluny pour la fête de l'Assomption « Voici que la Reine des vierges gravit le céleste chemin »
La Prière de Saint Odilon de Cluny lors de la venue d’Henri II à Cluny « Sauvez, mon Dieu, notre empereur Henri qui espère en Vous »
Le Sermon sur la Résurrection du Sauveur de Saint Odilon « Frères
très aimés, vivons avec justice afin de ressusciter aussi à la joie éternelle
dans notre corps »
SOURCE : https://site-catholique.fr/index.php?post/Priere-de-Saint-Odilon-pour-les-Ames-du-purgatoire
Saint
Odilon de Mercoeur (961-1049)
Intermédiaire entre
l’ici-bas et l’au-delà
Le moine qui succéda à Saint Mayeul (910-994) à la tête de l’abbaye de Cluny
est le promoteur de la « Paix de Dieu » et de la fête des défunts, le 2
novembre.
Issu d’une branche de la
famille comtale d’Auvergne, Odilon de Mercoeur naît en 961 ou 962. Il entre
au monastère de
Cluny dans les années 990. Lettré, Odilon se voit confier l’éducation des
jeunes oblats, devenus nombreux sous l’abbé Mayeul. Il sera désigné, dès 993,
coadjuteur et successeur du saint.Le développement de Cluny sous son abbatiat
(994-1049) marque la naissance d’une véritable Eglise dans l’Eglise :
l’Ecclesia Cluniacensis. Elle constituera, au fil des ans, un vaste réseau
monastique formé de prieurés, d’abbayes et de petites celles. Son action
spirituelle, mais aussi temporelle, fit de lui l’un des plus grands personnages
de la chrétienté, à l’égal des empereurs et des papes. Fulbert, le grand évêque
de Chartres, avait surnommé Odilon « l’archange », à la vue des nombreux
troupeaux dont l’abbé de Cluny était le pasteur.Une caractéristique du moine
clunisien est qu’il apparaît comme le principal intermédiaire entre l’ici-bas
et l’au-delà. Odilon est le promoteur de l’institution de la commémoration des
fidèles défunts.Devant le climat d’insécurité engendré par les conflits entre
seigneurs locaux et régionaux, il s’associe à d’autres ecclésiastiques dans le
but d’arrêter ou de suspendre les guerres intestines qui étaient cause de
grands maux. La « Paix de Dieu » se propagea d’abord activement, et
Odilon mit en place dans son abbaye la liturgie de
la clameur, c’est-à-dire de la plainte sacrée.Saint Odilon est peut-être le
plus riche, humainement, des abbés de Cluny. La douceur et la bonté rayonnent
de cette personnalité au tempérament pourtant nerveux, à la sensibilité
suraiguë et à l’activité débordante. Son œuvre littéraire se compose
essentiellement de deux Vies de l’impératrice Adélaïde et de saint
Mayeul, de plusieurs hymnes liturgiques, et d’une quinzaine de sermons. La
forme simple et spontanée de son enseignement fait preuve d’une sensibilité
riche et véritablement mystique.
Tombé malade dès 1046,
Odilon meurt à Souvigny dans la nuit du 31 décembre 1048 au 1er janvier 1049, à
l’âge de 86 ans. Il sera canonisé dès 1055.
P. Frédéric
Curnier-Laroche
Curé de Sennecey-le-Grand
Délégué épiscopal à l’art sacré pour le diocèse d’Autun
Membre du comité de rédaction du bi-média “Narthex”
Also known as
Odilo of the Poor Souls
Olon…
Odilón…
Odilone…
2 January on some calendars
11 May on some calendars
31 December on some calendars
3 January (dioceses of
Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg)
29 April as
one of the Seven
Abbots of Cluny
19 January in Cluny (formerly 2 January)
Profile
Born to the French nobility,
the son of Berald de Mercoeur and Gerberga who became a nun when widowed.
Cured of unnamed malady in childhood by
the intervention of Our Lady. Monk at Cluny at
age 29. Abbot at Cluny in 994 at
age 32 until his death.
Promoted the Truce of God whereby military hostilities were suspended
at certain times for ostensibly religious reasons, but which allowed enough commerce
that people could survive, and which guaranteed sanctuary to those who sought
refuge in a church. Instituted the feast now
know as All Soul’s Day. Known to sell Church property
and treasures to feed the poor during
times of famine. Declined the archbishopric of Lyon.
Increased the Cluniac houses
from 37 to 65. The cause for his canonization was
pressed by Saint Peter
Damian, who wrote a
biography of him.
Born
1 January 1049 at
Souvigny, France of
natural causes
relics burned
in 1793 during
the French
Revolution
Benedictine abbot with
a skull and
crossbones at his feet
abbot celebrating Mass with Purgatory open
at his side
abbot in
the same image as angels releasing
souls from Purgatory
Additional
Information
Book
of Saints, by the Monks of
Ramsgate
Lives
of the Saints, by Father Alban
Butler
Lives
of the Saints, by Sabine Baring-Gould
Roman
Martyrology, 1914 edition
Saints
of the Day, by Katherine Rabenstein
Saints
of the Order of Saint Benedict, by Father Aegedius
Ranbeck, O.S.B.
books
Martirlogio Romano, 2004 edizione
Our Sunday Visitor’s Encyclopedia of Saints
other
sites in english
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Stadlers Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon
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Martirologio Romano, 2001 edición
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MLA
Citation
“Saint Odilo of
Cluny“. CatholicSaints.Info. 18 September 2021. Web. 31 December 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saint-odilo-of-cluny/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saint-odilo-of-cluny/
St.
Odilo
Fifth Abbot of Cluny (q.v.), v.c. 962; d. 31 December, 1048.
He
was descended from the nobility of Auvergne. He early became a cleric in the seminary of St.
Julien in Brioude. In 991 he entered Cluny and before the end of his year of
probation was made coadjutor to Abbot Mayeul, and shortly before the latter's
death (994) was made abbot and
received Holy orders.
The rapid development of the monastery under him
was due chiefly to his gentleness and charity, his activity and talent for
organizing. He was a man of prayer and
penance, zealous for
the observance of the Divine
Office, and the monastic spirit. He encouraged learning in his monasteries, and had
the monk Radolphus Glaber write
a history of the time. He erected a magnificent monastery building,
and furthered the reform of the Benedictine monasteries. Under
Alphonse VI it spread into Spain. The rule of St. Benedict was
substituted in Cluny for the domestic rule of Isidore. By bringing the
reformed or newly founded monasteries of Spain into
permanent dependence on the mother-house, Odilo prepared the way for the union
of monasteries,
which Hugo established for maintaining order and discipline. The number
of monasteries increased
from thirty-seven to sixty-five, of which five were newly established and
twenty-three had followed the reform movement. Some of the monasteries reformed
by Cluny, reformed abbey;
thus the Abbey of St. Vannes in Lorraine reformed many on the Franco-German
borderland. On account of his services in the reform Odilo was called by Fulbert of Chartres the
"Archangel of the Monks", and through his relations with the popes, rulers, and
prominent bishops of
the time Cluny monasticism was promoted. He journeyed nine times to Italy and took part
in several synods there. John XIX and Benedict IX both
offered him the Archbishopric of Lyons but he
declined. From 998 he gained influence with the Emperor Otto III. He was on
terms of intimacy with Henry II when the latter, on political grounds, sought
to impair the spiritual independence of the German monasteries. For Germany the Cluny
policy had no permanent success, as the monks there were
more inclined to individualism.
Between 1027 and 1046 the relations between the Cluniac monks and the
emperor remained unchanged. In 1046 Odilo was present at the coronation of Henry
III in Rome.
Robert II of France allied
himself with the Reform party.
The conclusion of
the Peace of God (Treuga
Dei), for which Odilo had worked from 1041, was of great economic importance.
During the great famines of that time (Particularly 1028-33), he also exercised
his active charity and saved thousands from death.
He established All Souls
Day (2 November) in Cluny and its monasteries (probably
not in 998 but after 1030, and it was soon adopted in the whole church. Of his
writings we have but a few short and unimportant ones: a life of the holy
Empress St. Adelaide to whom he was closely related; a short biography of his
predecessor Mayeul; sermons on feasts of the ecclesiastical year;
some hymns and prayers; and a few
letters from his extensive correspondence.
Odilo and his confreres
interested themselves in the church reform which began about that time. They
followed no definite ecclesiastico-political programme, but directed their
attacks principally against individual offences such as simony, marriage of the clergy, and the
uncanonical marriage of the laity. The Holy See could
depend above all on the religious of Cluny when it sought to raise itself from
its humiliating position and undertook the reform of the Church.
He died while on a
visitation to the monastery of
Souvigny where he was buried and soon venerated as a
saint. In 1063 Peter Damien undertook the process of his canonization, and wrote
a short life, an abstract from the work of Jotsald, one of Odilo's monks who
accompanied him on his travels. In 1793 the relics together
with those of Mayeul were burned by the revolutionaries "on
the altar of the fatherland". The feast of St. Odilo was formerly 2
January, in Cluny, now it is celebrated on 19 January, and in Switzerland on 6
February.
Sources
RINGHOLZ, Der hl. Abt. Odilo, in seinem Leben und
Wirken (Brunn, 1885); IDEM, Kirchenlexikon s.v.; SACKUR, Die Cluniacenser bis zur Mitte des 11
Jahrhunderts, I, II (Halle, 1892-94); JARDET, Saint Odilon, Abbé de Cluny (Lyons, 1898).
Löffler,
Klemens. "St. Odilo." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol.
11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 31 Dec.
2021 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11207c.htm>.
Transcription. This
article was transcribed for New Advent by Michael T. Barrett. Dedicated to
the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
Ecclesiastical
approbation. Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D.,
Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Copyright © 2021 by Kevin Knight.
Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
SOURCE : https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11207c.htm
New
Catholic Dictionary – Saint Odilo
Article
Confessor,
Abbot of Cluny; born Auvergne, France, c.962; died
Souvigny, 1048. Descended from a noble family of Auvergne, he entered Cluny in
991, and was made abbot three years later. Under his rule not only Cluny made
rapid progress but Benedictine monasteries in general were
reformed and many new foundations made. The Peace of God, which had such great economic
importance, was largely due to his efforts. He initiated the feast of All
Saints and threw the full Cluniac influence into the fight against simony and irregular marriages. Canonized, 1063. Relics burned at Souvigny,
1793. Feast, 2 January.
MLA Citation
“Saint
Odilo”. New Catholic Dictionary. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 August 2018. Web. 31 December 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-odilo/>
SOURCE :
https://catholicsaints.info/new-catholic-dictionary-saint-odilo/
St.
Odilo, or Olon, Sixth Abbot of Cluni
HIS family
was that of the lords of Mercœur, one of the most illustrious of Auvergne.
Divine grace inclined him from his infancy to devote himself to God with his
whole heart. He was very young when he received the monastic habit at Cluni,
from the hands of St. Mayeul, by whose appointment he was made his coadjutor in
991, though only twenty-nine years of age; and from the death of St. Mayeul in
994, our saint was charged with the entire government of that great abbey. He
laboured to subdue his carnal appetites by his rigorous fasting, wearing hair-cloth
next his skin, and studded iron chains. Notwithstanding those austerities
practised on himself, his carriage to others was most mild and humane. It was
usual with him to say, that of two extremes he chose rather to offend by
tenderness, than a too rigid severity. In a great famine in 1006, his
liberality to the poor was by many censured as profuse; for he melted down the
sacred vessels and ornaments, and sold the gold crown St. Henry made a present
of to that abbey, to relieve their necessities. He accompanied that prince in
his journey to Rome when he was crowned emperor in 1014. This was his second
journey thither; he made a third in 1017, and a fourth in 1022. Out of devotion
to St. Bennet he paid a visit to mount Cassino, where he begged leave, with the
greatest earnestness, to kiss the feet of all the monks, which was granted him
with great difficulty. Besides the journeys which the reformation he
established in many monasteries obliged him to undertake, he made one to Orbe,
to wait on the empress Alice. That pious princess burst into tears upon seeing
him, and taking hold of his habit kissed it, and applied it to her eyes, and
declared to him she should die in a very short time. This was in 999, and she
died on the 16th of December the same year. Massacres and plunders were so
common in that age, by the right which every petty lord pretended of revenging
his own injuries and quarrels by private wars, that the treaty called the truce
of God was set on foot. By this, among other articles, it was agreed that
churches should be sanctuaries to all sorts of persons, except those that
violated this truce, and that from Wednesday till Monday morning no one should
offer violence to any one, not even by way of satisfaction for any injustice he
had received. This truce met with the greatest difficulties among the
Neustrians, but was at length received and observed in most provinces of
France, through the exhortations and endeavours of St. Odilo, and B. Richard,
Abbot of St. Vanne’s, who were charged with this commission. 1 Prince Casimir, son of
Miceslaw, king of Poland, retired to Cluni, where he professed the monastic
state, and was ordained deacon. He was afterward, by a solemn deputation of the
nobility, called to the crown. St. Odilo referred the matter to Pope Benedict
IX., with whose dispensation Casimir mounted the throne in 1041, married, had
several children, and reigned till his death in 1058. 2
St.
Odilo being moved by several visions, instituted the annual commemoration of
all the faithful departed, to be observed by the members of his community with
alms, prayers, and sacrifices, for the relief of the suffering souls in
purgatory; and this charitable devotion he often much recommended. He was very
devout to the Blessed Virgin; and above all sacred mysteries, that of the
divine Incarnation employed his particular attention. As the monks were singing
that verse in the church, “thou being to take upon thee to deliver man, didst
not abhor the womb of a virgin;” melting away with the tenderest emotions of
love, he fell to the ground; the ecstatic agitations of his body bearing
evidence to that heavenly fire which glowed in his soul. Most of his sermons
and little poems extant treat of the mysteries of our redemption, or of the
Blessed Virgin. 3 He excelled in an eminent
spirit of compunction, and contemplation. Whilst he was at prayer, trickling
tears often watered his cheeks. Neither importunities nor compulsion could
prevail upon him to submit to his being elected archbishop of Lyons in 1031.
Having patiently suffered.during five years the most painful diseases, he died
of the cholic, at Souvigny, a priory in Bourbonnois, whilst employed in the
visitation of his monasteries, January 1, 1049, being then eighty-seven years
old, and having been fifty-six years abbot. He would be carried to the church,
to assist at the divine office, even in his agony; and having received the
viaticum and extreme-unction the day before, he expired on sack-cloth strewed
with ashes on the ground. See his life, by his disciple Lotsald, as also, by
St. Peter Damian, who wrote it soon after the saint’s death, at the request of
St. Hugh of Cluni, his successor, in Bollandus, and Bibliotheca Cluniacensus by
Dom Marrier, and in Andrew Duchesne, fol. Paris, 1614. See likewise certain
epistles of St. Odilo, ib. and fourteen sermons on the festivals of our Lord,
the B. Virgin, &c. in Bibl. Patr. Lugdun. an. 1677. T. 17. p. 653
Note
1. Glaber, monk of Cluni, in his history
which he dedicated to St. Odilo, l. 4. c. 5. l. 5. c. 1. [back]
Note 2. Mab. Annal. l. 57. n. 45. Solignac
Hist. de Pologne, T. 1. [back]
Note
3. Ceillier demonstrates (T. 20. p. 258.)
against Basnage, (observ. in vit. Adelaid. T. 3. lect. Canis, p. 71.) that the
life of St. Alice the empress is the work of St. Odilo, no less than the life
of St. Mayeul. We have four letters, some poems, and several sermons of this
saint in the library of Cluni, (p. 370.) and in that of the Fathers. (T. 17. p.
653.) Two other sermons bear his name in Martenne. (Anecd. T. 5.) [back]
Rev. Alban
Butler (1711–73). Volume I: January.The Lives of the Saints. 1866.
SOURCE : https://www.bartleby.com/210/1/013.html
Saints of the Day – Odilo of Cluny,
Abbot
Article
During his 54 years in
office he brought the other Cluniac houses into closer and closer dependence
upon the mother house, and increased the number of foundations from 37 to 65.
Among his general activities was the support he gave to Abbot Richard of
Saint-Vanne for the acceptance in France of the institution called the Truce of
God (Treuga Dei), whereby military hostilities were regularly suspended at
certain times (Fridays through Mondays, Advent, and Lent). This measure had
economic as well as religious and social significance and also guaranteed
sanctuary to those seeking refuge in a church. Odilo also effectively promoted
the Pactum Dei, whereby ecclesiastical persons and property were protected
against attack in war.
In 998 (or 1031 by some
accounts) he ordered that in all Cluniac houses November 2, the day after the
Feast of All Saints, should be observed in memory of and prayer for all the
dead; this observance, All Souls’ Day, afterwards spread to the whole Western
Church.
Though he was a friend of
princes and popes, he was exceedingly gentle and kind and known throughout
Christendom for his liberality to the needy. Odilo’s concern for the people was
also shown by the lavish help he gave during several famines, especially in
1006, when he sold Church treasures to feed the poor, and again from 1028-1033.
Saint Odilo’s physical
appearance was unimpressive, belying the strength of his character. He
practiced great personal austerities (he wore a hair-shirt and studded iron
chains) on himself, but liberality and kindness toward others. He experienced
ecstasies. It is obvious that he was beloved by his contemporaries; Fulbert of
Chartres surnamed Odilo “the Archangel of Monks.”
Odilo united in his
character gentleness with firmness, organizational skills with the ability to
reconcile enemies. His favorite saying is that he would rather be damned for
being too merciful than for being too severe. He promoted the spirit of true
monasticism and tried to remove its abuses. During his rule, he sought to
promote the close unity of Cluny and the Holy See.
It is appropriate that he
should die during the Octave of Christmas because his favorite topic for
sermons was the mystery of the Incarnation. The place of the Blessed Virgin was
also worked out by Odilo, to whose writings the Mariology of Saint Bernard owes
much.
His duties involved him
in much travelling about, though he was ill during the last five years of his
life. It was on a journey of inspection that he died, at the priory of
Souvigny; he was about 86 (Attwater, Benedictines, Delaney, Encyclopedia,
Farmer).
In art Saint Odilo is
portrayed as a Benedictine abbot with a skull and crossbones at his feet.
Because he instituted the Feast of All Souls, at times he may be shown (1)
saying Mass with purgatory open at his side; or (2) with angels releasing souls
from purgatorial fire (Roeder). He is invoked on behalf of souls in purgatory
and against jaundice (Roeder).
MLA
Citation
Katherine I
Rabenstein. Saints of the Day, 1998. CatholicSaints.Info.
12 May 2020. Web. 31 December 2021.
<https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-odilo-of-cluny-abbot/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-day-odilo-of-cluny-abbot/
Saints of the Order of Saint
Benedict – Saint Odilo, Abbot
While some people are stimulated by strength and
vigour of body, to the practice of virtue, Saint Odilo, on the contrary, was
urged on to fervent piety by his bodily infirmities. Almost
as soon as he was born, he became afflicted with a grievous malady which
deprived him of the use of his hands and feet. From his infancy he had
entertained a singular devotion to the Virgin Mother of God, and when
physicians had given up his case as hopeless, he commended himself to her. He
insisted on being allowed to crawl to the foot of our Lady’s Altar, and as he
went, the use of his limbs was restored to him. This great blessing which he
had received from Mary remained ever present to his memory in after years, and
his great desire was to dedicate the new strength which had been given him to
her service. As soon as he was old enough, Saint Odilo went to Cluny, and
became a professed Monk, and afterwards the Abbot of that Monastery; and strict
indeed was his observance of the rule, for he was a truly humble son of the
most humble Virgin. His humility induced him unhesitatingly to reject several
Bishoprics, which, in consequence of his great merits, were pressed upon him,
and he continued to adorn his Order by his virtue and charity towards the
suffering poor.
And not only on the
living did his charity expend itself, but also on the dead; and once, when on a
journey, he came upon the dead bodies of two children, he deprived himself of
his own frock, in which to bury them. His virtue was attested by many miracles.
Once, when dining at the Monastery in the Golden Valley, he asked for some
water, but found on tasting it that his cup was filled with wine; and as he
never drank wine, he blamed the servant for having brought it. More water was
then fetched from the well, and again, when Odilo drank it, it was turned into
wine, and all wondered at the miracle which had been performed. His love and
piety penetrated even to Limbo, and relieved the suffering souls, whose flames
were tempered by his tears. Among others, Pope Benedict VIII declared in a
vision that he attributed his deliverance from the fires of Purgatory to the
prayers of Saint Odilo, for one of the Monks of Cluny saw the spirit of the
Pontiff bowing down in gratitude to Saint Odilo, the tiara bending before the
cowl. The Archives of the Monastery of Cluny show that many souls in Purgatory
– even some thousands – were powerfully helped by the prayers of Saint Odilo,
and he it was who first instituted a yearly solemnity in behalf of the Holy
Souls. This solemnity, as we know, was afterwards adopted by the whole Church,
and is now yearly celebrated on the Second of November as All Souls’ Day.
When his death was
approaching, the demon appeared to the Saint as he did to Saint Martin; but at
the Presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, who deigned to come to the aid of His
servant, the evil spirit fled. For what could trouble a soul to whom the Lord
of Life had deigned to reveal Himself? Saint Odilo died in the year of our Lord
1048, at the age of eighty-seven.
– text and illustration
taken from Saints of the Order of Saint Benedict by
Father Aegedius Ranbeck, O.S.B.
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/saints-of-the-order-of-saint-benedict-saint-odilo-abbot/
Baring-Gould’s Lives of the Saints –
Saint Odilo, Abott Cluny
Article
(A.D. 1049.)
[Roman and Benedictine
Martyrologies. Two lives of Saint Odilo are extant, one written by Jotsald, a
monk, who had lived under his rule, and who wrote it for Stephen, the nephew of
the Saint. The other, a very inferior life, by Saint Peter Damian. Both are
printed in the Bollandists, but the first is from an imperfect MS. It was
printed entire by Mabillon, Acta SS. O. Saint B.]
Odilo belonged to the
family of Mercaeur, one of the most illustrious of Auvergne. Jotsald says:—”In
the beginning of the account of his virtues I must relate what happened to him
as a boy. And lest it be thought incredible, I mention that I heard it from those
to whom he was wont to narrate the circumstance. When he was quite a little boy
in his father’s house, before he was sent to school, he was destitute of almost
all power in his limbs, so that he could not walk or move himself without help.
It happened that one day his father’s family were moving to another place, and
a nurse was given charge of him to carry him. On her way, she put the little
boy down with her bundles before the door of a church, dedicated to the Mother
of God, as she and the rest were obliged to go into some adjacent houses to
procure food. As they were some while absent, the boy finding himself left
alone, impelled by divine inspirations, began to try to get to the door and
enter the Church of the Mother of God. By some means, crawling on hands and
knees, he reached it, and entered the church, and went to the altar, and caught
the altar vestment with his hands; then, with all his power, stretching his
hands on high, he tried to rise, but was unable to do so, his joints having
been so long ill-united. Nevertheless, divine power conquered, strengthening
and repairing the feeble limbs of the boy. Thus, by the intervention of the
Mother of God, he rose, and stood upon his feet whole, and ran here and there
about the altar. The servants returning to fetch their bundles, and not finding
the child, were much surprised, and looked in all directions, and not seeing
him, became greatly alarmed. However, by chance, entering the church, they saw
him rambling and running about it; then they recognised the power of God, and
joyously took the boy in their arms, and went to their destination, and gave
him, completely whole, to his parents, with great gladness.”
As a child, he showed
singular simplicity, modesty, and piety. “Thus passed his childish years, and
as the strength of youth began to succeed to boyhood, he silently meditated how
to desert the flesh-pots of Egypt, and to strive to enter the Land of Promise,
through the trials of the world. O good Jesu! how sweet is Thy call! how sweet
the inspiration of Thy Spirit, which as soon as Thou strikest on the heart,
turns the fire of the Babylonish furnace into love of the celestial country.
So! as soon as thou strikest the heart of the youth, thou changest it.” Whilst
he was thus meditating, Saint Majolus passed through Auvergne, and Odilo came
to him; then the old man, looking on the graceful form and comely face of the
youth, and by the instinct of the Saints seeing into his soul, he loved him
greatly; also the youthful Odilo felt a great affection for the aged monk. And
when they spoke to one another, Odilo opened his heart to Majolus, and the
venerable man encouraged the youth to persevere in his good intentions.
Shortly after, Odilo left
his home, “as Abraham of old went forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and sought
admittance into the abbey of Cluny, as into the Promised Land. O good Jesu! how
pleasant it was to see this sheep shorn of its worldly fleece, again ascend as
from the baptismal font! Then, wearing our habit, you might have seen our sheep
amongst the others of His flock, first in work, last in place, seeking the
pastures of eternal verdure; attending to the lamps, sweeping the floors, and
doing other common offices. But the pearl could not remain long concealed.
After four years, Saint Majolus, after many hard labours borne for Christ, went
out of the darkness of Egypt, entered Jerusalem, and was placed in eternal
peace by Christ. As death approached, he chose Odilo to be his successor, and
to him and to the Lord, he committed his flock.” But Saint Odilo shrank from
the position for which his youth, as he considered, disqualified him; however,
he was elected by the whole community, and was therefore unable to refuse the
office wherewith he was invested by the vote of the brethren, and the desire of
the late abbot.
His disciple, Jotsald,
gives a very beautiful picture of his master. He describes him as being of
middle stature, with a face beaming with grace, and full of authority; very
emaciated and pale; his eyes bright and piercing, and often shedding tears of
compunction. Every motion of his body was grave and dignified; his voice was
manly, and modulated to the greatest sweetness, his speech straightforward and
without affectation or artificiality.
His disciple says that he
would recite psalms as he lay on his bed, and falling asleep, his lips would
still continue the familiar words, so that the brethren applied to him the
words of the bride, “I sleep but my heart wakes,” Ego dormio et cor meum
vigilat. He read diligently, and nothing gave him greater delight than study.
His consideration for others was very marked. “He was burdensome to none, to
none importunate, desirous of no honour, he sought not to get what belonged to
others, nor to keep what was his own.” His charity was most abundant; often the
brethren feared that it exceeded what was reasonable, but they found that
though he gave largely, he did not waste the revenues of the monastery. Once,
in time of famine, he was riding along a road, when he lit on the naked bodies
of two poor boys who had died of hunger. Odilo burst into tears, and descending
from his horse, drew off his woolen under garment and wrapping the bodies in
it, carefully buried them. In this famine he sold the costly vessels of the
Sanctuary, and despoiled the Church of its gold and silver ornaments, that he
might feed the starving people. Among the objects thus parted with was the
crown of gold presented to the abbey by Henry, King of the Romans. He
accompanied this Prince in his journey to Rome, when he was crowned emperor, in
1014. This was his second journey thither; he made a third in 1017, and a
fourth in 1022. Out of devotion to Saint Benedict, he paid a visit to Monte
Cassino, where he kissed the feet of all the monks, at his own request, which
was granted him with great reluctance.
“The convocation of the
brethren was regularly held by him till he was at the point of death. O how
joyous he was in the midst of them, as standing in the midst of the choir, and
looking to right and left he saw the ring of young plantings, and remembered
the verse of David’s song, ‘Thy children shall be as the olive branches round
about thy table.’ Filii tui sicut novellæ olivarum, in circuitu mensæ tuæ. And
the more the number of brothers increased, the more he exhibited his joy of heart
by signs. And when some seemed distressed thereat, he was wont to say, ‘Grieve
not that the flock has become great, my brothers, He who has called us in, He
governs, and will provide.'”
Fulbert, Bishop of
Chartres, called him the archangel of monks; and the name, says his disciple,
became him well. Saint Odilo, out of his great compassion for the souls of the
dead expiating the penalty of their sins in purgatory, instituted the
commemoration of All Souls for the morrow of All Saints, in the Cluniac order, which
was afterwards adopted by the whole Catholic Church in the West. Many incidents
of his travels, and miracles that he wrought, are related by his pupil. As he
was riding over the Jura mountains, in snowy weather, the horse carrying his
luggage fell, and was precipitated into the valley, and all the baggage was
scattered in the snow-drifts. With much trouble, the horse and much of the
baggage were recovered, but a valuable Sacramentary, inscribed with gilt
letters, and some glass vessels, with embossed work, were lost. That evening,
Odilo and his monks arrived at a cell, under the jurisdiction of Saint
Eugendus, and being much troubled at his loss, as much rain fell in the night,
Saint Odilo sent some of the brethren early next morning to search for the lost
treasures. But the snow-drifts were so deep that they could not find them, and
he was obliged to leave without them. However, as the spring came round, a
certain priest, named Ermendran, was walking in the glen, and he found the book
uninjured, and the glass goblets unbroken. He brought them to the cell, and on
the return of Odilo to the Jura, he received his lost treasures intact.
Another story of a glass
vessel comes on good authority. The circumstances were related by Albert,
Bishop of Como, in these words, “Once our Abbot and Superior came to the court
of the Emperor Henry, and whilst there, it happened one day that at table a
goblet of glass, of Alexandrine workmanship, very precious, with coloured
enamel on it, was placed before him. He called me and Landulf, afterwards
Bishop of Turin, to him, and bade us take this glass to Odilo. We accordingly,
as the Emperor had bidden, took it, and going to the abbot, offered it to him,
on the part of the Emperor, humbly bowing. He received it with great humility,
and told us to return after a while for the goblet again. Then, when we had
gone away, the monks, filled with natural curiosity to see and handle a new
sort of thing, passed the vessel from hand to hand, and as they were examining
it, it slipped through their fingers to the ground, and was broken. When the
gentle man of God was told this, he was not a little grieved, and said, ‘My
brothers, you have not done well, for by your negligence, the young clerks who
have the custody of these things will, maybe, lose the favour of the Emperor,
through your fault. Now, that those who are innocent may not suffer for your
carelessness, let us all go to church and ask God’s mercy about this matter.’
Therefore, they all ran together into the church, and sang psalms and prayed,
lest some harm should befall us—Albert and Landulf, each of them earnestly
supplicating God for us. When the prayer was over, the holy man ordered the
broken goblet to be brought to him. He looked at it, and felt it, and could
find no crack or breakage in it. Wherefore, he exclaimed indignantly, ‘What are
you about, brothers? You must be blind to say that the glass is broken, when
there is not a sign of injury done to it.’ The brethren, considering it, were
amazed at the miracle, and did not dare to speak. Then, after a while, I and my
companion came back for the vessel, and we asked it of him who was carrying it.
He called me apart, and returned it to me, bidding me tell the Emperor to
regard it as a great treasure. And when I asked his meaning, he told me all
that had happened.”
Saint Odilo seems to have
been fond of art, for he rebuilt the monasteries of his order, and made them
very beautiful, and the churches he adorned with all the costly things he could
procure. The marble pillars for Cluny were brought, by his orders, in rafts
down the Durance, into the Rhone, and he was wont to say of Cluny, that he
found it of wood and left it of marble. He erected over the altar of Saint
Peter, in the church, a ciborium, whose columns were covered with silver,
inlaid with nigello work.
When he felt that his
death approached, he made a circuit of all the monasteries under his sway, that
he might leave them in thorough discipline, and give them his last admonitions.
On this journey he reached Souvigny, a priory in Bourbonnais, where he
celebrated the Vigil of the Nativity, and preached to the people, although at
the time suffering great pain. After that, he announced to the brethren in
chapter, that he was drawing nigh to his end, and he besought their prayers. As
he was too weak to go to the great Church of Saint Peter, which was attended by
the monks, he kept the festival of the Nativity with a few brethren, whom he
detained, to be with him in the Chapel of Saint Mary; joyously he praecented
the psalms and antiphons, and gave the benedictions, and performed all the
ceremonies of that glad festival, forgetful of his bodily infirmities, knowing
that soon he was to see God face to face, in the land of the living, and no
more in a glass darkly. Most earnest was he, lest death should come and find
him unprepared. Throughout the Octave, he was carried in the arms of the monks
to church, where he assisted at the choir offices, night and day, and at the
celebration of the mass, refreshing himself at the sacred mysteries, and
looking forward to the feast of the Circumcision, when his friend William,
abbot of Dijon, had fallen asleep, on which day, he foretold, he also should
enter into his rest.
On that day, carried by
his brethren, he was laid before the altar of the Virgin Mother, and the monks
sang vespers. Now and then their voices failed, through over much sorrow, and
then he recited the words of the psalms they in their trouble had omitted. As
night crept in at the windows, he grew weaker and fainter. Then the brothers
laid sack-cloth and ashes under him, and as he was lifted in the arms of one,
brother Bernard, he asked, reviving a little, where he was. The brother
answered, “On sack-cloth and ashes.” Then he sighed forth, “God be thanked!”
and he asked that the little children, and the whole body of the brethren,
might be assembled. And when all were gathered around him, he directed his eyes
to the Cross, and his lips moved in prayer, and he died thus in prayer, gazing
on the sign of his salvation.
His body was laid in the
nave of the Church of Souvigny, near that of Saint Majolus.
He is often represented
saying mass, with purgatory open beside the altar, and those suffering
extending their hands to him, in allusion to his having instituted the
commemoration of All Souls.
MLA
Citation
Sabine Baring-Gould.
“Saint Odilo, Abott Cluny”. Lives of the Saints, 1872. CatholicSaints.Info.
6 May 2018. Web. 31 December 2021.
<http://catholicsaints.info/baring-goulds-lives-of-the-saints-/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/baring-goulds-lives-of-the-saints-saint-odilo-abott-cluny/
Posted onJanuary 3, 2015 4:51 pm byPaul Zalonski
Saint Odilo of
Cluny (962-1049) is remembered for his intense Benedictine life at
Cluny and as the 5th abbot of Cluny he oversaw the expansion of the Cluniac
reform but he’s best remembered for his concern for he poor souls in purgatory.
There is some debate if he was the 5th or the 3rd abbot of Cluny. However,
Odilo’s importance lies in the fact that he instituted the commemoration of All
Souls (c. 1030) as a yearly liturgical remembrance. The Church from the
earliest days prayed for the dead with some regularity. Theologically he had a
significant interest in the Incarnation.
Hence two things of
Christian life had Saint Odilo’s attention: the care of the poor and the souls
of the dead. Of the latter concern also impacted the prior –he decreed that
Mass be offered and a monetary offering be made for the poor. He made
almsgiving connect with fasting and prayer for the dead: it is not only a
lenten piece of Christian spirituality but something that gives a renewed
flavor to living the gospel. Odilo instructed that the offering of
food given to twelve poor people (as much food as the monks would eat at the
main meal).
Regarding the monastic
life, Abbot Odilo showed great solicitude for the observance of the monastic
life by visiting the monasteries under his guidance on a regular basis. The
monasteries following the Rule of Cluny really formed these Benedictines into
an “order” because of a centralized authority system and the appointment of
superiors in the priories (versus the typical election of a superior found in
Benedictinism). Thus, he ensured that decadence that has a habit of creeping
into a monk’s life was averted.
Saint Odilo has several
possible dates for his liturgical memorial: January 1, 2, or 3; 19 at Cluny;
April 29 as part of the feast of the Seven Abbots of Cluny and February 6 in
Switzerland. Take your pick. But I think, generally, Odilo’s liturgical
memorial is bridged with under the title of “Abbots of Cluny” on April 29.
The antiphon “Odilo
showed wondrously what was the charity of his heart, who, while pitying
sufferings of the faithful departed, yearly decreased them by a sweet
refreshment, alleluia.”
SOURCE : https://communio.stblogs.org/index.php/2015/01/saint-odilo-of-cluny/
Sant' Odilone
di Cluny Abate
961/2 - 1 gennaio 1049
Emblema: Bastone
pastorale
Martirologio
Romano: Presso Sauvigny in Burgundia, nell’odierna Francia, transito di
sant’Odilone, abate di Cluny, che, severo con se stesso, ma mite e
misericordioso con gli altri, pacificò in nome di Dio popoli belligeranti, in
tempo di fame sostenne con ogni mezzo gli afflitti e per primo istituì nei suoi
monasteri la commemorazione di tutti i fedeli defunti il giorno dopo la festa
di Tutti i Santi.
Uno degli ultimi figli di una famiglia numerosa dell’Alvernia, Odilone di Mercoeur nacque nel 961 o 962. La devozione, unitamente alle relazioni della famiglia, decisero i suoi genitori a consacrarlo al servizio del Signore nella collegiata di St-Julien di Brioude, di cui in seguito sarebbe divenuto canonico. S.Maiolo, peraltro, lo attirò nel monastero di Cluny verso il 990 e poi, dal maggio 993, lo scelse come abate-coadiutore, dopo avergli fatto conferire gli Ordini, scelta che nel genn. 994 fu confermata da un’elezione canonica. Odilone divenne unico abate di Cluny l’11 magg., alla morte di Maiolo, e avrebbe occupato questa carica fino alla propria morte, avvenuta a Souvigny nella notte fra il 31 dicembre e il 1° gennaio 1049.
Soltanto gli avvenimenti esterni permettono di determinare le varie tappe nella continuità di questo lungo abbaiato.
Odilone dovette, prima di tutto, far fronte alle difficoltà derivanti dai religiosi di certi monasteri dipendenti da Cluny, e dai signori che volevano spogliare l’abbazia dei suoi beni. Nel dic. 997 egli intraprese il primo dei suoi così frequenti viaggi verso Pavia e Roma, che gli procurarono l’occasione di intervenire a favore di diversi chiostri della penisola. I suoi incontri con i papi e gli imperatori sono soltanto un particolare delle sue molteplici relazioni, che spiegano l’origine delle donazioni di monasteri a lui fatte.
Dopo il primo periodo di pesante attività, Odilone conobbe, tra il 1005 e il 1013, anni più calmi, che lo condussero all’apogeo della sua grandezza.
Gli anni tra il 1014 e il 1030 dimostrarono a quale potenza fosse pervenuta Cluny. La benevolenza degli imperatori, soprattutto di Enrico II, e dal re di Francia, Roberto, nonché quella dei papi, come Benedetto VIII e Giovanni XIX, dimostrano l’ascendente di Odilone e come ciò fu favorevole alle cause da lui difese, senza peraltro allontanare le difficoltà nate dalla condotta di alcuni vescovi e di alti personaggi. Ben presto, tuttavia, le prove andarono moltiplicandosi, fino a ca. il 1040, data in cui l’abate riuscì a dominare progressivamente la situazione. La sua malattia, durante un ultimo viaggio a Roma (inizi del 1047) annunciava già la fine che sopravvenne durante un’ultima visita ai suoi monasteri.
I primi a beneficiare dello zelo di Odilone furono i monaci di Cluny, per i quali egli ricostruì il complesso degli edifici monastici, ad eccezione della chiesa, che era stata ultimata dal suo predecessore; ma la stesa attività di costruttore fu da lui esercitata anche in altre case da lui dipendenti. Per i suoi monaci egli pronunciò anche dei sermoni, di cui alcuni ci sono pervenuti, compose gli Inni dell’Ufficio di s. Maiolo, redasse una Vita di quest’ultimo e quella dell’imperatrice Adelaide; a capo dei monaci egli presiedette a quell’esistenza claustrale in cui la liturgia occupa un posto così preminente e di cui fece descrivere i particolari in un Ordo celebre, ricopiato a Farfa (Consuetudines ferfensis); arricchì la biblioteca, promosse lavori artistici nel laboratorio degli orafi, coltivò il talento letterario dei suoi religiosi. Sotto il suo governo, il patrimonio di Cluny aumentò considerevolmente, insieme al numero dei monasteri ad essa soggetti. Per quanto sia difficile precisare un elenco di questi ultimi, fra grandi e piccoli, essi superavano i settanta, di cui più di venticinque debbono attribuirsi al suo governo. Rafforzò inoltre i vincoli che li legavano a Cluny, ne assicurò la direzione con priori formati alla sua scuola, a tutti procurò il vantaggio dell’esenzione che, con Bolle successive, ottenne sempre più completa. L’unità dell’osservanza e dello statuto canonico, congiunta all’unità del governo, raggruppavano tutte le case cluniacensi in un vero Ordine: è proprio in questa occasione che la parola ordo assunse la sua nuova accezione. Oltre che sull’Ordine, Odilone esercitò, all’occasione, la sua azione anche su altri monasteri, di cui si trovava a difendere gli interessi.
L’estensione dell’Ordine di Cluny, il suo irradiamento, e in particolare il ruolo delle sue consuetudini, moltiplicavano i centri di fervore religioso e di preghiera, per il maggior bene della Chiesa; ad essi si aggiungeva la costruzione di nuovi luoghi di culto nelle campagne. Il compito assunto da Odilone nella Chiesa si trova così determinato e Benedetto VIII lo riconosce in una Bolla (1° sett. 1016): “Servire Iddio, permettere di aderire a Dio, pregare, celebrare la Messa per i vivi e defunti, prender cura degli ospiti e dei poveri, fare l’elemosina”; tutto ciò significò, di per sé e per il ruolo sociale dei chiostri, contribuire potentemente al progress spirituale del popolo cristiano, e preparare biondi il terreno per lo sforzo futuro della riforma gregoriana.
Nello stesso tempo, i legami dei monasteri cluniacensi con Roma istituivano una rete di forze e di tappe prestabilite; nello stesso senso operavano le relazioni cordiali intrattenute da Odilone con numerosi vescovi.
I suoi obiettivi, peraltro, non corrispondono esattamente a quelli dei gregoriani; egli volle semplicemente far amare il Cristo Gesù, preparare le anime alla vita del cielo e per questo offrire agli uomini l’ordine e la pace. Tutti debbono contribuir a realizzare questo bene, tanto più urgente in quanto troppo spesso regnano ancora il disordine e le guerre; al di sopra dei conti e dei re, l’imperatore gli sembra il miglior garante del suo ideale: al bisogno, egli interverrà presso di lui per sollecitare un perdono o una protezione, riconoscendogli per contro le qualità per scegliere un buon papa, così come spetta al re di nominare un buon vescovo.
Allo stesso ideale si collega il ruolo che si accorda a Odilone nella conclusione dei patti di pace e nella istituzione della “tregua di Dio”, o, ancora, il ruolo di giudice nei possedimenti di Cluny, di arbitro che presiede ai regolamenti dei conflitti fra terzi, di conciliatore che ricerca degli accomodamenti con i suoi avversari. La sua instancabile generosità sovviene a tutte le miserie: in quei tempi di frequenti e spesso spaventevoli carestie, egli procura i viveri agli indigenti senza lesinare, non esitando a vendere il tesoro della sacrestia o a elemosinare preso i ricchi. Non gli basta di soccorrere i corpi, vuole liberare le anime dei defunti: no contento dei suffragi, già frequenti a Cluny per le anime del Purgatorio, egli istituisce, all’indomani di Ognissanti, la nuova, solenne commemorazione dei trapassati.
Questa immensa pietà è senza dubbio il tratto dominante del suo carattere. Egli
medita troppo profondamente l’esempio del Signore Gesù per non essere
fondamentalmente misericordioso e pietoso. La sua bontà, tuttavia, non è vana
tenerezza, perché, al contrario, egli si dimostra uomo deciso e forte, perfino
tenace, e pratico; manifesta infatti il suo senso pratico pur nel suo governo
di anime e nella sua devozione al Verbo incarnato o a Maria, Signora, Stella
del mare. Amico purissimo, nutre una particolare devozione all’Eucaristia; uomo
di fede profonda e attiva, è un contemplativo, teso verso la visione del
Signore.
CULTO
Il posto che Odilone ha tenuto ai suoi tempi, le sue relazioni e l’irradiamento delle sue opere, più ancora che la sua reputazione di taumaturgo, avrebbero richiesto l’iscrizione nel calendario di numerose chiese, come era accaduto per il suo predecessore, s. Maiolo. In realtà il culto si limita ai monasteri cluniacensi e ad alcuni altri soltanto, o a diocesi con le quali Odilone si trovò in rapporti particolarmente stretti, come Chartres e Le Puy.
La data della sua morte, nell’ottava della Natività, portava, evidentemente a causa della coincidenza, un certo imbarazzo; la successiva storia monastica dei secc. XI e XII doveva affievolire il suo ricordo, in modo che il culto ha preso un carattere locale assai evidente a Cluny e soprattutto a Souvigny, dove, nel 1063 il legato, s. Pier Damiani, consacrava una nuova chiesa, elevava le reliquie, redigeva una nuova Vita del santo per abbreviare quella del monaco Jotsaldo; nel 1345 l’arcivescovo di Bourges procedeva a una traslazione, cosa che certamente diede occasione alla dispersione di alcune ossa in altre chiese, ma l’insieme del corpo rimase a Souvigny, dove nel 1793, sarebbe stato quasi del tutto distrutto.
Odilone è iscritto nel Martirologio Romano al 1° gennaio (Comm. Martyr. Rom., p.2, n.12). Sebbene non abbia un grande posto nell’iconografia, questa gli attribuisce alcune caratteristiche: la mitra che, ai suoi piedi, ricorda il rifiuto all’arcivescovato di Lione, oppure piccoli corpi tra le fiamme, che ricordano l’istituzione della commemorazione del 2 novembre.
Autore: Jacques Hourlier
SOURCE : http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/36050
Den hellige Odilo av Cluny (~962-1048)
Minnedag: 3.
januar
Skytshelgen for sjelene i skjærsilden; mot gulsott
Den hellige Odilo (Olon) ble født ca 962 på slottet
Corrèze i Auvergne i Midt-Frankrike som sønn av grev Berald av Mercoer og
Gerberga, som ble nonne etter at hun var blitt enke. Odilos herkomst gjorde det
mulig for ham å stige raskt til høye kirkelige embeter. Allerede som barn hadde
han lovt Jomfru
Maria å vie sitt liv i hennes Sønns tjeneste etter å ha blitt frisk av
en sykdom - det sies ikke noe om hvilken. Helt til sin død bevarte han sin
hengivenhet for Maria.
Som kannik ved katedralen i Saint-Julien ved Le Puy
førte han først det den gang vanlige livet for en rik kirkefyrste, som ikke
forsaket noe. Allerede her lærte han å kjenne den hellige Majolus, abbed i
klosteret Cluny i Burgund, og kanskje var det dette møtet som gjorde at han
erkjente at han befant seg på feil vei. Men det var ikke lett for ham å
bestemme seg for å tre inn hos de svarte benediktinerne (Ordo Sancti
Benedicti - OSB) i Cluny. Det var først da han vendte seg til abbeden av
St. Bénigne i Dijon for å få råd, at noen klarte å få ham til å ta en
avgjørelse.
Klosteret Cluny ved Mâcon i Burgund nordvest for Lyon
ble grunnlagt i 910 av Vilhelm av Aquitania og begynte sitt liv som et
reformert, men temmelig ukjent kloster. Det fulgte Benedikts regel
med en strenghet som var uvanlig på den tiden. Få ville ha spådd dets raske
vekst til å bli det viktigste klosteret i Europa. Klosteret ble senteret for
reformen og den åndelige fornyelsen av det vestlige munkevesenet på 1000- og
1100-tallet.
I 991 trådte han inn i Cluny, 29 år gammel. På grunn
av hans menneskelige og åndelige kvaliteter ble han allerede to år senere
koadjutor, det vil si assistent og utpekt etterfølger, for abbed Majolus, som
til sammen styrte klosteret i 30 år. I 994 døde Majolus, og Odilo etterfulgte
ham og ble femte abbed av Cluny samtidig som han ble presteviet. I løpet av
hans 54 år i embetet ble Cluny det viktigste klosteret i Vest-Europa, og
Fulbert av Chartres kalte Odilo Archangelos Monachorum, «munkenes
erkeengel». Klostre i Burgund, Provençe, Auvergne og Poitou sluttet seg til den
cluniacensiske reformen, enten direkte eller ved tilknytning, spesielt i Italia
og Spania. Antallet klostre steg fra 37 til 65 mens han var abbed. Odilo gjorde
de andre klostrene i Cluny-kongregasjonen stadig mer avhengige av
moderklosteret. Abbeden av Cluny utnevnte priorer for datterhusene, som dermed
var permanent under en sentral jurisdiksjon, og dette gjorde de cluniacensiske
klostrene (eller noen av dem) til den første monastiske ordenen i moderne
forstand. Som abbed for moderklosteret Cluny var han leder for hele den
cluniacensiske bevegelse, og kalles ofte erkeabbed.
I sin karakter forente Odilo mildhet med fasthet og
organisasjonstalent med evner som fredsmaker. Han er blant annet kjent som en
stor byggherre, og hans eksempel i Cluny ble imitert av mange reformerte
klostre. Fremfor alt søkte Odilo å fremme det sanne klostervesenets ånd og å
fjerne misbruk. I denne oppgaven var den hellige Benedikts regel, som den ble
forstått av de svarte munkenes tradisjon, av altoverskyggende betydning. I hele
sitt lange styre arbeidet han hele tiden med å fremme den nære forbindelsen
mellom Cluny og Den hellige Stol. Eksempsjonen som ble gitt fra kravene til
biskopen av Mâcon, ble effektivt opprettholdt mens pavedømmet var sterkt, men
da det var svakt, måtte Odilo føye seg noe for biskopen.
Odilo var ni ganger i Italia og deltok på flere
synoder der. Pavene Johannes XIX (1024-32) og Benedikt IX (1032-48) tilbød ham
erkebispesetet i Lyon, men han avslo. Odilo ble også en viktig skikkelse i den
politiske verden. På hans tid var det en god del kamper i små kriger, raid og
trefninger mellom føydalherrer og andre. Odilo hadde et hjertelig forhold til
keisere som Otto III og Henrik III, som besøkte Cluny under Odilos styre, og
han var til stede ved Henrik IIIs kroning i Roma i 1046. Robert II av Frankrike
allierte seg med reformpartiet.
Odilo fremmet også effektivt Pactum Dei, det vil
si beskyttelse av kirkelige personer og eiendom mot angrep i offisiell eller
uoffisiell krigføring og garanterte asyl i kirker for flyktninger. Han er også
sammen med abbed Richard av Saint-Vanne kjent for sin støtte til
begrepet Treuga Dei, «Gudsfreden», en våpenstillstand mellom stridende
parter fra fredag til mandag, under advent og fastetiden og på visse kirkelige
festdager, en forholdsregel av økonomisk så vel som av religiøs og politisk
betydning. Selv om ideen møttes av mye motstand, ble den til slutt gjennomført
i mange franske provinser.
Inkarnasjonens mysterium var favorittemaet for hans
prekener og dikt. Marias plass i dette mysteriet ble også utarbeidet av Odilo,
og den hellige Bernhards
mariologiske arbeider et århundre senere skyldte Odilo mye. Han gjorde også
minst en liturgisk nyskapning: I 998 beordret han at i alle
Cluny-kongregasjonens klostre skulle den 2. november, dagen etter
Allehelgensdag, høytideligholdes til minne om og i bønn for alle døde munker i
de cluniacensiske klostrene, senere i 1031 utvidet til «alle døde som har
eksistert fra verdens begynnelse». Denne skikken, Allesjelersdag,
bredte seg senere gjennom innflytelsen fra Cluny til hele vestkirken. Derfor
ble Odilo skytshelgen for alle sjeler i skjærsilden. Han blir også anropt ved
gulsott på grunn av et under.
Ytre sett var Odilo ikke imponerende, i motsetning til
hans sterke personlighet. Han praktiserte strenge personlige botsøvelser, for
eksempel bar han hårskjorte og piggete jernlenker. Men han var også berømt for
sin omsorg for vanlige mennesker og sin storstilte hjelp til de fattige i tiden
med hungersnød og dyrtid fra 1028 til 1033, da han solgte eller smeltet om mye
av skattene i Cluny for å hjelpe. Blant annet solgte han den kronen som var
gitt til Cluny av den hellige Henrik II. I de
store hungersnødene på den tiden, spesielt mellom 1028 og 1033, utøvde han også
aktiv nestekjærlighet og reddet tusenvis fra døden. Kanskje hans mest berømte
utsagn er at han ville foretrekke å bli fordømt for å være for barmhjertig enn
for å være for streng.
Mens Odilo var abbed av Cluny, trakk prins Kasimir av
Polen seg tilbake dit, ble munk der og ble viet til diakon. En delegasjon av
adelsmenn kom for å kalle ham hjem til tronen etter at hans far, kong Miceslaw,
døde. Odilo refererte saken for pave Benedikt IX (1032-48), som ga dispensasjon
slik at Kasimir kunne akseptere tronen til tross for sin religiøse status. Han
ble kronet i 1041 og regjerte til sin død i 1058.
Odilo var plaget av smertefulle sykdommer de siste fem
årene av sitt liv. Hans embete medførte mye reiseaktivitet, og han døde den 31.
desember 1048 (eller 1. januar 1049?) i klosteret i Souvigny ved Moulins i
Øst-Frankrike på en inspeksjonsreise. Han var da ca 86 år gammel. Han hadde
fått sakramentene dagen før og insisterte på å bli båret inn i kirken, der han
døde liggende på en seng av sekkestrie strødd med aske. Siden hans favorittema
i prekenene var Inkarnasjonen, var det passende at han døde i juleoktaven. Ikke
bare munkene, men hele vesten sørget. Han ble gravlagt i Souvigny og snart æret
som helgen. Den hellige Peter Damian sørget
for at han ble helligkåret i 1063, og han skrev en kort biografi som bygget på
arbeidet til Jotsald, en av Odilos munker som fulgte ham på hans reiser. Hans
navn står i Martyrologium Romanum. Hans relikvier ble skrinlagt i 1345, men
sammen med Majolus' jordiske rester ble de brent i Souvigny under den franske
revolusjon i 1793 «på Fedrelandets alter».
Hans minnedag er etter Det annet Vatikankonsil 3.
januar, selv om også 1. januar var vanlig og 2. januar nevnt, eller 29. april.
11. mai nevnes også, men det er ellers minnedagen til Majolus. 19. januar
(Cluny) og 6. februar (Sveits) var også minnedager.
Odilo blir fremstilt i benediktinerkutte med
abbedstav, på grunn av sin forbindelse med Allesjelersdag har han ofte en
hodeskalle ved føttene og ved siden av seg har han Skjærsilden, eller en engel
som leder forløste sjeler ut av skjærsilden og inn i himmelen. Av hans skrifter
har bare noen få korte og ubetydelige overlevd, blant annet en biografi om den
hellige keiserinne Adelheid, som han var nært knyttet til, en kort biografi om
forgjengeren Majolus, prekener til fester i kirkeåret, noen hymner og bønner og
noen få brev av hans omfattende korrespondanse.
Da den romerske kalenderen ble reorganisert i 1968,
ble det etablert en minnedag den 29. april som en felles minnedag for de syv
hellige og salige abbeder som har ledet det innflytelsesrike klosteret Cluny.
De har alle fremdeles sine individuelle minnedager i tillegg til denne
fellesfesten. De seks andre er: De hellige Berno, Odo, Majolus og Hugo og de
salige Aymard og Peter den Ærverdige.
Kilder: Attwater
(dk), Attwater/John, Attwater/Cumming, Farmer, Jones, Butler (I), Benedictines,
Delaney, Bunson, Livingstone, Schauber/Schindler, Melchers, Gorys, Dammer/Adam,
Kiefer, KIR, CE, CSO, Patron Saints SQPN - Kompilasjon og oversettelse:
p. Per Einar
Odden - Sist oppdatert: 2000-04-15 22:59
SOURCE : http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/odilo
† 1048 Odilo
van Cluny
Odilo (ook Odilon of Olon) van
Cluny, Frankrijk; abt; † 1048.
Feest 1 & 2
& 3 (in de Zwisterse bisdommen Lausanne, Genève en
Fribourg) januari & 29 april & 11 mei (samen met de andere
heilige abten van Cluny: Hugo, Majolus, Odo en Petrus: bij cisterciënzers,
trappisten en benedictijnen) & † 31 december.
Hij werd rond 962 geboren
uit een hoogadellijke familie in het Franse plaatsje Mercoeur, Auvergne.
In 994 volgde hij Majolus
(† 994; feest 29 april) op als vijfde abt van Cluny en voerde de
kloosterhervormingen krachtig door die door de abten vóór hem in gang waren
gezet. Reeds bij zijn leven stond hij in kerk en wereld in hoog aanzien. Onder
hem steeg het aantal onder Cluny staande kloosters van zevenendertig naar
vijfenzestig.
Volgens de overlevering
gaat op hem het feest van Allerzielen terug. Hij plaatste het rond 1030 op de
liturgische kalender van Cluny en alle verbonden kloostervestigingen. Het werd
al snel door de hele kerk overgenomen en op 2 november geplaatst, daags na
Allerheiligen.
Er wordt verteld hoe een
pelgrim tijdens een storm op een eilandje werd geworpen. Daar had hij een
visioen van de zielen die in de hel als straf voor hun zonden de pijn van de vlammen
moesten ondergaan. Thuisgekomen begaf hij zich naar vader Odilo te Cluny met de
vraag of er niet één dag in het jaar heel in het bijzonder voor de zielen van
overledenen gebeden kon worden. Zo zou de dag van Allerzielen zijn ontstaan.
Hij staat ook bekend als
de ontwerper van de bekendste pelgrimsroute naar Santiago, die via de kloosters
loopt.
Hij stierf te Souvigny,
bij Clermont-Ferrand, op 31 december 1049, naar het schijnt aan de gevolgen van
een ernstige aanval van dysenterie. Hij werd opgevolgd door Sint Hugo († 1109;
feest 29 april).
Verering & Cultuur
In 1345 werden zijn relieken door Roger le Fort († 1367; feest 1 maart)
verheven tot de eer der altaren, wat gelijk stond aan een heiligverklaring.
Officieel werd hij heilig verklaard in 1663.
Patronaten
Hij is patroon van de zielen in het vagevuur; zijn voorspraak
wordt ingeroepen tegen dysenterie, geelzucht, kolieken en zenuwpijnen.
Afgebeeld
Hij wordt afgebeeld als priester die de heilige mis opdraagt, terwijl zielen
uit het vagevuur hem
verschijnen; met kromstaf naast het vagevuur, waaruit engelen zielen naar de
hemel voeren.
Bronnen
[107; 111p:722; 115a; 122; 127; 143; 180p:129; 193p:176; 288»05.11; 300p:329;
Süt.1941p:239»Majolus; 500; Dries van den Akker s.j./2010.02.19]
© A. van den Akker
s.j.
SOURCE : http://heiligen-3s.nl/heiligen/01/01/01-01-1048-odilo-cluny.php
Odilo
von Cluny
Gedenktag katholisch: 1.
Januar
gebotener Gedenktag im Bistum Lausanne-Genf-Fribourg: 3. Januar
gebotener Gedenktag im Benediktiner-, Trappisten- und Zisterzienserorden: 11.
Mai
Aufnahme des Kopfes in Cluny: 19. April
Aufbewahrung der Gebeine: 3. Mai,
Erhebung bzw. Übertragung der Gebeine: 21. Juni
Name bedeutet: der
Kleines Besitzende (althochdt.)
erster Abt in Cluny
* um 962 in der Auvergne in
Frankreich
† 1. Januar 1049 in Souvigny im
Département Allier in Frankreich
Odilo entstammte dem
adligen Haus der Mercoeur, sein Vater war der Ritter Beraud, seine Mutter hieß
Gerberga. Er war Kanoniker in
St-Julien in Brioude und
trat auf Zureden von Wilhelm
von Dijon um 990 ins Benediktinerkloster Cluny ein;
schon 993 wurde er Stellvertreter von Abt Majolus,
994 dessen Nachfolger als fünfter Abt von Cluny. Er pflegte wie sein Vorgänger
intensive Beziehungen zu den Herrschern der Sachsen,
zu Kaiserin Adelheid,
für deren Grab er um 1000 die Inschrift verfasste, zu Otto III. und Heinrich
III. sowie zu den Königshäusern in Frankreich, Spanien und Ungarn. 997 ging er
nach Rom,
um den Status von Cluny absichern zu lassen. 998 erwirkte er von Papst Gregor
V. für Cluny die uneingeschränkte Freiheit vom Diözesanbischof und 1024 die
Erweiterung dieses Privilegs auf alle von Cluny abhängigen Abteien und
Priorate.
Unter Odilos Leitung
nahmen die Reformen
von Cluny weiteren Aufschwung und erreichten ihren Höhepunkt; Cluny wurde
von einer Reformgemeinschaft zu einem zentralistisch ausgerichteten
Klosterverband; die Zahl der Abteien unter der Leitung von Cluny stieg durch
ihn von 35 auf mehr als 70 Klöster; Hauptverbreitungsgebiete waren die Auvergne,
die Provence,
die Île-de-France und Aquitanien,
hinzu kamen Klöster in Italien und Spanien. Wo er ein Kloster aus Holz
übernommen hatte, so sagt man, hinterließ er ein Kloster aus Marmor. Das
deutsche Reichsgebiet blieb Odilo aber verschlossen - trotz seiner engen
Beziehung zu Kaiser Heinrich
II., der den ihm bei seiner Krönung durch Papst Benedikt VIII. übergebenen
Reichsapfel und wohl auch andere Insignien 1014 Cluny schenkte; Odilo ließ
diese Kostbarkeiten 1031/32 bei einer Hungersnot einschmelzen, um die Armen zu
versorgen. In Cluny ließ Odilo - bis auf die Kirche - alle Gebäude neu
errichten, um für den gewachsenen Konvent Platz zu haben; auch in anderen Cluny
unterstellten Klöstern entfaltete er eine reiche Bautätigkeit.
Odilo war geistliche
Autorität und politischer Ratgeber für ganz Europa. Er setzte sich in
Frankreich für die Verbreitung des Gottesfriedensgedankens ein: einer
Regelung, die bestimmte heilige Zeiten - zum Beispiel kirchliche Festzeiten -
von Kampf und Krieg freihielt. Bei aller Härte gegen sich selbst war er nachsichtig
gegenüber anderen. Ihm wird das Wort zugeschrieben: Wenn er in die Hölle kommen
solle, dann lieber, weil er zu nachsichtig gewesen sei, als wegen Härte und
Grausamkeit.
Odilo führte in Cluny um
1030 den Allerseelentag am
2. November ein, der sich von hier aus in aller Welt verbreitete. Er verfasste
die Lebensgeschichte seines Vorgängers Majolus und
- schon bald nach deren Tod im Jahr 999 - der Kaiserin Adelheid.
Ab 995 verfasste er die Consuetudines Antiquiores,
die althergebrachte Lebensweise und ab 1024 den Liber Tramitis,
das Buch der Wege zur liturgischen Steigerung der benediktinischen Bräuche.
Odilos Lebensgeschichte
schrieben sein Vertrauter, der Mönch Jotsaldus, und Petrus
Damiani.
Attribute: Abt neben Fegefeuer
Patron der Armen Seelen im Fegefeuer; gegen Gelbsucht
Bauernregel: Denk an alle Seelen / auch wenn sie dir nicht fehlen.
Stadlers Vollständiges
Heiligenlexikon
Schriften von Odilo und seine
Lebensgeschichte gibt
es online zu lesen in den Documenta Catholica Omnia.
Worte des Heiligen
Das Glaubensbekenntnis
Odilos:
Die ewige und unbegrenzte Einheit der höchsten Gottheit bete ich an, lobe,
verherrliche und preise ich, so wie die heiligen Engel und Erzengel und alle
Heiligen sie im Himmel anbeten.
Ich glaube und bekenne den Vater und den Sohn und den Heiligen Geist, die
Dreiheit in den Personen, die Einheit in der Gottheit und im Wesen, und zwar so
wie es schon vorher die heiligen Patriarchen und Propheten gesagt haben, wie es
der Engel Gabriel,
der vom Himmel her zur Jungfrau gesandt
wurde, dargelegt hat, die heiligen Apostel und die Evangelisten in ihren
Schriften verkündeten, die Märtyrer es gepredigt haben, die Bekenner es lehrten
und die heiligen Jungfrauen bekannten.
Ich glaube und bekenne das Wort, das im Anfang war und bei Gott war und Gott
war; das für meine und der ganzen Welt Befreiung und Erlösung aus der
heiligsten und unbefleckten Jungfrau Maria wahrhaft in unserem Leib, doch ohne
die menschliche Begierlichkeit, in der Zeit gezeugt und geboren ist, gemäß dem
Gesetz des Mose am achten Tag beschnitten wurde und den Namen Jesus erhielt,
am vierzigsten Tag von seiner Mutter im Tempel mit den [üblichen]
Opfergaben dargestellt,
den Magiern geoffenbart,
von Johannes getauft
wurde, in der Wüste vom Teufel versucht, aber nicht besiegt wurde, nachdem er
viele, ja unzählige Wohltaten, Wunder und Heilungen gewirkt und das Evangeliums
verkündet hatte, zur vorbestimmten Zeit von seinem eigenen Jünger ausgeliefert,
von den Juden gefangengenommen, gefesselt, gegeißelt, geohrfeigt, gekreuzigt,
getötet und bestattet wurde; der am dritten Tag aus eigener Kraft von den Toten
auferstand und so den Teufel besiegte und die Hölle beraubte; der vierzig Tag
hindurch den Aposteln in dem Fleisch, in dem er gekreuzigt wurde, erschien; der
am vierzigsten Tag vor den Augen derselben Apostel und vieler anderer Gläubiger
über die Himmel erhöht wurde; der von dort auch kommen wird, um im Feuer zu
richten die Lebenden und Verstorbenen und die irdische Welt.
Ich glaube auch an den Heiligen Geist, und dass er auf unseren selben Herrn in
der Gestalt einer Taube und auf die heiligen Apostel in Feuerzungen
herabgestiegen ist und ihnen die Kenntnis aller Sprachen zugeteilt hat und eine
unbesiegbare Standhaftigkeit gegenüber der Verfolgung durch alle Feine
geschenkt hat.
Ich glaube die heilige, katholische und apostolische Kirche. Ich bekenne die
eine Taufe zur Vergebung der Sünden und erwarte die Aufstehung von den Toten
und das Leben der zukünftigen Welt. Amen.
Quelle: Sancti Odilonis
credulitas. In: Patrologia Latina 142, Sp. 1035f
Auf Odilo geht die
Einführung des Festes Allerseelen zurück,
wie auch in der liturgischen Chronik von Cluny vermerkt
ist:
Von unserem heiligsten
Vater und Herrn Odilo wurde unter Zustimmung und auf Bitten aller Brüder von
Cluny beschlossen, dass so, wie in den weithin über den Erdkreis verstreuten
Kirchen am ersten November das Fest Allerheiligen gefeiert
wird, bei uns auf festliche Weise das Gedächtnis aller verstorbenen Gläubigen
von Beginn der Welt an bis zuletzt begangen wird, und zwar auf folgende Weise:
… Alle Brüder sollen privat und öffentlich Messen feiern für die [ewige] Ruhe
aller gläubigen Seelen, auch sollen zwölf Arme gespeist werden. Und damit
dieser Beschluss beständig gültig bleibe, wollen wir und bitten wir und ordnen
wir an, dass dies so wie an diesem Ort auch an allen zu diesem Ort gehörigen
[Klöstern] eingehalten werde. Und wenn irgend ein anderer sich diese unsere
gläubige Einrichtung zum Vorbild nimmt, sollen ihm alle guten Wünsche in
Erfüllung gehen!
Quelle: Statutum S.
Odilonis de defunctis. In: Patrologia Latina 143, Sp. 1037f
zusammengestellt von Abt
em. Dr. Emmeram Kränkl OSB,
Benediktinerabtei Schäftlarn,
für die Katholische
SonntagsZeitung
SOURCE : https://www.heiligenlexikon.de/BiographienO/Odilo_von_Cluny.htm
Dubois Jacques. « Jacques Hourlier. Saint Odilon de Cluny (Bibliothèque de la Revue d'histoire ecclésiastique, 40) [compte-rendu] », Revue d'histoire de l'Église de France Année 1965 148 pp. 135-137 : https://www.persee.fr/doc/rhef_0300-9505_1965_num_51_148_1746_t1_0135_0000_2
