Lives Of The Saints
October 6
St. Bruno
Bruno left the schools of Rheims for silence at Chartreuse. His prayer, poverty, joyful solitude, and obedience gave the Church the enduring Carthusian way of life.
Saint Bruno, Carlo Sellitto
Brief life
Bruno left honor and influence behind because his heart longed for God alone. After years as a renowned teacher at Rheims, he and six companions entered the wilderness of Chartreuse in 1084 to seek Christ through silence, prayer, poverty, and penance.
That hidden beginning became the Carthusian way of life. Bruno did not write a rule for it. His example taught his sons to unite the solitude of hermits with the stability and worship of a monastic community.
In 1090 his former pupil Pope Urban II called him to Rome for counsel. Bruno obeyed even though he grieved to leave Chartreuse. When he was permitted to return to solitude, he founded another hermitage in Calabria and spent his remaining years there. His life shows that silence bears fruit when it is joined to obedience, charity, and a joyful desire for God.
Historical note
Bruno founded the first Chartreuse with six companions in 1084. He later obeyed Pope Urban II's summons and founded a second hermitage in Calabria.
Next step
Browse the novena library
Browse the broader library if you want to move from reading into prayer.
Keep reading
Nearby saint lives
Move through the calendar without leaving the saint library. These nearby feast-day lives help keep the reading trail connected.
Pray with this saint
Carry this saint into prayer
If this life stirred a particular need, keep going with the closest prayer links in the library.