St. Robert de Turlande was a French nobleman who became a priest and later a Benedictine monk.

Robert was born around the turn of the first millennium in Auvergne, France. His mother was a noblewoman, but gave birth to Robert in the woods on their property while out for a walk. Local legend said this odd circumstance for a birth meant that Robert would become a hermit.

Robert studied for the priesthood, as did many younger sons of nobleman. He became a monk at the famous abbey of Cluny. He traveled to Rome to learn the order of St. Benedict at Nursia, where Benedict had established the Benedictines. He was inspired by the rule of Benedict and by the commitment to caring to the poor.

He returned to France, seeking to live a more contemplative life. He amassed such a large number of followers, however, that he had to build another convent. Robert became the abbot of the famous Benedictine convent, “La Chaise-Dieu,” which was where Pope Clement VI began his religious career as a monk.

Robert died on April 17, 1067 and was canonized by Pope Clement VI in 1531. Robert is the patron saint of La Chaise-Dieu convent, abbots, and hermits.

Saint Robert de Turlande, Benedictine priest who built a “home for God”—pray for us!

Image Credit: Jochen Jahnke, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)