Bl. Bertrand of Garrigue

Biography

Bl. Bertrand was born in the late twelfth century at Garrigues, in southern France. A priest, he met St. Dominic during the preaching mission against the Albigensian heresy and, around 1215, was among the small band of men who joined Dominic at Toulouse in what became the Order of Preachers. He became one of Dominic's closest companions, walking with him on his journeys, sharing his prayer, and serving as his confidant. Bl. Jordan of Saxony, Dominic's successor as master of the Order, wrote that Bertrand was a man of great holiness and severe penance, and that Dominic gently corrected him for weeping too much over his own sins, urging him instead to pray for the sins of others. In 1217, when Dominic sent his young friars out across Europe, Bertrand went to Paris to help found the Order's house there, near the university. He later returned to Toulouse as prior, and in 1221 he became the first provincial of Provence. He died around 1230 while preaching to Cistercian nuns near Orange, and he was buried in their convent. Reports of miracles at his tomb kept his memory alive, and Pope Leo XIII confirmed his cult in 1881.

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