Saint of the Day: St. Robert of Newminster, Abbot

St. Robert was born in 1100 at Gargrave, England. He studied at the University of Paris, was ordained a priest, and served as a parish priest in his hometown. He later became a Benedictine and joined a group of monks in establishing a Cistercian monastery in which the strict Benedictine rule was revived. In 1132, they founded Fountains Abbey on land given to them by Archbishop Thurston. In 1138, Robert went on to found the Cistercian Abbey of New Minster at Morphett, Northumberland, which became a place of pilgrimage.

As abbot, Robert was an excellent example to his monks in leading them to sanctity: he recited the entire Psalter of 150 psalms daily and he led an austere life, fasting frequently and eating small amounts of food. He possessed supernatural gifts, which included power over evil spirits, and he performed exorcisms, curing many people possessed by demons.

Robert was a close friend of the hermit Saint Godric and often visited him in his hermitage at Finchale, where they would discuss spiritual matters. At the moment of Saint Robert’s death in 1159, Saint Godric, saw his soul like a globe of fire, borne up by the Angels in a pathway of light, while the gates of heaven opened before them.

St. Robert's relics were moved to the church at Newminster. Miracles were reported at his tomb, and it became a popular pilgrimage site.

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