Saint Gerard of Brogne: Patron of Abbots

St. Gerard was born to a noble family in Staves, Belgium, in 895. He descended from a royal line of military men and at first felt a share in this call to arms. He trained for the army and, as a page of the count of Namur, he was sent on a special mission to the French court. There, Gerard realized that he was being called to the monastic life. He stayed in France and joined the Benedictines of St. Denis, abandoning his noble birthright and all his worldly possessions. He spent eleven years in France as a monk before becoming a priest.

Following his ordination, he left for Belgium in order to found a new abbey on his own estate of Brogne. He was its abbot for twenty-two years and during that period was instrumental in introducing St. Benedict's Rule into numerous houses in Flanders, Lorraine and Champagne.He became known for his engaging sweetness of temper, his strict observance of the Rule of St. Benedict and for the replacement of lukewarm religious practice with true piety. During his life, he was the abbot of nearly twenty communities.

After 40 years of monastic reform, Gerard returned home to the first monastery he built in Brogne to live out his last days. There, in solemn prayer and contemplation he grew in holiness and went Home to God on October 3, 959. He is sometimes called the Patron of Abbots.