Majolus of Cluny

Saint Majolus of Cluny was born around 906 to a noble family near Avignon in southern Gaul. As a boy he fled the violence of feudal wars and, orphaned young, devoted himself to study at Lyon. Ordained in Mâcon, he served as canon and archdeacon, teaching clerics freely and withdrawing often to a small riverside oratory for prayer. Known for gentleness and truthfulness, he refused the honors of a bishopric, choosing instead the hidden life of a monk at Cluny. At Cluny his learning and discipline quickly bore fruit, and he became a trusted servant of the community. Elected the fourth abbot around 954, Majolus guided the great monastic reforms of his age, strengthening houses of monks and canons and wisely linking many foundations to Cluny to safeguard their renewal. He traveled widely, counseled emperors and empresses, and even endured captivity by raiders in the Alps, an ordeal that helped stir the defense of Provence. Majolus is venerated as a reforming abbot and holy shepherd of souls, and he is patron of Veveri. His feast day is May 11.