Rejecting the “finer things” in life as an aspirant to austerity, he lived a hundred holy years! St. Bertin was born in the early 7th century in Constance, France. He was educated at the Abbey of Luxeuil, known for its exactness to the Rule of Saint Columban, a Rule identified by its strictness and austerity. Though he did not become a novice as a student, Bertin felt called to follow the Rule with the other monks at the Abbey, and when an adult, he took the cowl, the habit of the monks.
In 639, Bertin and two other monks joined Saint Omer, Bishop of Therouanne, who had for two years been evangelizing the pagan Morini in the low-lying marshy country of the Pas-de-Calais. This was a region renowned for idolatry and immorality. The missionaries built a monastery in honor of Saint Mommolin. After eight arduous years of preaching the Faith for Christ and calling for the people’s conversion, they founded a second monastery at Sithiu, dedicated to St. Peter. St. Bertin was abbot there for nearly sixty years and made it famous; after his death it was called St. Bertin and gave birth to the town of St. Omer.
Bertin sent monks to found other monasteries in both France and England, and himself traveled constantly to teach and encourage people to a greater devotion to God. Under his direction, his monastery served as an excellent example to the people, and helped bring many souls to the Lord. During a life that spanned about a century, Bertin was known for holiness, severe austerity, and his evangelistic spirit.
Other Saints We Remember Today
St. Laurence Justinian (1455), Bishop, first Patriarch of Venice