Saint John Gualbert

Life story

John Gualbert was born around 985 in Florence into a noble family. According to tradition, his brother was killed by an enemy, and on a Good Friday, meeting the man on the road, John spared his life instead of taking revenge. He then entered the church of San Miniato al Monte, where, so the legend goes, the crucifix bowed its head to him. He asked to join the Benedictine monastery of San Miniato.

Some time later he became troubled when the abbot was accused of buying his office, the sin of simony, and he left the monastery to look for a more secluded life. Around 1038 he reached Vallombrosa, a wooded valley in the Apennines near Florence, and gathered hermits there into a community, the beginning of the Vallombrosan Order, which followed the Rule of St Benedict with emphasis on poverty, silence and manual work.

John spoke out strongly against simony in the Church, alongside the reformers of the eleventh century. His congregation spread to many monasteries in Tuscany, including Passignano. He died on 12 July 1073 at Passignano near Florence. In 1193 Pope Celestine III placed him among the saints. In 1951 Pius XII named him patron of Italian forest rangers, since his hermitage lay in the woods and mountains.

The Vallombrosan monks later became known for their work in forestry, tending the woods around their abbey, and the order spread through Tuscany and beyond. The abbey of Vallombrosa still stands in the hills east of Florence, and the town of Passignano keeps the memory of his death.

Works and witness

• According to tradition, spared his brother's killer on Good Friday
• Entered the monastery of San Miniato al Monte in Florence
• Founded the Vallombrosa community around 1036, origin of the order
• Opposed simony alongside eleventh-century reformers
• Died at Passignano in 1073; canonised in 1193

Patron of

Italian forest rangers

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Vita Iohannis Gualberti (Andrew of Strumi)
• Martyrologium Romanum
• Encyclopaedia Britannica / Catholic Encyclopedia – John Gualbert

Written by Anawim from documented history. Some details about ancient saints rest on tradition and are marked as such.