Saint Romuald

Life story

Romuald was born around 951 in Ravenna into a noble family. According to the biography written by Peter Damian about fifteen years after his death, he witnessed his father kill a relative in a duel and was deeply shaken. He entered the monastery of Sant'Apollinare in Classe near Ravenna but later left to take up the life of a hermit.

He lived for a time beside the hermit Marinus near Venice, then followed Abbot Guarinus to the abbey of Cuxa in Catalonia. Returning to Italy, he travelled widely to found or reform monasteries and hermit communities, among them Pereum near Ravenna. Around 1012 he founded a hermitage at Camaldoli in the Apennines near Arezzo, on land supplied by a man named Maldolus. From this came the Camaldolese, a congregation that joins solitary hermit life with community life.

He also wished to carry the Gospel to lands in the north, and two of his disciples, John and Benedict, were killed with three companions in Poland in 1003. Romuald died on 19 June 1027 at Val di Castro in the Marche. His biography preserves his advice on prayer, though the details of his life rest mainly on Peter Damian. His feast is 19 June, and the Camaldolese still exist today.

Camaldoli grew into a congregation with several hermitages and monasteries, and its rule drew on Benedict's while giving real weight to solitude. Romuald's memory was kept alive by his many disciples, and Peter Damian's biography remains the key source for his life and for the early spirit of the Camaldolese.

Works and witness

• Entered Sant'Apollinare in Classe in Ravenna, then lived as a hermit
• Spent years at the abbey of Cuxa in Catalonia
• Founded the hermitage of Camaldoli near Arezzo around 1012
• Founded the Camaldolese, joining hermit and community life
• Died at Val di Castro on 19 June 1027

Saints from the same country

Saint Agnes, Saint Lawrence, Saint Cecilia, Saint Sebastian

References

• Vita beati Romualdi (Peter Damian)
• Martyrologium Romanum
• Encyclopaedia Britannica – St. Romuald of Ravenna

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