Saint Alberic of Citeaux (died
January 26,
1108), also known as
Alberic of Aubrey, was a
Christian saint and
abbot, one of the founders of the
Cistercian Order.
Alberic was a
hermit in the forest of Collan in
France who, along with five other hermits, invited
Saint Robert of Molesme to begin a new
monastery with them that would operate under the
Rule of St. Benedict. Robert led these hermits to the forest of
Molesmes and began a religious settlement there in 1075. In Molesmes, Robert served as the abbot, and Alberic was the prior. However, as the settlement's fame grew, gifts came in, and this new wealth attracted new monks who were eager to change the Rule and to be lax. The Molesmes community was divided, and the monks opposed Robert and Alberic. Robert twice left the monastery to live as a hermit, and twice the
pope ordered him back to his community. In one absence of St. Robert, the brothers imprisoned Alberic so that they might have their way.
In 1093, Robert left again, and Alberic and
Stephen Harding left with him. The
Bishop of Langres commanded Alberic back to Molesmes. He returned, but he made no headway with the corrupt brothers. In 1098, twenty-one more monks left Molesmes to join Robert, Alberic, and Stephen Harding, and Robert now obtained permission to found a new monastery. Robert was given an inaccessible piece of land and founded the new monastery at
Citeaux.
Initially, Robert was the
abbot of Citeaux, with Alberic the prior. However, the monks of Molesmes petitioned Robert to return to them and vowed obedience to the Rule of Benedict. In 1100, Robert left Citeaux, and Alberic became the new abbot. Under Alberic, the Rule of Benedict was made even more austere. He introduced the use of a white cowl to the monks, and, in iconographic art, his emblem is the white cowl.
His
feast day in the
Roman Catholic Church is January 26.