Abbot Bernard Tolomei

Giovanni Tolomei, later known in religion as Bernard, was born in 1272 in Siena, in Tuscany, into the noble Tolomei family. He received the education customary for the Sienese aristocracy of the late thirteenth century and studied law at the University of Siena, where he gained a reputation as a capable jurist. In early adulthood he took part in the civic and military life of the Republic of Siena, holding public office and serving as a knight. Later hagiographical tradition describes a spiritual turning point, sometimes associated with illness, after which he abandoned secular ambitions.

In the early fourteenth century, around 1313, he withdrew with two companions of similar noble background, Patrizio Patrizi and Ambrogio Piccolomini, to a remote family property at Accona in the Crete Senesi south of Siena. There they lived as hermits in poverty, prayer, and penance, taking the names Bernard, Patrick, and Ambrose. They adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict. Other men joined them, and the settlement grew into a monastic community dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and called Monte Oliveto in memory of the Mount of Olives. Bernard was chosen as superior and later abbot of the foundation.

The congregation, known as the Congregation of Santa Maria di Monte Oliveto or the Olivetans, obtained recognition from the Holy See. Pope John XXII approved their observance under the Benedictine Rule in the second decade of the fourteenth century. As abbot, Bernard was remembered for personal austerity and humility and is said to have declined episcopal appointments. He directed the monks in a life of liturgical prayer, study, and agricultural labor. The Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore became the mother house of a congregation that later spread in Italy.

When the Black Death reached Tuscany in 1348, Abbot Bernard left the monastery to care for the sick in Siena. He contracted the plague and died on 20 August 1348. His remains were taken back to Monte Oliveto Maggiore for burial. Local veneration continued within the Olivetan congregation and in Siena. After confirmation of his cult by the Holy See in later centuries, he was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on 26 April 2009. The Catholic Church commemorates him on 20 August.