Saint Stephen Harding

Saint Stephen Harding c.1060-1134, English monastic reformer. He entered the abbey at Sherborne in his youth; later (c.1077) he went to the Molesme abbey (near Châtillon-sur-Seine) in Burgundy. In 1098 he joined his abbot, St. Robert (d. 1111), in founding at Cîteaux a new abbey, where the Rule of St. Benedict might be observed in primitive rigor. Stephen was abbot there from c.1109 and from his abbacy date the Cistercians ; the spirit and organization of that order reflect St. Stephen's ideas. These are embodied in the Chart of Charity (c.1119); this, the main Cistercian constitutional paper, is a landmark in the course of Western monasticism. He supported with paternal affection the work of St. Bernard of Clairvaux . Feast: Apr. 17; among Cistercians, July 16.

Bibliography: See C. H. Lawrence, Medieval Monasticism (1984).

Stephen Harding, St (d.1134), abbot of Cîteaux. A monk of Molesme, he was part of the community that went to Cîteaux in 1098. He became abbot in 1109. The monastery was in danger of extinction when St Bernard and 30 followers joined the community in 1112. The sudden increase in numbers soon necessitated other foundations. In order to maintain the original austerity and uniform government, Stephen drew up the nucleus of the Carta Caritatis, which established the system of regular visitations and General Chapters in the Cistercian Order. Feast day, 26 Jan. (formerly 17 Apr. and 16 July).

Stephen Harding, St (d. 1134). Third abbot of Cîteaux. A native and monk of Sherborne (Dorset), Stephen joined the abbey of Molesme near Dijon. Fervently ascetic, he helped Abbot Robert tighten Benedictine life there, but, facing opposition, they left for Cîteaux to follow the rule more rigorously. Stephen, the driving force, became third abbot (1109), but Cistercian austerity caused numbers to decline until Bernard's arrival (1111) with 30 followers retrieved the situation. Stephen himself founded thirteen other houses and appointed Bernard abbot of Clairvaux. He wrote Carta caritatis (1119), which was Cistercianism's foundation document. Cistercianism spread rapidly—over 100 Cistercian houses were founded in Stephen's lifetime, the first in England at Waverley, Surrey (1128).