Fastred, Bl.
FASTRED, BL.
Abbot of Cîteaux; b. Cambron (Belgium); d. Paris, April 21, 1163. A member of the noble Gaviaumer family, he joined the cistercians at clairvaux under St. bernard. He founded a new monastery in his native Cambron in the diocese of Cambrai in 1148, was elected abbot at Clairvaux in 1157, and in 1161 was promoted to the abbacy of cÎteaux. A devoted disciple of St. Bernard, he was a courageous supporter of alexander iii in his fight against frederick i barbarossa. Fastred died in Paris, where Pope Alexander administered the Last Sacraments in the presence of King louis vii, and was buried in Cîteaux. Two of his letters survived and are edited in Patrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne, 217 v. (Paris 1878–90) 185:704–706; 200:1363–65. Fastred, although never formally canonized, is venerated as blessed among the Cistercians.
Feast: April 21.
Bibliography: j. m. canivez, L'Ordre de Cîteaux en Belgique (Forges lez-Chimay, Belg. 1926) 109–110. s. lenssen, Hagiologium cisterciense, 2 v. (Tilburg 1948–49; suppl. 1951) 1: 232–234. a. a. king, Cîteaux and Her Elder Daughters (London 1954).
[l. j. lekai]