Bertrand of Garrigues

As a co-founder and pillar of the Order of Preachers from the very beginning, Bertrand of Garrigues played a leading role in the expansion and organization of the institute: The Toulouse Convent: In 1216, Saint Dominic appointed him the first prior of the Saint-Romain convent in Toulouse, which was the very first establishment of the Order. The Paris Foundation: In 1217, during the dispersion of the brothers decided by Dominic, Bertrand was sent to Paris with a small group (including notably Mannes of Guzman and Matthew of France). They established the Saint-Jacques convent (known as the Jacobin convent) at the heart of the University of Paris, then the intellectual center of Christendom. Expansion in the South: Returning to the South, Bertrand founded several other convents, notably in Montpellier and Avignon. In 1221, he was appointed the first provincial of the Province of Provence (which then encompassed the entire South of France, from the Alps to the Pyrenees). Support for the Nuns of Prouilhe: After the death of Saint Dominic in 1221, Bertrand watched over the sisters of the monastery of Prouilhe with particular zeal, former Cathars who had converted, whose contemplative life and prayer directly supported the preaching mission of the brothers.

The life of Bertrand is characterized by rigorous asceticism and profound humility. Jordan of Saxony, the first successor of Saint Dominic, describes him as a "man of great holiness and inexorable rigor toward himself." Bertrand was accustomed to weeping abundantly over his own sins. One day, Saint Dominic, judging this affliction excessive, enjoined him to no longer weep for himself, but rather for the sins of others and for the conversion of sinners. Tradition reports that the word of Dominic was so powerful that Bertrand could never again weep for his own faults, but only for those of others. A famous miracle, reported by Gerard of Frachet in the Vitae Fratrum (The Life of the Brethren), illustrates his spiritual complicity with Saint Dominic. While they were traveling on foot toward Paris and had just left the sanctuary of Rocamadour, they were joined by German pilgrims. Not understanding their language but touched by their generosity (the pilgrims having fed them for four days), Dominic told Bertrand that he suffered from receiving temporal goods without being able to give them spiritual food. After entering into prayer, the two saints instantly received the gift of tongues and were able to converse in German with their traveling companions.

Bertrand of Garrigues died on April 18, 1230, at the Cistercian monastery of Bouchet (Notre-Dame-du-Bosquet), in the Drôme, while preaching a spiritual retreat there. He was buried in the monastery cemetery. Very quickly, his tomb became a place of pilgrimage due to numerous miracles and healings attributed to his intercession. His body was exhumed three times and each time was found perfectly incorrupt: 1. In 1253 (23 years after his death), by order of the clergy. 2. In 1398, during the transfer of his remains to the Dominican convent of Orange. 3. In 1561, when the Huguenots desecrated the tomb during the Wars of Religion. His incorrupt remains were then thrown into the fire and destroyed. Despite the destruction of his relics, his popular cult persisted through the centuries, notably in Bouchet and in the dioceses of Valence and Nîmes. In 1870, Mgr François-Nicolas Gueulette, Bishop of Valence, formally approved this ancient cult. The cause was brought to Rome, and Pope Leo XIII officially confirmed his cult (beatification by confirmation of cult) on July 12, 1881 (some sources mention July 14, 1881). His liturgical feast is set for September 6.

The spirituality of Bertrand of Garrigues is entirely modeled on that of Saint Dominic, of whom he was described as a "true reflection of holiness." He embodies the primitive Dominican ideal: apostolic itinerancy, the study of truth, absolute evangelical poverty, and a life of intense prayer, shared between nocturnal contemplation and daytime preaching. Today, his legacy is particularly alive in the Drôme and Gard regions. The abbey church of Bouchet still preserves his medieval tombstone, which continues to attract pilgrims and visitors.