St. Robert of Newminster IEW

SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER (DIED 1159)

Roman Catholic Abbot and Priest

died June 7, 1159 

St. Robert of Newminster was an English priest who became a Benedictine monk at Whitby.  His Feast Day is June 7

Details:
St. Robert was born in Gargrave, England, at the beginning of the 12th century.

He studied at the University of Paris, was ordained a priest, and served as a parish priest in his native town.

Later became a Benedictine. In 1132 he joined a band of monks in establishing a Cistercian monastery. It was called, Fountains Abbey. There, the Benedictine rule was revived. This was a more austere order.

Six years later St. Robert co-founded Newminster Abbey. There he served as abbot from1138 to 1159. This Abbey became a place of pilgrimage for many people.

As abbot, Robert provided a fine example leading his monks to holiness.
He recited the entire Psalter of 150 psalms daily.
He ate sparingly to maintain his self-denial.
He is said to have had supernatural gifts, particularly with special power over evil spirits.
He cured many people possessed by demons.

St. Robert also founded other Cistercian monasteries and he wrote a commentary on the Book of Psalms. St. Robert’s love of the psalms lead him to write this wonderful book about them. Unfortunately, it has since been lost.

Robert was a close friend of the hermit Saint Godric and often visited Saint Godric in his hermitage at Finchale, where they would discuss the things of heaven.

There is a beautiful story about the night Robert died. At the moment of Robert's death, in 1159, Saint Godric saw his soul, like a globe of fire, taken up by the angels in a pathway of light.  As the gates of heaven opened before them, a voice repeated twice,

"Enter now, my friends." 

Saint Godric is said to have seen his soul ascending to heaven like a ball of fire!

 A little about what life was like back in these days . . . . . .

Literacy was rare during the Middle Ages.  Also, life was generally short and difficult for most people.  Monks and abbots proved crucial to the preservation of Western civilization.  St. Robert, as abbot, had the time and background to read the psalms, ponder them, and write a commentary on them.  I thank God that such people lived.

St. Robert’s relics were translated to the church at Newminster. Miracles were reported at his tomb, and it became a center of pilgrimage.


Sources:
http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/feast-of-st-robert-of-newminster-june-7/

http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/lots/lots182.htm

http://catholicexchange.com/st-robert-of-newminster-abbot