The new Bishop

was a scoundrel: a veritable river of scandal and ineptitude.

The chancellor and the clergy appealed for help to the other bishops of the country and even to the papal ambassador. The conflict grew worse: the bishop even resorting to violence. In the end, the chancellor found himself making an appeal in Rome and the evil bishop resigned from the diocese.

The chancellor could have returned home as the new bishop, if he had so desired, but he felt God calling him instead to a life of quiet prayer, absolute simplicity, and shared solitude. He and six companions went up into a high mountain valley and built what would become the first Carthusian Monastery.

St. Bruno, once diocesan chancellor and later founder of the Carthusian order, died on this very day in the year 1101. The Carthusians continue to pray and thrive in quiet places throughout the world.