Saint Odo of Cluny

Odo of Cluny (French: Odon) (c. 878 – 18 November 942) was the second abbot of Cluny. Born to a noble family, he served as a page at the court of Aquitaine. He became a canon of the Church of St. Martin in Tours and continued his education in Paris under Remigius of Auxerre. Upon returning to Tours, Odo became disillusioned with the life of a canon and subsequently entered the Benedictine abbey at Baume, where he became superior of the abbey school. Odo joined Abbot Berno at Cluny and, when Berno died in 927, was elected his successor. While abbot, he also managed the priory at Romainmôtier. Next, he undertook the reform of Fleury Abbey. He encouraged the monks to adhere more closely to the original Rule of Saint Benedict. In 931, the Pope authorized Odo to continue his work in the monasteries of Aquitaine. He enacted the various Cluniac Reforms of France and Italy. In 937, he went to Rome and was given the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. He also sent his aides to Monte Cassino and Subiaco. Odo initiated the practice among the monasteries following Cluny to hold an annual commemoration of all the faithful departed on the day after All Saints' Day. He is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His feast day is 18 November. There is only one contemporary biography of him, the Vita Odonis written by John of Salerno. Odo was born in about 878, the son of Abbo, feudal lord of Deols, near Le Mans, and his wife, Arenberga. According to the Vita later written by Odo's disciple John, the couple had long been childless, and on Christmas Eve, Abbo prayed to Our Lady to obtain for him the gift of a son. When the child was born, his grateful father entrusted the boy to the Church of St. Martin in Tours. Both his parents later joined monasteries. His brother Bernard also became a monk.