by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
Saint Bernard of Clairaux is the great patron of all Catholics now engaged in the canonical battle to restore Pope Benedict to the Apostolic throne and to remove the usurper and Anti-Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a.k.a. Francis, from the Vatican.
He is the patron saint for all of us because at the Council of Etamps in 1130 A. D., he judged Anacletus II a antipope and with that council ordered him to be deposed and dislodged from Rome. He attended more than a half dozen other Synods and Councils which declared the same thing.
Moreover, though he was a man of peace, he understood that force of arms was at times necessary to restore peace. So he accompanied the Imperial Armies to Rome to drive the Anti-pope out. And having entered the city, he preached in the major Churches the canonical facts which proved that Innocent II, and not Anacletus II, was the true pope.
So great was this victory in the sight of the Church of Rome, that here in the Eternal City, it is commemorated with an Altar, and not just any altar, but an altar at the Basilica of the Most Holy Cross in Jerusalem, which I visited this morning and which I gave you a virtual tour of in my previous post.
Here I include some photos of St. Bernard’s victory, which show him presenting the antipope Victor IV, the successor of Anacletus II (who died in schism), to Pope Innocent II. Victor II makes an act of obeisance to the true Pope and surrenders the symbols of the office he had usurped. The glory, magnificence and stunning victory of which is emblazoned in a painting above side altar:
Here is a detail of the same:
For all those who are defending Pope Benedict XVI these images are precious, so I grant you permission to use them in whatever medium to promote the truth that Pope Benedict XVI is the true pope and that the Saints are on our side in this battle. With them, in the cause of God, we shall obtain the victory, if we persevere and fight bravely and courageously and perseveringly against all obstacles and all enemies.
Here is the official description of the painting:
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St. Bernard was St. Bernadette of Lourdes’ patron saint. Pope Benedict read his Declaratio on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Beautiful connections (and so many!) with St. Bernard of Clairvaux as our patron saint. I see a connection with St. Bernard’s mission and that of our very own Brother Bugnolo, since Bernard was a monk who lived in the quiet and solitude of his monastery and wound up spending his life for the defense of the Holy See. He also reinforced Church teaching on priestly celibacy. (ring a bell of something recently?)
Also, no coincidence the statue of Saint Bernard stands so firmly and graciously in the Vatican gardens where the Holy Father Benedict XVI resides, also stands gloriously on the colonnade outside of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Let us remember that during Bernard’s lifetime he was close friends with the metropolitan of Ireland, St. Malachi, who wrote the list of popes prophecy of which the penultimate is our very own “Gloria Olivae”, Benedict XVI who reigns greatly with the statue of St. Bernard in his own backyard!
Pope Benedict XVI also rendered many tributes to St. Bernard like during his Angelus address of August 20, 2006; his general audience of October 21, 2009; his homily for the Solemnity of All Saints Day of November 1, 2009; his general audience of November 4, 2009;
St. Bernard, pray for us and Pope Benedict XVI !!