St. Bruno of Cologne’s feast day is Oct. 6. St. Bruno was the founder of the Carthusian order, otherwise known as the Order of St. Bruno. In honor of his feast day.
Here are five facts about the Carthusians.
The name “Carthusian” is derived from the Chartreuse Mountains
The Chartreuse Mountains was the location of St. Bruno’s first hermitage. The English word “charterhouse” which is used to refer to a Carthusian monastery, is also derived from the name of the mountains.
Grande Chartreuse is still the head monastery of the Carthusian order in modern day France
Grande Chartreuse is the same monastery that St. Bruno established in 1084 in the Chartreuse Mountains. At the end World War II, the monastery was used as a hospital for the Allied Forces. There is also a museum that neighbors the building that is presented to the history of the Carthusians.
The monks of the monastery are involved with the production of Chartreuse liqueur
Deriving its name from the monastery, this liqueur is made using distilled alcohol aged with a large variety of plants and herbs. The color chartreuse, a blend of yellow and green, received its name from this liqueur.
Members of the Carthusian order lead solitary lives
St. Bruno himself decided to be a hermit and, pursuant to this, his order is similarly eremitic. The Grande Chartreuse is closed to outsiders, and the monks of the order follow protocols that keep them mostly solitary.
The Carthusians have their own Rule
Instead of following the Rule of St. Benedict, as most monasteries do, the Carthusian order follows its own rule referred to as the Statutes.
