Saint Siard

Feastday: November 14

“We have already heard, dearest brothers, how the good father Siard, avoiding all unnecessary comforts, learned to live humbly as one among the confreres, and to show himself as a particularly good example of labor to his subjects, while experiencing the contemplative life together with Mary Magdalene...”

(Vita of St. Siard)

As a young boy, Siard was sent to study at the school of the Norbertine Abbey of Mariengaarde. He eventually entered the abbey and was clothed in the white habit in1175 by St. Frederick, the first abbot of Mariengaarde. In 1194, Siard became the fifth abbot of Mariengaarde, notable for his great humility, spirit of penance, and love for the poor. True to St. Augustine’s example, he never allowed himself special food or clothing, slept in the same dormitory as the other confreres, and shared in the common manual labor. Deeply devoted to Martha and Mary, he sought to imitate Martha in concern for the needs of his brothers and Mary in listening to the voice of Christ in prayer. As he humbly and diligently worked in the fields with the community during harvest, in the spirit of Martha, he would chant the psalms with his confreres so that, like Mary, they could still pursue the “one thing necessary” (Luke 10:42). Like St. Norbert, Siard had a gift for reconciling enemies, and he is often depicted with the basket of bread for the poor he would always carry with him on journeys. Siard died in 1230 after 36 years as abbot. Many miracles occurred through his intercession, both during his life and especially after his death at his tomb.

(Saint drawings courtesy of Saint Norbert Abbey, De Pere, Wisconsin.)