| Saint Gilbert of Sempringham | |
|---|---|
| Founder of the Gilbertines | |
| Born | c. 1083 Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England |
| Died | 4 February 1190 Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England |
| Honored in | Roman Catholic Church and Church of England |
| Canonized | 1202, Rome by Pope Innocent III |
| Feast | 4 February |
Saint Gilbert of Sempringham (about 1083 – 4 February 1190) became the only Englishman to found a conventual order, mainly because the abbot of Cîteaux declined his request to assist him in helping a group of women living with lay brothers and sisters, in 1148. In turn he founded a monastery of Canons Regular.
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Gilbert was born at Sempringham, near Bourne in Lincolnshire, the son of Jocelin, an Anglo-Norman lord of the manor, who bucked the usual trend of the day and actively prevented his son from becoming a knight, instead sending him to the University of Paris to study theology. Some physical deformity may have made him unfit for military service, making an ecclesiastical career the best option. When he returned in 1120 he became a clerk in the household of Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln, started a school for boys and girls (the existing primary school at Sempringham is still named after him) and was finally ordained by Robert's successor, Alexander.
When his father died in 1130 he became lord of the manor of Sempringham, and immediately began using his inherited wealth to fund expansion of the Gilbertines, his new order. Eventually he had a chain of twenty-six convents, monasteries and missions; in 1148 he approached the Cistercians for help. They refused because he included women in his order. The male part of the order consisted of Canons Regular.
He was imprisoned in 1165 on a charge of aiding Thomas Becket when Thomas had fled from King Henry II after the council of Northampton, but he was eventually found innocent. Then, when he was 90, some of his lay brothers revolted, but he received the backing of Pope Alexander III. Gilbert resigned his office late in life because of blindness and died at Sempringham in about 1190, at the age of 106.[1]
He was canonized in 1202. His liturgical feast day is on 4 February, commemorating his death.