STEPHEN OF MURET, ST.

Founder of the Order of grandmont; b. Thiers, Auvergne, France, ca. 1045; d. Muret, the Limousin, France, Feb. 8, 1124. The son of the viscount of Thiers, a nobleman of the Auvergne, Stephen went on pilgrimage to southern Italy when he was a young man, perhaps to the shrine of Monte Gargano. In the course of his travels he acquired the friendship of a partisan of the gregorian reform, Abp. Milo of Benevento, and made the acquaintance of some of the eremitical communities that were flourishing in the region of Calabria at that time. Impressed by their way of life, he decided to introduce it into his native country, where it was then little known. About 1080 he settled in a secluded forest at Muret, in the mountains north of Limoges. His sanctity quickly gained him a considerable reputation; some people came to him for spiritual advice, others, seeking to follow the life he led. The latter he welded together in a communal life that developed into the Order of Grandmont, which for some time spread rapidly, especially in western France. Stephen's way of life was austere, involving a concept of poverty that anticipated that of the mendicant orders. His teaching, recorded in the Liber sententiarum (Patrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne, 217 v., indexes 4 v. [Paris 1878–90] 204:1085–1136), reflects the influence of the Gospels and the works of Gregory I the Great. His relics were translated from Muret to the new motherhouse of the order at Grandmont on June 25 in or about 1166. He was canonized in 1189, at the insistence of King Henry II of England.

Feast: Feb. 8.

Bibliography: Vita, Patrologia Latina, ed. j. p. migne, 217 v., indexes 4 v. (Paris 1878–90) 204:1005–46. j. becquet, Dictionnaire de spiritualité ascétique et mystique. Doctrine et histoire, ed. m. viller et al. (Paris 1932–) 4.2:1504–14.

[j. c. dickinson]