Robert de Turlande

Robert de Turlande (c. 1000 - 17 April 1067) was a French Roman Catholic priest and professed member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was of noble stock and was also related to Saint Gerald of Aurillac. He is best known for the establishment of the Benedictine convent of La Chaise-Dieu ('Home of God') and for his total commitment to the poor.

He became a spiritual inspiration for Pope Clement VI, whose own origins in the religious life were based at that convent, Robert canonised the Benedictine abbot on 19 September 1531 in Avignon.

Life

Robert de Turlande was born in 1000 as the last child of the nobles Géraud de Turlande and Raingarde; she was the sister of the Bishop Rencon.

Robert's education was overseen at the Church of Saint-Julien in Brioude, where he later became its canon after he was ordained to the priesthood in 1026. There, he founded a hospice for the poor of the region.

Robert served as a spiritual inspiration to the pontiff, who himself desired to be interred at La Chaise-Dieu after his own death in 1352. The pope had started his religious career there as a monk.