Aibert

Aibert of Crespin, O.S.B.
Born	1060 Espain, Belgium
Died	April 7, 1140 Tournai, Belgium
Venerated in	Roman Catholicism
Feast	April 7

Saint Aibert (or Aybert) of Crespin, O.S.B., was a Benedictine monastic and hermit revered for his intense life of prayer, asceticism and devotion to the Rosary.

Life

Aibert was born in 1060 in the village of Espain in the Diocese of Tournai, in present-day Belgium. From an early age, Aibert spent much of his time in private prayer. Aibert would frequently pray late into the night and, when he could find no private place to pray, would withdraw to the barn to pray. Aibert fasted frequently, eating only bread or an apple when working in the fields.

Moved by a wandering minstrel singing a hymn of lament to Saint Theobald, Aibert began to live a life of asceticism with a Benedictine priest named John near the abbey in Crespin. While Aibert and John shared a single cell, they survived primarily on uncooked herbs and, occasionally, bread. Roberts states that, "they chose to eat neither foods of animal origins, nor foods that had been cooked."

Aibert joined the abbey, becoming a Benedictine monk, ca. 1090. Sources are unclear as to whether Aibert joined the Abbey during or after living ascetically with Father John. Aibert spent either 23 or 25 years at the Crespin Abbey, being selected as provost and cellarer.

In 1115, Aibert was allowed to return to the solitary life of a hermit. Aibert built a hermitage in the wilderness and was sought out by those seeking spiritual advice and healing. Sometime after returning to the wilderness, Aibert was ordained into the priesthood by Bishop Burchard of Cambrai. Aibert is noted to have said two Masses each day until his death in 1140 at the age of 80. His feast day is April 7.

Rosary

Aibert is traditionally connected to the Rosary due to his veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Aibert is reported to have said 150 Hail Marys daily, “100 with genuflexions and 50 with prostrations.”