Raimundo Serrat

Miguel Jacinto Meléndez - San Raimundo in action

Calatrava cross

Raimundo Serrat or Raimund von Fitero or Raimund von Calatrava (* around 1105, † 1163 in Ciruelos near Toledo ) was abbot of the Cistercian monastery of Fitero ( Navarra ) and founder of the Calatrava order . His feast day is February 1st.

Vita

Raimundo's family and birthplace are unknown. First reports refer to the city of Tarazona in western Aragon , where he is said to have been a cleric, and to the Cistercian monastery L'Escaladieu near Tarbes ( Gascony ), to which he retired. In 1140, with the support of Alfonso VII of León, he was appointed to the daughter monastery Niencebas near Alfaro on the Ebro , which, however, was moved 12 years later to the 20 km southwest of Fitero on the Río Alhama .

In 1158, Sancho III called him . , the son and successor of Alfonso, to Aranjuez , where he gave him the fortified city of Calatrava la Vieja , since he was the only one who - after the withdrawal of the Templars - wanted to take over its defense. This was achieved shortly afterwards with the help of his friend Diego Velázquez, who managed to assemble an army of 20,000 men. Raimund became Grand Master of the new order, which attracted a large number of monks and fighters in the period that followed.

He spent his old age on an estate near Ciruelos, where he died in 1163.

Adoration

Raimundo Serrat was hardly venerated outside of the Cistercian order. In 1702, his worship within the Order was officially recognized by the Roman Curia ; 17 years later, Pope Clement XI made his cult approved. His name is mentioned in the Martyrologium Romanum .

presentation

There are no portraits of Raimundo Serrat from the Middle Ages and only very few modern ones; a new statue stands in Fitero and shows him in monk's robe with shield and sword.

Web links

• Raimundo Serrat (Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints)
• Raimundo Serrat (catholiconline, English)