From Arles to the Alps

Would you be willing to relocate from beautiful Arles in the south of France to the snowy mountains of the Alps?

We will even give you a dog to keep you company!

St. Bernard of Montjoux (c. 923–1008), also known as St. Bernard of Menthon, was born to a wealthy and noble family in the Kingdom of Arles (present day France and Switzerland). As an adult he refused an honorable marriage and instead determined to give his life in service to the Church. He became a priest in northern Italy and spent more than four decades doing missionary work in the Alps.

He built schools and churches, and is especially known for aiding travelers. The area where he ministered had an ancient, snowy, and dangerous pass winding through the mountains along which pilgrims traveled to and from Rome.

To serve the pilgrims St. Bernard built a hospice at the highest point of the pass, 8,000 feet above sea level. Later he founded another hospice along another smaller pass. St. Bernard obtained papal approval for communities of priests to serve in the hospices, which have generously aided travelers for more than a millennium.

The priests and their well-trained dogs (the St. Bernard breed named for the saint) would seek out lost pilgrims.