Troyes Cathedral (Relics of St. Bernard)
A church holding relics of St. Bernard.
St. Bernard → Plan a trip hereThe Story
The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Troyes, a Gothic masterpiece begun in 1208 in the old Champagne region of France, is best known to pilgrims as the resting place of the surviving relics of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the great Cistercian abbot and Doctor of the Church. Bernard (1090–1153) entered the reformed monastery of Cîteaux as a young nobleman and in 1115 founded the Abbey of Clairvaux, not far from Troyes. From that remote valley he became one of the most influential churchmen of the twelfth century — a counselor of popes and kings, a preacher of renewal, and a writer whose warmth earned him the title 'Mellifluous Doctor.' His friend St. Malachy, the reforming archbishop of Armagh in Ireland, died in Bernard's arms at Clairvaux in 1148; Bernard himself died there in 1153, and both were buried at the abbey. During the French Revolution the Abbey of Clairvaux was suppressed and its tombs were despoiled in 1792. The relics that survived — including the skull of St. Bernard and relics of St. Malachy — were afterward transferred to the cathedral of nearby Troyes, where they are kept in the cathedral treasury in reliquaries that continue to draw visitors. Bernard's spiritual legacy remains vital in Catholic life: his teaching on the love of God, his tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and his vision of monastic reform continue to shape prayer and theology. Pilgrims who venerate his relics at Troyes stand close to the landscape of Clairvaux itself, where his story began.
Church Recognition
St. Bernard was canonized in 1174 by Pope Alexander III and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1830; his surviving relics, together with those of St. Malachy, are preserved and venerated with the Church's approval in the treasury of Troyes Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Troyes.
Catholic Teaching
The veneration of the relics of the saints is a form of popular piety commended by the Church (CCC 1674), expressing the communion of saints (CCC 946–962): the faithful honor the bodies of those who were living members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, and ask their intercession.
Plan Your Visit
Practical
Additional Information
Pilgrims visit the cathedral treasury, where the reliquaries of St. Bernard and St. Malachy are kept, and admire the cathedral's celebrated medieval stained glass. Devotion peaks around St. Bernard's feast on August 20, and many visitors pair Troyes with a visit to the nearby site of the former Abbey of Clairvaux.
Go Deeper
Read St. Bernard's classic treatise On Loving God and Pope Pius XII's encyclical Doctor Mellifluus (1953) on his life and teaching; on the veneration of relics, see Catechism of the Catholic Church 1674. The Diocese of Troyes publishes visitor information for the cathedral and its treasury.
Location
Visit the official website ↗ See it on the interactive map →Pilgrim Photos
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