21 March 1098 A.D. The Cistercians
21 March 1098 A.D. The Cistercians Pennington, M. Basil. “The Cistercians.” OSB.org. N.d. http://www.osb.org/cist/intro.html . Accessed 13 Dec 2014. The Cistercians An Introductory History by M. Basil Pennington, OCSO Beginnings On 21 March 1098, the saintly abbot of the thriving Benedictine Abbey of Molesme, Robert, led twenty-one of his monks into the inhospitable thickets of Citeaux to establish a new monastery where they hoped to follow Benedict of Nursia's Rule for Monasteries in all its fullness. The unhappy monks of Molesme, grieved at the loss of their holy leader, soon obtained a papal command for his return. The new struggling community continued until 1109 under the leadership of Alberic, who introduced the idea of lay brothers being accepted as full members of the monastic family, making it possible for the monks to be free to follow all the demands of the Benedictine Rule . Stephen Harding, who succe...