November 21

Born in 543 in Leinster, he trained under St. Comgall at Bangor Abbey. In 590, he led 12 disciples to Gaul, founding monasteries at Annegray, Luxeuil, and Fontaines. His strict Rule emphasized asceticism and learning, challenging church corruption. Later he traveled through the Alps to Italy, where he founded Bobbio Abbey as a center of scholarship. He wrote letters and treatises that influenced European monastic reforms. Columbanus died in 615 at Bobbio, was later canonized, and his legacy endures in medieval monasticism.

Born around 1070 in Corbeil, France, he became a monk at Saint-Martin-des-Champs. He rose within the English church, serving as prior of Ely before his appointment to Canterbury in 1123. As archbishop, he implemented administrative reforms and asserted church rights in disputes with King Henry I. In 1135, he crowned Stephen of Blois, influencing the political landscape of England. He convened synods to enforce clerical discipline and enhance ecclesiastical organization. William de Corbeil died in 1136, leaving a legacy of strengthened church governance in 12th-century England.

Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire (1802–1861) was a French priest who restored the Dominican Order in post-revolutionary France. Born in Recey-sur-Ource, he excelled at the École Polytechnique before pursuing theological studies. In 1839, he entered the Dominican Order and soon reopened the priory of Saint-Maximin. Lacordaire preached to massive crowds at Notre-Dame de Paris, advocating religious freedom. A proponent of liberal Catholicism, he sought reconciliation between church and state. His sermons and writings reshaped French religious discourse and earned him a seat in the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.

Jean-Pierre Schumacher (1924–2021) was a French Trappist monk who survived the 1996 abduction and killing of seven fellow monks in Tibhirine, Algeria. Born in Alsace, he entered monastic life with the Cistercian order in France before joining the Atlas Abbey in North Africa in 1951. During Algeria's civil war, Schumacher was held hostage but later released, and he returned to rebuild the community amidst ongoing unrest. In 2015, he led efforts to establish a new monastic foundation in Midelt, Morocco, serving as abbot until his retirement. Renowned for his resilience, humility, and deep faith, he wrote about his experiences in memoirs and spoke on interreligious dialogue. Schumacher's life remained a testament to peace, contemplation, and the enduring spirit of monastic vocation.