St. Norbert of Xanten

St. Norbert of Xanten (c. 1075 – 6 June 1134) was born of a noble family at Xanten in the Rhineland and spent his early years as a worldly cleric at the imperial court. A brush with death in a thunderstorm brought about a profound conversion; he was ordained, gave away his possessions, and became a wandering preacher of penance. Receiving papal approval, in 1120 he founded a community at Prémontré in France following the Rule of St. Augustine, giving rise to the Premonstratensian Order, or Norbertines.

His canons combined the contemplative life of monks with active preaching and pastoral care, and the order spread rapidly across Europe. Norbert was a fervent promoter of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and a firm opponent of heresies that denied the Real Presence. In 1126 he was made archbishop of Magdeburg, where he labored to reform the clergy and worked alongside St. Bernard of Clairvaux to heal a papal schism. He was canonized in 1582.