St. Romuald: The Monk Who Reformed Monasticism at 120 Years Old (7 February)

About this sermon

Today we celebrate the feast of St. Romuald, a 10th–11th century monastic reformer, hermit, and founder of the Camaldolese Order. Born into Italian nobility in the year 907, St. Romuald lived a comfortable but spiritually average life—until witnessing a fatal duel within his own family radically changed everything. This turning point led him to repentance, radical asceticism, years of hermit life, deep study of monastic tradition, and eventually to become one of the greatest reformers in the history of Western monasticism. Even so, his life reminds us that holiness does not mean constant success. St. Romuald faced resistance, failure, frustration, and even moments of anger—yet God still worked powerfully through him. In this video, we explore: The dramatic conversion of St. Romuald His influence on rulers, including the Doge of Venice Why even saints cannot force conversion The founding of the Camaldolese Order The cyclical nature of zeal and dryness in the spiritual life Timeless wisdom on prayer, meditation, and discipline St. Romuald lived to be 120 years old, founded his order in old age, and left behind teachings that would later echo in saints like St. John of the Cross. His life is a powerful reminder that it is never too late, reform is always needed, and God brings good even out of failure. St. Romuald, pray for us. 0:00 – Feast of St. Romuald 0:36 – Born into nobility in 10th-century Italy 0:56 – The duel that changed his life 1:37 – Conversion, repentance, and monastic vocation 1:56 – Zeal, penance, and conflict with monks 2:23 – Life as a hermit near Venice 2:47 – Counseling the Doge of Venice 4:26 – A ruler becomes a monk and a saint 4:47 – Ten years of study in monastic tradition 5:41 – Reforming monasteries across Italy 6:23 – Failure, frustration, and free will 7:48 – Why even saints cannot convert everyone 8:55 – Retirement, old age, and a divine vision 9:52 – Founding the Camaldolese Order 10:23 – Death at 120 years old 11:20 – Lessons on failure and perseverance 12:30 – Cycles of zeal and dryness in the spiritual life 13:08 – St. Romuald on prayer and meditation 14:28 – Tradition, continuity, and human nature 15:02 – Final exhortation and prayer Please remember to say 3 Hail Marys for the priest https://sensusfidelium.com/the-liturgical-year-dom-prosper-gueranger/february/february-7-st-romuald-abbot/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.us for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 LBRY.tv --- https://lbry.tv/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 BrandNewTube - https://brandnewtube.com/@SensusFidelium 🔴 GabTV - https://tv.gab.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 Brighteon - https://www.brighteon.com/channels/sensusfidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 Please "Like" our videos so that Youtube shares it to others by clicking the "Like" thumbs-up under the video = 👍🏻 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StRomuald #CatholicSaints #Monasticism #CatholicTradition #Camaldolese #ChurchHistory #CatholicSpirituality #LivesOfTheSaints #CatholicMasculinity #TraditionalCatholic #AsceticLife #PrayerAndPenance