AFFRINGUES, BRUNO D'

AFFRINGUES, BRUNO d'. - Carthusian, b. at Saint-Omer in 1546 and d. at the Grande-Chartreuse of Grenoble in 1632. Of noble birth, he combined a fine intellect with great piety and purity of life. He studied in Paris, travelled in Italy, stayed in Turin and Padua, visited Venice and Rome, and, having returned to France, was elected vicar general of the diocese of Carpentras. Finally, although the favour of the bishop and the Pope held before his eyes the prospect of a rapid career, he withdrew among the Carthusians of the Grande Chartreuse and took the habit there in 1591, at the age of forty-five. Having distinguished himself as prior of the charterhouse of Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, he was elected general of the Order in 1600. Remarkable was the revival of the Carthusians under his government: the Grande Chartreuse was rebuilt, the novitiate flourished anew in the number and quality of its candidates, the liturgy was restored, studies were encouraged, printing was promoted, etc. He was honoured by the kings of France, favoured by the archduke of Austria, and held in high esteem by the learned men of his time. S. Roberto Bellarmino called him worthy of being pope, and s. Francesco di Sales praised his dove-like simplicity and saintly humility. At his death the Order numbered 10 new charterhouses and 3,000 religious. He left no printed works and, strangely enough, the bibliography concerning him is extremely scant.