BERNARD of ROGLIANO, Venerable. — Hermit, founder of the Congregation of Colloreto, born at Rogliano (Cosenza) in 1519, to Protetto Milizia and Palma Dodera; at Baptism he was given the name Leonardo; he died a holy death at Colloreto on 12 January 1602. He received an excellent education, both cultural and otherwise, which continued at Rende under the care of his uncle after the death of his father. At the age of nineteen he disposed of his goods in favour of the poor and of pious works; at Cosenza (1539) he devoted himself to the service of the wretched and the sick; at Castrovillari (1540), out of humility, he worked as a servant in a household while completing his formation under the guidance of two priests. In 1541 he retired as a hermit to the little church of S. Angelo, taking the name of Bernard. In 1544 Durante dei Duranti, Bishop of Cassano, ordained him priest. Having left his hermitage, he went on pilgrimage to Rome and Loreto; on his return he settled at Colloreto (900 m. above sea level), a solitude between Morano and the Pollino; there he built his cell (1545), the beginning of the future great convent, and the little church (1546) dedicated to Our Lady of Colloreto, of which ruins may still be seen today.
His penitential life, marked by miracles, attracted a great number of followers. For them Bernard drew up the rules of the new Congregation of Colloreto: prayer, mortifications, works of charity. After the Bull *Lubricum* (17 November 1568), Bernard received from Pope St Pius V in Rome the Rule of St Augustine. The Congregation of Colloreto flourished in Calabria and southern Italy until the end of the 18th century, when it was suppressed by the revolutionaries. Amidst many cares, Bernard continued his study of philosophy and theology; under the guidance of Leonardo d’Ossò he also learned Greek. Soon after his death the process for his beatification was begun.