BERNARDO da 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 saintly death at Colloreto on 12 January 1602. He received an excellent education, including a cultural one, which was continued at Rende by his uncle after the death of his father. At the age of 19 he disposed of his possessions in favor of the poor and charitable works; at Cosenza (1539) he devoted himself to serving 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 withdrew as a hermit to the little church of S. Angelo, taking the name B. In 1544 Durante dei Duranti, bishop of Cassano, ordained him a priest. After his hermitage was taken from him, he went as a pilgrim to Rome and Loreto; on his return he settled at Colloreto (900 m. above sea level), a solitary place between Morano and the Pollino; there he built the cell (1545), the beginning of the future large convent, and the little church (1546) dedicated to Our Lady of Colloreto, whose ruins can still be seen today.
His penitential life, marked by miracles, attracted a large number of followers. For them B. established the rules of the new Congregation of Colloreto: prayer, mortifications, works of charity. After the bull Lubricum (17 November 1568), B. received in Rome from Pope St. Pius V 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. Despite his many responsibilities, B. continued the study of philosophy and theology; under the guidance of Leonardo d’Osso he also learned Greek. Shortly after his death, the process for his beatification was begun.