DROGO, known as of REIMS (Drogo cardinalis). — Cardinal bishop of Ostia, b. in Champagne (second half of the 11th century), d. 19 Dec. 1138. He embraced the monastic life at Saint-Nicaise in Reims, where he was elected prior; but the desire for a more perfect life led him to join the Cistercian Order, and he chose, unbeknownst to his abbot, Pontigny, the second daughter house of Cîteaux.
The incident provoked lively correspondence between St Bernard, the two abbots, and Drogo himself (St Bernard, Epist., 32-34: PL 182, 136-40). St Bernard’s attitude is surprising: in writing to the abbot of Saint-Nicaise, who demanded Drogo’s return, he expressed sorrow to him; whereas in writing to the abbot of Pontigny he urged him to keep Drogo and recommended to Drogo himself that he stand firm. Perhaps the saint had received from Drogo confidences he could not reveal. In any case, Drogo returned to Reims. In 1128, after the monastery of Saint-Jean in Laon had been taken from decadent nuns and granted to the Benedictines by the bishop (cf. St Bernard, Epist., 48: PL 182, 154), Drogo was appointed its first abbot. His reputation for learning and virtue reached Innocent II, who was staying in France, and at the Council of Pisa in 1136 the pope created him cardinal bishop of Ostia.
Works attributed to Drogo include (PL 160, 1133-64): De sacramento Dominicae Passionis, an allegorical explanation of the various circumstances of Jesus’ Passion; De creatione et redemptione primi hominis, reflecting the thought of St Augustine; De septem donis Sancti Spiritus (ac de Beatitudinibus), a parallel between the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the evangelical Beatitudes; De divinis Officiis (seu horis canonicis), on the spiritual value of the individual hours of the divine office — a work well worth bringing to wider attention even today.