PIETRO il VENERABILE. – Abbot of Cluny and theologian, b. in Auvergne ca. 1094, d. at Cluny on 25 Dec. 1156. A monk at Sauxilanges (1109), «scholasticus» and prior of the abbey of Vézelay (1110–20); prior of Domène near Grenoble, he was elected abbot of Cluny on 22 Aug. 1122.
His long government, entirely directed toward the restoration of discipline, although it did not succeed in preventing the disintegration of the vast Cluniac organization, was characterized by a series of acts that make P. il V. one of the most distinguished figures of the 12th century: he took as an assistant in the government Matteo, prior of St-Martin-des-Champs (the future cardinal of Albano); in 1130 he defended Innocent I against Pietro di Leone (although the latter had formerly been a Cluniac monk); in 1132 he celebrated a General Chapter. He defended the traditions of Cluny with moderation and firmness, even against the criticisms of s. Bernardo; promoted studies; welcomed Abelardo; traveled to Rome six times on important missions; and visited the monasteries of England and Spain. Here he had the Corano translated into Latin for the purpose of apostolate among the Muslims. His final years, generally spent at Marcigny, were embittered by financial difficulties and by the separatist tendency of the monasteries of Italy and England.
The balance of judgment, of which his life gave continual proof, is reflected in his works, which, conceived outside the sphere of the nascent scholasticism and written in a limpid and concise style, constitute an important example of «monastic» theology: Tractatus adv. Petrobrusianos (PL 189, 719–850): written around 1138, it combats the errors of IBN RUŠD (v.); Adversus indecorum inveteratam duritiem (coll. 507–650): composed ca. 1140, it is an original draft of the treatise De Christo legato divino; Adversus nefondam sectam Saracenorum (coll. 663–719): written after his return from Spain (1143), it is an attempt, not entirely successful (it breaks off in bk. II, although it was to comprise a), to refute Islam, drawing on direct sources (it is based on the translation of the Corano); De miraculis (coll. 851–954): notable for its biographical information on Cardinal Matteo di Albano, on the efficacy of holy water, and on the value of confession; Sermones (coll. 953–1006); Officium de Transfiguratione (v. BIBLICA); Carmina (coll. 1005–24). Among his Epistolae, which show him in contact with the greatest figures of the period (coll. 61–508), are several of theological importance (the psychology of Christ, coll. 175–82; the increase of Grace after the divine Maternity and the knowledge of the Virgin, coll. 283–93; the repetition of Extreme Unction, coll. 392–93; the divinity of Jesus Christ, coll. 487–508).