PIETRO MONOCOLO, blessed. — A Cistercian, related to Philip II, king of France, born at the castle of Marlac near Cluny, died at Poigny on 29 Oct. 1186.
A monk of Igny, in 1169 he became abbot of Valroy, where he lost an eye (hence monoculus) as a result of illness; later abbot of Igny, in 1179 he became abbot of Clairvaux. He was zealous for monastic discipline and performed various miracles. Always humble and amiable, he was highly esteemed by Popes Alexander III and Lucius III, by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, and by Philip II, king of France.
Sixteen letters are still preserved, among which noteworthy are those written to Alexander III, to the chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, to the archbishop of Mainz and the bishop of Winchester, to the king of Portugal, and to the cardinal bishop of Albano and Palestrina (PL 201, 1393–1404). Since the 13th century he has been venerated among the blessed in the Cistercian Order, whose Menology commemorates him on 18 May.