Odo of Cluny
c. 878 AD — November 18, 942 AD
Odo of Cluny carried monastic reform from Burgundy to Rome, reshaping hundreds of abbeys on one conviction: monks must live exactly as Benedict had written. Born near Le Mans c. 878, he traded a canon's comfort for Benedictine austerity in 909, rose to lead Cluny in 927, and originated the tradition of All Souls' Day. Pope Benedict XVI captured him well: 'He was austere, but above all he was good.'