Gilbert of Sempringham

About Gilbert of Sempringham

Gilbert of Sempringham founded the only native English monastic order—the Gilbertines. Initially a priest, Gilbert established a community for seven women seeking religious life. This grew into a unique double monastery system (monks and nuns in separate but adjacent communities) following Cistercian and Augustinian rules. Despite being physically deformed and living to age 106, Gilbert actively governed his order. At the Dissolution, the Gilbertines had 26 houses. Gilbert was the last Englishman canonized before the Reformation (1202).