Berthold of Parma

About Berthold of Parma

Berthold of Parma was the son of an English father and Breton mother who settled in Italy after leaving England. The church biography places his birth around 1072 in Parma, where his father worked as a shoemaker.

As a boy Berthold left the workshop to serve the Benedictine women of Sant’Alessandro. He continued that service as a sacristan, preparing the church for worship and living in its bell tower.

The account describes him as a precursor of later monastic lay brothers. It gives 1106 for his death but records 1111 as an alternative.

His remembered vocation lay in the daily practical work that sustained the convent’s worship.