Seven golden stars reveal the future location of the Grande Chartreuse Monastery

On 1 April 1132, Hugh of Châteauneuf, Bishop of Grenoble, the co-cofounder of La Grande-Chartreuse, died. However, in 1086, overwhelmed by the function he had held for six years, and convinced of his worthlessness, he fled to take refuge in the monastery of La Chaise-Dieu. Pope Gregory VII sent for him, ordering him to return to his post. Hugh obeyed, but his return did not resolve any of the difficulties that had plagued him. Worse still, since his ordination to the priesthood, he had been experiencing such violent doubts about divine goodness and the action of Providence in this world that he was constantly tempted to blaspheme and had to restrain himself from doing so. Alone, distraught, faced with too many problems, he was near despair when, one night, he dreamt that he was walking in the Dauphiné mountains, escorted by seven shining stars.

Les raisons d'y croire :

• The life of Saint Hugh of Grenoble was written shortly after his death by Guigo I, one of his closest friends and assistants, fifth abbot of the Grande Chartreuse and successor to Saint Bruno. It is therefore a first-hand, entirely reliable document, written as part of the bishop's canonisation process.

• His biography does not contain anything highly unusual, except the post-mortem miracles that occurred at his tomb. The fact that Guigo addressed Hugh's metaphysical doubts and anxieties proves that he was an honest and scrupulous biographer, and that he was his confidant, privy to his most intimate thoughts. He is therefore a reliable witness.

• The very rapid canonisation of the bishop, two years after his death, came at a time of reform in the Church - a reform in which Hugh had played his part. This desire to restore good morals among the clergy and promote the sanctity of the Church, which had been plagued by serious abuses and scandals, guaranteed the seriousness of the information gathered about the deceased's deeds and actions, as well as the graces and prodigies he had received.

• Hugh was scrupulous, convinced that he was not up to the task, and intellectually honest. He recounted the dream of the seven stars only because he had been impressed by it and the fact that the sign had come true, insofar as it symbolically announced the arrival of Bruno and his companions in Grenoble. Hugh had no reason to invent this dream.

• Granted, Hugh had known Bruno Von Hautenfaust (Saint Bruno, the founder of the Carthusians) for a long time, since the latter had once been his professor at the University of Reims, but the relationship between the poor student and this eminent academic had been virtually non-existent at the time. When Bruno came to ask the see of Grenoble for a retired place in the mountains to found his religious order, he had forgotten his former student Hugh of Châteauneuf, and did not know that he had become Bishop of Grenoble.

• It was therefore Divine Providence that brought together the professor who had been driven from his position, in disgust of the world, and his former student, was was looking for spiritual support and doubting that God lovingly directs the events of this world and cares about human difficulties. Their reunion was an answer to their quest and prayers. 

• Hugh' dream is very simple: he was walking in the mountains, towards a place familiar to him called the "Chartreuse Mountain", where he often liked to take refuge and pray. The only disconcerting aspect of this dream is that he saw himself walking at night, guiding the way to seven very bright stars, which actually lit up his steps in the darkness.

• The next morning, Bruno and his six companions appeared at his door and explained his plan: he was looking for a secluded location to found a monastery in the greatest possible solitude. On recognising him, Hugh immediately knew that the seven men (the future Carthusians) were the seven stars he had seen in his dream, and so he took them to the place designated by God in his dream.

• The success of the Carthusian foundation, despite the extreme rigour of the rule desired by Bruno, and the latter's subsequent departure for Italy, as well as the destruction of the first buildings in an avalanche that killed several brothers, demonstrates that the association of Hugh, the cofounder of La Grande-Chartreuse, and Bruno in this common work was willed by God.