Given the technological advances today and the reduced number of people seeking the monasitc life I suppose this is not surprising news, but it is sad:
The highest church in the world sits 8,000 feet up in the Alps on what was once the most dangerous mountain pass in Europe. Today, climbers and hikers come for the challenge, but for hundreds of years, the monastery of the Grand St. Bernard was a lifesaving refuge from the cold and snow for everyone from local hunters to Napoleon.In the 1600s, the St. Bernard monks decided they needed help rescuing snowbound travelers. So they bred a burly but reliable dog, which they named after their patron saint.
"The St. Bernards were never just a symbol," said Father Hilaire, a monk in the Hospice of the Great St. Bernard. "Before the 1900s, there were no skis, so the dogs made paths even if there were one or two meters of fresh snow. They helped us save lives."
The St. Bernards have saved more than 2,000 lives since the monks started keeping records in 1700. They still tell stories about one dog named Barry who set the record with 41 rescues in the early 1800s.
But today, there are only four monks remaining, and they say they don't have the time or the money to take care of the dogs.
Now this is the kind of thing you think the wealth of the Vatican would be a good use for. But no.
Oh, and in case you're wondering,
The dogs never carried small barrels of brandy to revive climbers; 19th-century artists added that picturesque touch.
