His father Richard was a royal judge; his brothers John Lexington and Robert of Lexinton were judges and royal officials, while his brother Henry of Lexington became Bishop of Lincoln.
In 1229, he was elected abbot of Savigny Abbey, a prominent Cistercian house, where he made many improvements.
Stephen obtained permission from the pope in 1244 to found a Cistercian college in Paris, le Collège des Bernardins,[3] and by 1247 had founded the Cistercian College of St. Bernard, with Alphonse, Count of Poitiers, King Louis IX's brother, as patron.
[4] John of Mirecourt, Konrad of Megenberg,[5] and Pope Benedict XII were scholars there in the 14th century.
He was removed from his position as abbot in 1255 in an internal political struggle within the order; Stephen had the support of Pope Alexander IV, but the order was supported by King Louis IX and Stephen retired to the Abbey of Orcamp near Noyon where he died on 21 March, perhaps in 1258.