Not much is known of him until some time after he was admitted to the Roman Catholic clergy. His first benefice was at Nesle in Picardy. In 1067 Bishop Gui asked him to become the abbot of the new Augustinian house of St. Quentin at Beauvais. Ivo was skeptical of religious excess and always stressed moderation in practice. He remained at St. Quentin for twenty years and established himself as one of the best teachers in France. St. Quentin came to be known as a great school of theology.