Abbot Guéranger
Encyclopedia
Dom Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger (4 April 1805, Sablé-sur-Sarthe
, France
– 30 January 1875, Solesmes, France) was a Benedictine priest
, abbot
of Solesmes Abbey (which he founded in the disused priory of Solesmes) and founder of the French Benedictine Congregation (now the Solesmes Congregation
). Dom
Guéranger was the author of The Liturgical Year
, which covers every day of the Catholic Church's Liturgical Cycle in 15 volumes. He was well regarded by Pope Pius IX
, and was a proponent of the dogma
s of papal infallibility
and the Immaculate Conception
. Dom Guéranger is credited with reviving the Benedictine Order in France, and revitalizing the Tridentine Mass
.
and returned to Le Mans
, where he began to publish various historical works, such as De la prière pour le Roi (October 1830) and De l'élection et de la nomination des évêques (1831), their subject being inspired by the political and religious situation of the day.
In 1831 the priory of Solesmes, which was about an hour's journey from Sablé
, was put up for sale and Père Guéranger now saw a means of realizing his desire to re-establish, in this monastery, religious life under the Rule of St. Benedict. His decision was made in June 1831, and in December 1832, thanks to private donations, the monastery had become his property. The Bishop of Le Mans now sanctioned the Constitutions by which the new society was to be organized and fitted subsequently to enter the Benedictine Order.
On 11 July 1833, five priests came together in the restored priory at Solesmes, and on 15 August 1836 publicly declared their intention of consecrating their lives to the re-establishment of the Order of St. Benedict. In a brief issued on 1 September 1837, Pope Gregory XVI
erected the former priory of Solesmes into an abbey
and constituted it head of the "Congrégation Française de l'Ordre de Saint Benoît". Dom Guéranger was appointed abbot of Solesmes (on 31 October) and Superior General
of the Benedictines of the "Congrégation de France", and those of the little society who had received the habit on 15 August 1836, made their solemn profession
under the direction of the new abbot, who had pronounced his vows at Rome
on 26 July 1837.
From then on Dom Guéranger's life was given up to developing the young monastic community, to procuring for it the necessary material and resources, and to inspiring it with an absolute devotion to the Church and the Pope
. Amongst those who came to Solesmes, either to follow the monastic life or to seek self-improvement by means of retreats, Dom Guéranger found many collaborators and valuable steadfast friends. Dom Pitra
, afterwards Cardinal
, renewed the great literary traditions of the Benedictines of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; Bishops Pie of Poitiers and Berthaud of Tulle, Père Lacordaire
, the Count de Montalembert
and Louis Veuillot
, were all interested in the abbot's projects and even shared his labours.
Unfortunately the controversy occasioned by several of Dom Guéranger's writings had the effect of drawing his attention to secondary questions and turning it away from the great enterprises of ecclesiastical science, in which he always manifested a lively concern. The result was a work in which polemics figured prominently, and which now evokes only mediocre interest, and, although the time spent upon it was by no means lost to the cause of the Church, Dom Guéranger's historical and liturgical pursuits suffered in consequence. He devoted himself too largely to personal impressions and neglected detailed and persevering investigation. His quickness of perception and his classical training permitted him to enjoy and to set forth, treat in an interesting way, historical and liturgical subjects which, by nature, were somewhat unattractive. Genuine enthusiasm, a lively imagination, and a style tinged with romanticism
have sometimes led him, as he himself realized, to express himself and to judge too vigorously.
Being a devout and ardent servant of the Church, Dom Guéranger wished to re-establish more respectful and more filial relations between France
and the See of Rome
, and his entire life was spent in endeavouring to effect a closer union between the two. With this end in view he set himself to combat, wherever he thought he found its traces, the separatist spirit that had, of old, allied itself with Gallicanism
and Jansenism
. With a strategic skill which deserves special recognition, Dom Guéranger worked on the principle that to suppress what is wrong, the thing must be replaced, and he laboured hard to supplant everywhere whatever reflected the opinion he was fighting. He fought to have the Roman liturgy
substituted for the diocesan liturgies, and he lived to see his efforts in this line crowned with complete success. On philosophical ground, he struggled with unwavering hope against Naturalism
and Liberalism
, which he considered a fatal impediment to the constitution of an unreservedly Christian society. He helped, in a measure, to prepare men's minds for the definition of the papal infallibility
, a dogma which reversed the struggle against papal authority fought a century previously by many Gallican and Josephite bishops.
In 1841 he began to publish a mystical work by which he hoped to arouse the faithful from their spiritual torpor and to supplant what he deemed the lifeless or erroneous literature that had been produced by the French spiritual writers of the 17th and 18th centuries. L'Année liturgique
, of which the author was not to finish the long series of fifteen volumes, is probably the one of all Dom Guéranger's works that best fulfilled the purpose he had in view. Accommodating himself to the development of the liturgical periods of the year
, the author laboured to familiarize the faithful with the official prayer of the Church
by lavishly introducing fragments of the Eastern and Western liturgies
, with interpretations and commentaries.
Amid his many labours Dom Guéranger had the satisfaction of witnessing the spreading of the restored Benedictine Order. Two unsuccessful attempts at foundations in Paris
and Acey did not deter him from new efforts in he same line, and, thanks to his zealous perseverance, monasteries were established at Ligugé
and Marseilles. Moreover, in his last years, he oversaw, in collaboration with the first abbess, Mother Cécile Bruyère
, the establishment of a community of women under the Rule of St. Benedict at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes
. This life, fraught with so many trials and filled with such great achievements, drew to a peaceful close at Solesmes.
Guéranger's beatification
was opened by the Vatican
in 2005.
Sablé-sur-Sarthe
Sablé-sur-Sarthe, commonly referred to as Sablé, is a commune in the Sarthe department in the Pays de la Loire region in west France.-Geography:...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
– 30 January 1875, Solesmes, France) was a Benedictine priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, abbot
Abbot
The word abbot, meaning father, is a title given to the head of a monastery in various traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not actually the head of a monastery...
of Solesmes Abbey (which he founded in the disused priory of Solesmes) and founder of the French Benedictine Congregation (now the Solesmes Congregation
Solesmes Congregation
The Solesmes Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation, with the newly reopened monastery of Solesmes Abbey under Dom Prosper Guéranger at its head. The Congregation's first nunnery was St...
). Dom
Dom (title)
Dom is a title of respect prefixed to the given name. It derives from Latin Dominus.It is used in English for certain Benedictine and Carthusian monks, and for members of certain communities of Canons Regular. Examples include Benedictine monks of the English Benedictine Congregation...
Guéranger was the author of The Liturgical Year
The Liturgical Year
This article is about Dom Guéranger's series of books; for the liturgical year of the church see Liturgical year.The Liturgical Year is a written work in fifteen volumes describing the liturgical year of the Catholic Church. The series was written by Dom Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger, a French...
, which covers every day of the Catholic Church's Liturgical Cycle in 15 volumes. He was well regarded by Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
, and was a proponent of the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
s of papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
and the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
. Dom Guéranger is credited with reviving the Benedictine Order in France, and revitalizing the Tridentine Mass
Tridentine Mass
The Tridentine Mass is the form of the Roman Rite Mass contained in the typical editions of the Roman Missal that were published from 1570 to 1962. It was the most widely celebrated Mass liturgy in the world until the introduction of the Mass of Paul VI in December 1969...
.
Life
Ordained a priest on 7 October 1827, Dom Guéranger was administrator of the parish of the Missions Etrangères until near the close of 1830. He then left ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and returned to Le Mans
Le Mans
Le Mans is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.Its inhabitants are called Manceaux...
, where he began to publish various historical works, such as De la prière pour le Roi (October 1830) and De l'élection et de la nomination des évêques (1831), their subject being inspired by the political and religious situation of the day.
In 1831 the priory of Solesmes, which was about an hour's journey from Sablé
Sable
The sable is a species of marten which inhabits forest environments, primarily in Russia from the Ural Mountains throughout Siberia, in northern Mongolia and China and on Hokkaidō in Japan. Its range in the wild originally extended through European Russia to Poland and Scandinavia...
, was put up for sale and Père Guéranger now saw a means of realizing his desire to re-establish, in this monastery, religious life under the Rule of St. Benedict. His decision was made in June 1831, and in December 1832, thanks to private donations, the monastery had become his property. The Bishop of Le Mans now sanctioned the Constitutions by which the new society was to be organized and fitted subsequently to enter the Benedictine Order.
On 11 July 1833, five priests came together in the restored priory at Solesmes, and on 15 August 1836 publicly declared their intention of consecrating their lives to the re-establishment of the Order of St. Benedict. In a brief issued on 1 September 1837, Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
erected the former priory of Solesmes into an abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
and constituted it head of the "Congrégation Française de l'Ordre de Saint Benoît". Dom Guéranger was appointed abbot of Solesmes (on 31 October) and Superior General
Superior general
A Superior General, or General Superior, is the Superior at the head of a whole religious order or congregation.The term is mainly used as a generic term, while many orders and congregations use other specific titles, notably:* Abbot general...
of the Benedictines of the "Congrégation de France", and those of the little society who had received the habit on 15 August 1836, made their solemn profession
Solemn vow
In Roman Catholic canon law, a solemn vow is a vow that the Church has recognized as such....
under the direction of the new abbot, who had pronounced his vows at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 26 July 1837.
From then on Dom Guéranger's life was given up to developing the young monastic community, to procuring for it the necessary material and resources, and to inspiring it with an absolute devotion to the Church and the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. Amongst those who came to Solesmes, either to follow the monastic life or to seek self-improvement by means of retreats, Dom Guéranger found many collaborators and valuable steadfast friends. Dom Pitra
Jean Baptiste Francois Pitra
Jean Baptiste Francois Pitra was a French Catholic cardinal, archaeologist and theologian.He was born in Champforgeuil. Joining the Benedictine Order, he entered the Abbey of Solesmes in 1842, and was collaborator of Abbe Migne in the latter's Patrologia latina and Patrologia Graeca...
, afterwards Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, renewed the great literary traditions of the Benedictines of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; Bishops Pie of Poitiers and Berthaud of Tulle, Père Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire , often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist and political activist...
, the Count de Montalembert
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert
Charles Forbes René de Montalembert was a French publicist and historian.-Family history:He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century. Charters carry the history of the house two centuries further...
and Louis Veuillot
Louis Veuillot
Louis Veuillot was a French journalist and author who helped to popularize ultramontanism ....
, were all interested in the abbot's projects and even shared his labours.
Unfortunately the controversy occasioned by several of Dom Guéranger's writings had the effect of drawing his attention to secondary questions and turning it away from the great enterprises of ecclesiastical science, in which he always manifested a lively concern. The result was a work in which polemics figured prominently, and which now evokes only mediocre interest, and, although the time spent upon it was by no means lost to the cause of the Church, Dom Guéranger's historical and liturgical pursuits suffered in consequence. He devoted himself too largely to personal impressions and neglected detailed and persevering investigation. His quickness of perception and his classical training permitted him to enjoy and to set forth, treat in an interesting way, historical and liturgical subjects which, by nature, were somewhat unattractive. Genuine enthusiasm, a lively imagination, and a style tinged with romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
have sometimes led him, as he himself realized, to express himself and to judge too vigorously.
Being a devout and ardent servant of the Church, Dom Guéranger wished to re-establish more respectful and more filial relations between France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the See of Rome
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, and his entire life was spent in endeavouring to effect a closer union between the two. With this end in view he set himself to combat, wherever he thought he found its traces, the separatist spirit that had, of old, allied itself with Gallicanism
Gallicanism
Gallicanism is the belief that popular civil authority—often represented by the monarchs' authority or the State's authority—over the Catholic Church is comparable to that of the Pope's...
and Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
. With a strategic skill which deserves special recognition, Dom Guéranger worked on the principle that to suppress what is wrong, the thing must be replaced, and he laboured hard to supplant everywhere whatever reflected the opinion he was fighting. He fought to have the Roman liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
substituted for the diocesan liturgies, and he lived to see his efforts in this line crowned with complete success. On philosophical ground, he struggled with unwavering hope against Naturalism
Naturalism (philosophy)
Naturalism commonly refers to the philosophical viewpoint that the natural universe and its natural laws and forces operate in the universe, and that nothing exists beyond the natural universe or, if it does, it does not affect the natural universe that we know...
and Liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, which he considered a fatal impediment to the constitution of an unreservedly Christian society. He helped, in a measure, to prepare men's minds for the definition of the papal infallibility
Papal infallibility
Papal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
, a dogma which reversed the struggle against papal authority fought a century previously by many Gallican and Josephite bishops.
In 1841 he began to publish a mystical work by which he hoped to arouse the faithful from their spiritual torpor and to supplant what he deemed the lifeless or erroneous literature that had been produced by the French spiritual writers of the 17th and 18th centuries. L'Année liturgique
The Liturgical Year
This article is about Dom Guéranger's series of books; for the liturgical year of the church see Liturgical year.The Liturgical Year is a written work in fifteen volumes describing the liturgical year of the Catholic Church. The series was written by Dom Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger, a French...
, of which the author was not to finish the long series of fifteen volumes, is probably the one of all Dom Guéranger's works that best fulfilled the purpose he had in view. Accommodating himself to the development of the liturgical periods of the year
Liturgical year
The liturgical year, also known as the church year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches which determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of Scripture are to be read. Distinct liturgical colours may appear in...
, the author laboured to familiarize the faithful with the official prayer of the Church
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
by lavishly introducing fragments of the Eastern and Western liturgies
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
, with interpretations and commentaries.
Amid his many labours Dom Guéranger had the satisfaction of witnessing the spreading of the restored Benedictine Order. Two unsuccessful attempts at foundations in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Acey did not deter him from new efforts in he same line, and, thanks to his zealous perseverance, monasteries were established at Ligugé
Ligugé Abbey
Ligugé Abbey, also St. Martin's Abbey, Ligugé, is a Benedictine monastery in the present commune of Ligugé in the département of Vienne, and in the diocese of Poitiers, and one of the earliest monastic foundations in France.-First foundation:...
and Marseilles. Moreover, in his last years, he oversaw, in collaboration with the first abbess, Mother Cécile Bruyère
Cécile Bruyère
Madame Cécile Bruyère was the first abbess of St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes and a follower of Dom Prosper Guéranger in the revival of Benedictine spirituality in 19th century France.-Life:...
, the establishment of a community of women under the Rule of St. Benedict at St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes
St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes
St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes is a Benedictine nunnery founded in 1866 by Dom Prosper Guéranger, the restorer of Benedictine life in France after the destruction of the revolution...
. This life, fraught with so many trials and filled with such great achievements, drew to a peaceful close at Solesmes.
Cause for Beatification
The cause for Servant of GodServant of God
Servant of God is a title given to individuals by various religions, but in general the phrase is used to describe a person believed to be pious in his or her faith tradition. In the Catholic Church, it designates someone who is being investigated by the Church for possibly being recognized as a...
Guéranger's beatification
Beatification
Beatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
was opened by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in 2005.