Canons Regular of the Lateran
Encyclopedia
The Canons Regular of the Lateran (abbreviated as C.R.L.), formally titled Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Congregation of the Most Holy Savior at the Lateran is an international religious order of priests and Brothers
Brother (Catholic)
A religious brother is a member of a Roman Catholic religious order who commits himself to following Christ in consecrated life of the church by the vows of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. A layman , he usually lives in a religious community and works in a ministry that suits his talents and gifts...

 in the Catholic Church.

History

These canons regular
Canons Regular
Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...

 trace their origins to the reforms in the 4th century of St. Martin of Tours in France and St. Eusebius of Vercelli in Italy of the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

. These and other bishops sought to model the accepted lifestyles of their clergy in a domestic model, based on the communal pattern followed by the first Christians, as depicted in the Acts of the Apostles
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...

. The premier example of this effort was the life and work of the great figure St. Augustine of Hippo, who himself lived as a monk before being called to take up the office of bishop for his North African city. He later wrote a small Rule to guide a community of women who wanted to live the monastic ideal. This document became the official guide for the earliest of the religious communities to emerge in the Church in later centuries, in parallel to that of the Rule of St. Benedict. From this comes the title 'regular,' meaning one following a Rule (Latin: Regula).

Under the guidance of Cardinal Hildebrand (later to become Pope Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...

), the Lateran Synod of 1059 organized and recognized these developing communities and recommended them as the preferred pattern of clerical life
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

, at a time when mandatory celibacy was being made a universal requirement for the clergy of the Roman Church.

This congregation traces its roots to three ancient communities:

The Congregation of the Most Holy Savior was formed in 1419 by the union of the communities of the Canons of St. Mary of Reno in the region of Bologna with that of the Canons of St. Ambrose in Gubbio.

The clergy serving the Lateran Basilica in Rome for much of the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 comprised a community with this title. They later left, to be replaced by secular canons in the 17th century.

In 1823, following the devastation of many religious communities in the Napoleonic invasions, the survivors of these two congregations were joined into this one congregation, at which time it acquired its present title.

Among notable canons was Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti
Giuseppe Ricciotti
Abbot Giuseppe Ricciotti, C.R.L. was an Italian canon regular, Biblical scholar and archeologist. He is mainly famous for his book Life of Jesus Christ edited in 1941 and reedited and reprinted several times.-Life:...

 (1890-1964), who wrote on Scripture and ancient history.

The distinctive feature of their habit is that it is composed of a totally white cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...

, sash, shoulder cape (mozzetta
Mozzetta
The mozzetta is a short elbow-length cape that covers the shoulders and is buttoned over the breast. It is worn over the rochet or cotta as part of choir dress by some of the clergy of the Catholic Church, among them the Pope, cardinals, bishops, abbots, canons and religious superiors...

) and skull cap (zucchetto
Zucchetto
The zucchetto , a/k/a pileolus in Latin and calotte/calotta in France, Italy and Hispanic nations, is a small skullcap worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as in Anglicanism....

), identical to what is worn for his daily attire by 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...

.

Present

The congregation is based near the ancient Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...

 of St. Peter in Chains
San Pietro in Vincoli
San Pietro in Vincoli is a Roman Catholic titular church and minor basilica in Rome, Italy, best known for being the home of Michelangelo's statue of Moses, part of the tomb of Pope Julius II.-History:...

, where the current 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...

General lives with the General Curia of the Order. Provinces exist in Italy, England, Spain and the United States.
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