Order of Saint Augustine
Encyclopedia
The Order of St. Augustine —historically Ordo Eremitarum Sancti Augustini", O.E.S.A.), generally called Augustinians
(but not to be confused with the Augustinian Canons Regular
) is a Catholic Religious Order, which, although more ancient, was formally created in the thirteenth century and combined of several previous Augustinian eremetical
Orders into one. In its establishment in its current form, it was shaped as a mendicant Order, one of the four great Orders which follow that way of life. The Order has done much to extend the influence of the Church, to propagate the Roman Catholic Faith and to advance learning. The Order has, in particular, spread internationally the veneration of the Virgin Mary
under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel
(Mater boni consilii).
with his clergy
, led a monastic community life. Religious vows
were not obligatory, but the possession of private property was prohibited. Their manner of life led others to imitate them. Instructions for their guidance were found in several writings of St. Augustine, especially in De opere monachorum (P.L., XL, 527), mentioned in the ancient codices regularum of the eighth or ninth century as the "Rule of St. Augustine
". Epistola ccxi, otherwise cix (P.L., XXXIII, 958), contains the early "Augustinian Rule for Nuns"; epistolae ccclv and ccclvi (P.L., XXXIX, 1570) "De moribus clericorum". This system of life for the cathedral clergy continued in various locations throughout Europe for centuries.
As the first millennium came to an end, the fervor of this life began to wane, and the cathedral clergy began to live independently of one another. At the start of the second millennium, there was a revival in interest in the stricter form of clerical
life. Several groups of canons were established under various disciplines, all with the Augustinian Rule as their basis. Examples of these were the Congregation of canons in Ravenna
, founded by the Blessed
Peter de Honestis
about 1100, as well as the Norbertines. The instructions contained in Augustine's Rule formed the basis of the Rule that, in accordance with the decree of the Lateran
Synod
of 1059, was adopted by canon
s who desired to practice a common apostolic life (Holstenius, Codex regularum, II, Rome, 1661, 120), hence the title of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine.
Around the start of the 13th century, many eremetical communities, especially in the vicinity of Siena
, Italy, sprang up. These were often small (no more than ten) and composed of laymen, thus they lacked the clerical orientation of the canons. Their foundational spirit was one of solitude
and penance
. With time, some of the communities adopted a more outward looking way of life. As the number of hermit-priests increased, assisting the local clergy in providing spiritual care for their neighbors became a larger part of their lives. In 1223 four of the communities around Siena joined in a loose association, which had increased to thirteen within five years.
In 1231, two such associations of eremetical communities requested of Pope Gregory IX that they be allowed to share in following one of the approved monastic rules. The Pope charged Bonfiglio, the Bishop of Siena (1215-1252) to work on this request. Eventually they all adopted the Augustinian Rule, either voluntarily or by command of the Pope, without giving up certain peculiarities of life and dress introduced by the founder, or handed down by custom. These differences led to their being confounded with other Orders (e.g., the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance
, which was also of eremetical origin) and gave rise to quarrels.
To remedy confusion and to ensure harmony and unity among the various religious congregations, Pope Alexander IV
sought to unite them into one Order. For this purpose he commanded that two delegates be sent to Rome from each of the hermit monasteries, to discuss, under the presidency of Cardinal Richard di Santi Angeli, the question of union. The first meeting of the delegates, on the 1st of March, 1256, resulted in a union. Lanfranc Septala of Milan, Prior of the Bonites, was appointed the first Prior
General of the newly-constituted Order. The belted, black tunic of the Tuscan
hermits was adopted as the common religious habit
, and the walking sticks
carried by the Bonites in keeping with eremetical tradition--and to distinguish themselves from those hermits who went around begging--ceased to be used.The Papal Bull
"Licet ecclesiae catholicae", issued on 4 May 1256 (Bullarium Taurinense, 3rd ed., 635 sq.), ratifying these proceedings, is regarded as the foundation-charter of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine. Furthermore, the pope commanded that all hermit monasteries which had sent no delegates should conform to the newly-drawn up Constitutions.
freed the order from the jurisdiction of the bishops; Innocent VIII, in 1490, granted to the churches of the order indulgences such as can only be gained by making the Stations at Rome; Pope Pius V placed the Augustinians among the mendicant orders
and ranked them next to the Carmelites
. Since the end of the 13th century the sacristan
of the Papal Palace was always to be an Augustinian friar, who would ordained as a Bishop
. This privilege was ratified by Pope Alexander VI
and granted to the Order forever by a Bull issued in 1497. The holder of the office is Rector
of the Vatican parish (of which the chapel of St. Paul is the parish church). To his office also belonged the duty of preserving in his oratory
a consecrated Host
, which must be renewed weekly and kept in readiness in case of the pope's illness, when it is the privilege of the papal sacristan to administer the last sacraments to His Holiness. The sacristan must always accompany the pope when he travels, and during a conclave it is he who celebrates Mass
and administers the sacraments. He lived in the Vatican with a sub-sacristan and three lay brother
s of the Order (cf. Rocca, "Chronhistoria de Apostolico Sacrario", Rome, 1605). Augustinian friars, as of 2009, still perform the duties of Vatican sacristans, but the appointment of an Augustinian bishop-sacristan lapsed under Pope John Paul II with the completion of the term of Petrus Canisius Van Lierde
, O.S.A., in 1991. The Augustinian friars always fill one of the Chairs of the Sapienza University
, and one of the consultor
ships in the Congregation of Rites.
, Nicholas of Tolentino
(d. 1305), Rita of Cascia
, John of Sahagún
(a Sancto Facundo) (d. 1479), and Thomas of Villanova
(d. 1555). Stefano Bellesini (d. 1840), the Augustinian parish priest of Genazzano
, in the Roman province, was beatified by Pius X on 27 December 1904.
of Ratisbon, where he died, with some brethren preached the Gospel in Africa. The Augustinians followed the Portuguese flag in Africa and the Gulf behind the explorer and seafarer Vasco da Gama
. He had sailed from Lisbon in 1497, and arrived at Mozambique
in March 1498. Portuguese Augustinians also worked on the island of Sao Tome
, in Warri (Nigeria) and in what is now known as Angola
, the Congo, Equatorial Guinea
, and Gabon
up until 1738. The Portuguese also took control of the port of Goa
in India—giving the Augustinians a foothold there also. Besides the early Portuguese Augustinians, other Augustinian missionaries have since followed to Africa from America, Ireland, Belgium and Australia.
The North American foundation of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars founded Olde St. Augustine's Church in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, Universities and other works throughout the Americas, including Villanova University
(1842) near Philadelphia (USA) and Merrimack College
(1947, USA). While Malvern Preparatory School
was founded in 1842 alongside Villanova University, by 1909 two Augustinian houses and a school
had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 a school in Ojai
and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma
; in 1947 a college in Massachusetts
; in 1952 a school in Michigan; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania
; 1959 a school in New Jersey
; in 1961 a school in Massachusetts
; and in 1962 a school in Illinois
. The Augustinian Recollects are also present in the U.S.A. as are the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception.
The Order's 20th century establishment in Canada was one result of both poverty and political trouble being experienced by German Augustinians. From 1925 and later during the Great Depression
German Augustinians began arriving in North America to teach. After 1936, with the political situation in Nazi Germany worsening, more German Augustinians departed for North America. By 1939 from there were 46 German priests, 13 German religious brothers and 8 German candidates in North America. The order established the first of their Canadian houses at Tracadie, Nova Scotia in Canada in 1938. Among other Canadian foundations, the order also established a significant priory and school in Toronto. The order, by 2006 has since professed many native Canadians.
As of 2006 there were more than 70 Augustinian priories in the United States and Canada with 386 friars in solemn vows and 16 in simple vows.
Sent by their Provincial St.Thomas of Villanova, the first group of Spanish/Castilian Augustinians arrived in Mexico in 1533 after the subjugation of Aztec Mexico by Hernan Cortez. Father Melchor de Vargas composed, in 1576, a cathechism in the Mexican Otomi language
; Father Diego Basalenque (d. 1651) and Miguel de Guevara compiled works in the languages of the Matlaltzinkas of Mexico; Father Manuel Perez translated the Roman Catechism into Aztec in 1723. Monasteries sprang up in the principal places and became the centers of Christianity, art, and civilization. The Patio (Cloister) of the former monastery of St. Augustine, now the post office, at Querétaro
, is one of the most beautiful examples of stone-carving in America. They soon formed multiple priories, including at Guanajuato
(pictured) and were later instrumental in establishing the Pontifical and Royal University of Mexico
. By 1562 there were nearly 300 Spanish Augustinians in Mexico, and they had established some 50 priories. Their history in Mexico was not to be an easy one, given the civil strife of events like the Cristero War
, periodic anti-clericalism
and suppression of the church that was to follow.
Spanish Augustinians first went to Peru
in 1551. From there they went to Ecuador
in 1573, and from Ecuador in 1575 to Argentina
, Bolivia
, Chile
, Colombia
, Panama
and Venezuela
. The order founded the Ecuadorean University of Quito
in 1586. Augustinians also entered Argentina via Chile between 1617 and 1626, and their history there was eventful. The order had considerable property confiscated by the Argentinian government
under the secularisation laws in the 19th century, and were entirely suppressed for 24 years until 1901 when they returned. The Augustinian Province of Holland later also founded houses in Bolivia from 1930.
The Provincia Michoacanensis had about 55 members, while the Provincia Mexicana had 31, most of whom are priests. Augustinian missionaries extended their friaries to South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru). Political events in these countries prevented the order from prospering and hindered the success of its undertakings, so that during the 19th century the monasteries became deserted. Later events in the Philippine Islands, however, permitted the Augustinians to return to their former churches and monasteries and even to found new ones.
In the Republic of Colombia, 26 members of the Philippine province were employed in 1900, including 6 at the residence of Santa Fe de Bogotá, 8 in the college at Facatativa, and 12 at other stations. In Peru 49 members of the same province were employed: 14 priests and 2 lay brothers belonging to the convent at Lima; 12 priests to the college in the same city; 6 in each of the two seminaries at Cuzco and Ayacucho. In the Prefecture Apostolic of San León de Amazonas, at the mission stations of Peba, Río Tigre, and Leticia in the territory of the Iquito Indians there were 9 priests in 1900. In June, 1904, Father Bernardo Calle, the lay brother Miguel Vilajoli, and more than 70 Christians, were murdered at a then recently erected mission station, Huabico, in Upper Maranon and the station itself was destroyed.
The Augustinian settlements in Brazil of the 19th century then belonged to the Philippine province. In the procuration house at S. Paulo (Rua Apeninos 6) and in the college at Brotas there were 4 Augustinians each; in the diocesan seminary at S. José de Manaos, 6; and in the other settlements, 27 priests—in all, 42 members of the order, including one lay brother. In Argentina, there were 25 priests and two lay brothers in the six colleges and schools of the order in 1900. In Ecuador, which formed a province by itself, there were 21 members of the order in 1900; being 9 priests and 7 lay brothers in the monastery at Quito; 3 priests in the convent at Latagun and 2 in that at Guayaquil. The province of Chile had 56 members in 1900, including 18 lay brothers; 11 at Santiago, 4 at La Serena, 5 at Concepción, 22 at Talca, 8 at San Fernando, 4 at Melipilla, and 2 in the residence at Picazo. The province of the United States of America increased in the end of the 19th century as the Augustinians were driven out of many European countries, and in 1848 sought refuge in the USA. The province numbered 200 members in 1900. The largest convent was then at Villanova, Pa.; it was also the novitiate for North America, and among the 117 religious then occupying the convent 21 were priests. The other convents contained 60 members by 1900, of whom 5 were lay brothers. The Order (from Mexico) arrived in Cuba
in 1608. It was suppressed by force in 1842. From 1892 the province of the United States had care of St. Augustine's College at Havana, Cuba, where there were 5 priests and 3 lay brothers in 1900 before they were expelled in 1961 by the government of Fidel Castro
.
In the year 2000 in Central and South America, the Augustinians remain established in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela as well three Peruvian Vicariates of Iquitos, Apurímac and Chulucanas, and the Province of Peru. There are currently 814 friars in Latin America.
, which then numbered 7 stations, with about 10,000 souls, on Guam
and about 2500 on each of the German islands of Saipan
, Rota
and Tinian. The mission on the German islands was separated from the Diocese of Cebú on 1 October 1906, and made a prefecture Apostolic on 18 June 1907, with Saipan as its seat of administration, and the mission given in charge to the German Capuchins
.
In Australia the Augustinians were established in the ecclesiastical Province
of Melbourne
and in the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown, Queensland, with twelve priests of the Irish province under Monsignor James D. Murray. The order has furnished some prominent bishops to Australia, e.g. Irishman James Alipius Goold. The Irish Augustinian college of St. Patrick at Rome, built in 1884 by Father Patrick Glynn, O.S.A., under a rector, was then the training college for the Augustinian missions.
James Alipius Goold O.S.A, had been the first Augustinian to arrive in the Australian colonies in 1838. He had been convinced to go to Australia by William Bernard Ullathorne
(then the Benedictine Vicar-General of New Holland) after a chance meeting on the steps of the Roman Augustinian church at the monastery of Santa Maria del Popolo
.
Goold began his missionary work in Sydney
under Archbishop John Bede Polding, becoming parish priest at Campbelltown
. Goold went on in 1848 to become the founding bishop and first Archbishop
of the Archdiocese of Melbourne
. He also commenced the design and construction of its Neo-Gothic Cathedral
. Despite's Goold's initial desire to establish immediately an Australian branch of the order, the first Australian Augustinian was not ordained until 1940, and the Australian Province was not formally established as separate from its Irish founding province until 1952.
The Irish Augustinian friars formally accepted responsibility in 1884 for the part of Queensland that became the Diocese of Cairns, and the first Australian priory was founded at Echuca, Victoria in 1886. Priories were established at Rochester
in 1889 and Kyabram in 1903. The order worked at different times in the colonies of New South Wales
, Queensland
, Victoria
, South Australia
and Tasmania
, taking part in some critical moments of the settlement and establishment of modern Australia. Charles O'Hea
O.S.A. baptized Ned Kelly
. Father Matthew Downing O.S.A. tried to calm the miners who were part of the Eureka Stockade
in 1854. The order also supplied a number of the other early Australian bishops including Martin Crane
O.S.A. and Stephen Reville O.S.A both in Sandhurst (Bendigo)
John Heavey O.S.A. (Cairns), John Hutchinson O.S.A (Cooktown), and James Murray O.S.A (Cooktown).
The order presently conducts parishes, two schools (one established 1948 in Brisbane
, the other established 1956 in Sydney)
, St John Stone House (a centre for Augustinian Spirituality), a formation centre, and special ministries such as palliative care
, HIV/AIDS ministry, and Aboriginal ministry.
Associated orders such as the St John of God Brothers (arrived Australia 1947 and established mental health services) and the Filipino Augustinian Sisters of our Lady of Consolation also established an Australian house in the 1990s.
As of 2006 there were 11 other Augustinian priories in Australia with 36 friars in solemn vows, and one in simple vows. The order of friars is in numerical decline in Australia while affiliated orders are growing.
The Augustinian Delegation of Papua has operated since 1953. It presently contains five Dutch-born Augustinians and thirty-three Indonesian-born Augustinians.
The order of friars and affiliated orders are growing in the Indonesian deritories.
Two Dutch Augustinian friars re-established the order in Papua
(now Indonesia
) in 1953 while it was still a Dutch colony. In 1956 the order took responsibility for the area that was to become the Diocese of Manokwari
. As of 2006, the Augustinian Vicariate of Indonesia has 15 friars in solemn profession, and 7 in simple vows. It is now predominantly Papuan.
The order of friars and affiliated orders are growing in Indonesia.
The Augustinian friars were the first Christian missionaries
to arrive in what is now regarded as Asia's only Catholic nation, and the leader of these first missionaries was the navigator
Andrés de Urdaneta
(1498 – June 3, 1568, Mexico), an Augustinian friar
. He was navigator on the journey that established the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines. The historic Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines
was officially formed on December 31, 1575 as an offshoot of the establishment of the first permanent Spanish settlements. San Agustín Church and Monastery
in Manila became the center of Augustinian efforts to evangelise the Philippines. Father Herrera OSA wrote a poetical life of Jesus in the Tagalog language
in 1639.
Cipriano Navarro's important work on "The Inhabitants of the Philippines" and a monumental work in six volumes entitled "La Flora de Filipinas" (Madrid, 1877– ), are valuable contributions to literature and learning on the Philippines. Manuel Blanco, Ignacio Mercado, Antonio Llanos, Andrés Naves and Celestino Fernandez are also worthy of mention. Fathers Angelo Perez and Cecilio Guemes published in 1905 a work in four volumes entitled "La Imprenta de Manila".
Arguably, the most energetic missionary activity of the Augustinian Order has been displayed in the Philippine Islands. When Ferdinand Magellan
discovered the Philippines (16 March 1521) and took possession of them in the name of the King of Spain, he was accompanied by the chaplain
of the fleet, who preached the Gospel
to the inhabitants, baptizing Kings Colambu and Siagu and 800 natives of Mindanao and Cebú, on Low Sunday, 7 April 1521. The effect of these conversions however, were soon almost negated. Magellan was killed in a fight with natives on the little island of Mactan on 27 April and the Catholic foundation established by the first Spanish missionaries almost disappeared. The missionaries brought from Mexico in 1543 by Ruy López Villalobos were not more successful, for they were forced to return to Europe by way of Goa
, having had little influence on the islanders. Under the Adelantado Legaspi who in 1565 established the sovereignty
of Spain in the Philippines and selected Manila
as the capital in 1571, Father Andrés de Urdaneta and 4 other Augustinian friars landed at Cebú in 1565, and at once began a very successful apostolate. The first houses of the Augustinians were established at Cebú, in 1565, and at Manila, in 1571.
Augustinian friars made researches in the languages of the Philippine Islands including Father Diego Bergano, and José Sequi (d. 1844), a prominent missionary of the order who baptized 30,000 persons. Many wrote grammars and compiled dictionaries.
In 1575, under the leadership of Father Alfonso Gutierez, twenty-four Spanish Augustinians landed in the islands and, with the respective provincials Diego de Herrera and Martin de Rado, worked very successfully, at first as wandering preachers. The Franciscans first appeared in the Philippines in 1577 and were welcomed by the Augustinians. Soon they were joined by Dominicans and Jesuits. Sent by Philip III
, the first Discalced Augustinians
landed in 1606. All these Orders shared in the work and challenges of the missions. Protected by Spain, they prospered, and their missionary efforts became more and more successful. In 1773 the Jesuits, however, were obliged to give up their missions in consequence of the suppression of the Society.
Religious orders suffered persecution in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century, especially the Augustinians. In 1897 the Calced Augustinians, numbering 319 out of 644 religious then in the Philippine province, had charge of 225 parishes, with 2,377,743 souls; the Augustinian Recollects
, numbering about 220, with 233 parishes and 1,175,156 souls; the Augustinians of the Philippine province numbered in all 522, counting those in the priories at Manila, Cavite, San Sebastian, and Cebú, those at the large model farm at Imus, and those in Spain at the colleges of Monteagudo, Marcilla, and San Millan de la Cogulla. Besides the numerous parishes served by the Calced Augustinians, they possessed several educational institutions: a superior and intermediate school at Vigan (Villa Fernandina) with 209 students, an orphanage and trade school at Tambohn near Manila, with 145 orphans, etc. Because of the disturbances, the schools and missions were deserted; six Augustinian priests were killed and about 200 imprisoned and some of them harshly treated. Those who escaped unmolested fled to the principal house at Manila, to Macao, to Han-kou, to South America, or to Mexico. Up to the beginning of 1900, 46 Calced and 120 Discalced Augustinians had been imprisoned. Upon their release, they returned to the few monasteries still left them in the islands or set out for Spain, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and China. The province of the United States sent some members to supply the vacancies in the Philippines. The Monastery of St. Paul, at Manila, had 24 priests and 6 lay brothers back in 1900; that at Cebú, 5 members of the order, that at Iloilo, on the island of Panay, 11 priests and 2 lay brothers, while in the 10 residences there were 20 priests; so that in 1900 there were only 68 Calced Augustinians in the islands. In all, the "Provincia Ss. Nominis Jesu Insularum Philippinarum", including theological students and the comparatively small number of lay brothers, had 600 members in 1900: 359 being in Spain, 185 of whom were priests; 68 in the Philippines; 29 in China (before their latewr expulsion) ; 26 in Colombia; 49 in Peru; 42 in Brazil; 27 in Argentina.
The Order in the 21st century still has responsibility for one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, the Basilica del Santo Niño de Cebu in Cebu. Before the Philippine Revolution
of 1898, which accelerated the separation of church and state in the Philippines, the Augustinians conducted more than 400 hundred schools and churches there and had pastoral care for some 2,237,000 Filipinos, including 328 village missions. The Philippine Revolution of 1896 cost the )rder its heaviest losses in the entire 19th century, breaking the historic connection with, or destroying the majority of its established works there. This included the removal of friars from 194 parishes, the capture of 122 friars by Filipino revolutionaries and the deprivation of income from 240 friars. Many Spanish Augustinians were forced to leave the country for Spain or Latin America, repopulating the Augustinian houses in Spain and reinforcing Augustinian missionary work in South America.
In 1904 members of the order belonging to the Philippine province established the University of San Agustin
in Iloilo City
, Philippines. They have also since established schools such as the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod
in Negros Occidental
(1962), the Colegio San Agustin, Makati
(1969) and the Colegio San Agustin, Biñan
in Biñan, Laguna
(1985). In 1968 friars of the Philippine province re-established the Augustinian presence on the Indian subcontinent.
In 2004 the all-Filipino Augustinian Province of Cebu celebrated its twentieth year of existence. It has 85 members in final vows with 19 in simple profession. There are 12 priories including a mission on Socorro Island.
The Order of friars is once again growing in the Philippines. The Augustinian Recollects are also present in the Philippines.
The first Western major work on the history of China was by Augustinian friar Juan González de Mendoza
. It was a description of a visit to China by three others (including another Augustinian friar), and included the first known depiction of Chinese characters in Western publishing. In 1585 he published it at Rome in Spanish.
Fathers Martin de Hereda and Hieronymus penetrated into the interior of China in 1577, to study Chinese literature with the intention of bringing it into Europe. Father Antonius Aug. Georgius (d. 1797) composed the "Alphabetum Tibetanum" for the use of missionaries. Father Agostino Ciasca
(d. 1902), titular Archbishop of Larissa and cardinal, established a special faculty for Oriental languages at the Roman Seminary, published an Arabic translation of Tatian
's "Diatessaron" and wrote "Bibliorum Fragmenta Copto-Sahidica". Father Dionysius of Borgo San Sepolcro (d. 1342), Bishop of Monopoli in Lower Italy, is the author of a commentary on the "Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri IX" of Valerius Maximus
, and was also much esteemed for his talents as poet, philosopher, and orator. The missionaries of the order have also given us valuable descriptive works on foreign countries and peoples.
In about 1681, the Filipino Augustinian Alvaro de Benevente arrived in China and established the first of the Augustinian houses in China at Kan-chou
. Benevente was made bishop and became head of the newly-created Vicariate of Kiang-si
in 1699. The Augustinian missionaries had success in propagating Catholicism, but in 1708, during the Chinese Rites controversy
they were forced to withdraw from China. Portuguese Augustinians also served in the colonial port of Macau
from 1586 until 1712.
In 1879 Spanish Augustinians from Manila (Elias Suarez O.S.A. and Agostino Villanueva O.S.A) entered China to re-establish an Augustinian mission.
In 1891 there were only 219 Christians and 11 catechumens, as well as 29 schools, with 420 children and 750 orphans. In 1900 the order possessed the mission of Northern Hu-nan, China, where there were 24 members, 2 of whom were natives; 6 were in the district of Yo-chou; 6 in the district of Ch'ang-te; 9 in the district of Li-chu; three other religious were also labouring in other districts—all under the vicar Apostolic, then Mgr. Perez. The 1900 mission comprised about 3000 baptized Christians and 3500 catechumens in a population of 11 million. In 1900 there were also two priests at the mission house at Han-kou and two at the procuration house at Shang-hai (Yang-tsze-poo Road, 10). By 1910 the Augustinian mission had 24 members of the Order, two were indigenous Chinese. By 1947 the Augustinian mission counted 24,332 baptised Catholics as well as 3,250 preparing for baptism. They had established 20 major churches and 90 satellite churches. By that time there were 25 Chinese-born priests.
All foreign missionaries were expelled or imprisoned from 1953 by the Communist government. Chinese-born Augustinians were dispersed by government order and directed not to live the monastic life. Church officials were arrested, schools and other church institutions closed or confiscated by the State. Many priests, religious brothers and sisters, as well as leaders among the Christian laity were sent to labour camps. One of the last of the pre-Revolution Chinese Augustinians was Father Dai O.S.A.. He died in 2003.
Since the re-unification of the former colonies of Macau and Hong-Kong with the central Chinese government and further developments in government religious policy, Roman Catholicism in China
—including clergy, Roman Catholic bishops, and a Cardinal—once again exists openly alongside the members of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
and their co-religionists in the continuing underground Church.
The Augustinian have recently re-established friendly relations with Chinese educational organisations through school-placement programmes as well as through the University of the Incarnate Word
Chinese campus founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.
While there are Chinese Augustinian friars, there is not yet a priory in mainland China re-established.
After an extensive period of expansion in India from the 15th century the Portuguese Augustinians had not only established the order but also provided sixteen Indian bishops between 1579 and 1840. The order subsequently disappeared in India, cut off from its usual governance after the suppression of Portuguese monasteries in 1838, and the friars were forced to become secular priests. The order had failed successfully to establish itself as an autonomous indigenous Indian foundation.
However, the Augustinians were re-established by Filipino friars in 1968 at Cochin, and the Indian Augustinians took on further responsibilities in Kerala
in 2005. The Indian order currently has 16 ordained friars and 8 in simple vows. The order is growing numerically in India.
The missionary history of Iran (Persia) also mentions the Augustinians. Towards the close of the sixteenth century, Aleixo de Menezes
, Count of Cantanheda (d. 1617), a member of the order, appointed Archbishop of Goa in 1595, and of Braga in 1612, Primate of the East Indies, and several times Viceroy of India, sent several Augustinians as missionaries to Iran (Persia) while he himself laboured for the reunion of the Thomas Christians, especially at the Synod of Diamper, in 1599, and for the conversion of the Muslims and the non-Christians of Malabar.
Despite a vigorous early Christian foundation in Nagasaki by Jesuits, Franciscans and Filipino
Augustinians and the many 17th century Japanese Augustinian martyrs, the earlier Augustinian mission attempts eventually failed after the repression of Tokugawa Hidetada
(ruled 1605–1623; second Tokugawa shogun of Japan) and the expulsion of Christians under Tokugawa Iemitsu
(ruled 1623 to 1651; third Tokugawa shogun of Japan).
The Augustinian missions in the Philippines provided missionaries for the East since their first establishment. In 1603 some of them penetrated into Japan, where several were martyred, and in 1653 others entered China, where, in 1701, the order had six missionary stations before their expulsion.
However, American Augustinian friars returned to Japan in 1954, symbolically establishing their first priory in 1959 at Nagasaki (also site of the second atomic bomb dropped on August 13, 1945). They then established priories in Fukuoka
(1959), Nagoya (1964), and Tokyo (1968). As of 2006, there are seven United States Augustinian friars and five Japanese Augustinian friars.
Early Japanese Augustinian leaders, including St Magdalen of Nagasaki and St Thomas Jihyoe are venerated as saints.
The Augustinian Recollects are also present in Korea, but for the Augustinian friars, the Region of Korea
was founded in 1985 by Australian, English and Scottish friars. Filipinos later replaced the UK friars. As of 2006 there are 5 Koreans professed in the order and 12 in formation.
The order of friars is growing numerically in Korea.
As of 2006 (and not counting Spanish Augustinian priories) there were more than 21 other Augustinian houses across the Philippines
, India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia, with more than 140 friars in solemn vows and more than 40 in simple vows.
The order of friars is growing in Asia.
) with 2,000 monasteries and about 30,000 members. The Canons Regular and the Augustinian Recollects also have considerable history in Europe.
As of 2006 there were 148 active Augustinian priories in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Spanish houses in the Philippines. This includes 1,031 friars in solemn vows, and 76 in simple vows.
In England and Ireland of the 14th century the Augustinian order had had over 800 friars, but these priories had declined (for other reasons) to around 300 friars before the anti-clerical laws of the Reformation Parliament and the Act of Supremacy
. The friaries were dispersed from 1538 in the dissolution of monasteries
during the English Reformation
. The martyr St John Stone was one of the few British Augustinians to publicly defy the will of Henry VIII
in this matter. The partial List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England alone includes 19 Augustinian houses. Clare Priory
was one of the houses dissolved by King Henry VIII, but the Order managed to buy it back in 1953, with help from the family who then owned it.
A significant Augustinian missionary college was established at the former Spanish capital of Valladolid in 1759—and this house was exempted from the suppression of monastic houses in Spain c.1835, later becoming the centre of restoration for the order in Spain. In 1885 Filipino
Augustinians took charge of the famous Escorial, and friars continue to administer it today. The modern Augustinian province of Spain was refounded in 1926—largely through Spanish and Filipino friars from the Philippines—but that was not the end of difficulty for the order in Spain. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) ninety eight Augustinians were murdered—sixty five friars from the Escorial alone were executed. Many of the discalced Augustinian nuns
of Valencia were also put to death.
As of 2006 there were 177 Spanish Augustinian friars, with 23 in simple profession.
The English Province of the Order of Saint Augustine founded their first house in Dublin some time before 1280, and for a considerable time the Augustinians of Ireland were all English, effectively serving the English settlers in Ireland. Great Connell Priory
was founded about 1202. However, by the mid 14th century thirteen houses of the Order had been established in Ireland. The Irish branch was relatively poor, and very few of the indigenous Irish friars were sent to the universities of Oxford
and Cambridge
for their education (unlike the English Augustinians). The fortunes of the Irish order changed in 1361 when Lionel
, the second son of King Edward III, became viceroy of Ireland. He favoured the order, and soon established an Augustinian professor of theology based at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
, and the Irish order then grew significantly until the time of the English Reformation.
In Ireland after the Reformation Parliament that began in 1529, the Augustinian houses in Leinster
, Munster
, Dublin, Dungarvan
and Drogheda
were soon suppressed. The houses in Ardnaree
, Ballinrobe
, Ballyhaunis
, Banada and Murrisk
managed to remain functioning until 1610. By decree in 1542 the English parliament had allowed the Augustinian community at Dunmore in County Galway
, Ireland to continue. After 1610 the Dunmore community was the only surviving foundation, and in 1620 the Irish Province of the Augustinians was given pastoral charge of both England (where all houses had been forcibly closed) and Ireland. Irish Augustinian students were sent to the Continent to study, and the Irish Augustinians continued their work in Ireland under the harsh English Penal laws designed to protect the establishment
of the Church of England
. A number were executed—including William Tirry
http://www.augnet.org/default.asp?ipageid=819 OSA (executed 1654 for saying mass). In 1656, in response to the persecution at home, Pope Alexander VII
established the Irish Augustinians in Rome in the church and priory of San Matteo in Merulana. Many Augustinians though remained in Ireland. In 1751 Augustine Cheevers O.S.A, an Irish Augustinian, was made Bishop of Ardagh
. Others left to work in America and after the 1830s to Australia. After the Catholic Emancipation
Act of 1829, the order began to re-organise more openly in Ireland. The Irish friars took the Order back to England, establishing a priory at Hoxton
, London in 1864. They further turned their attention to Nigeria, Australia, America and missionary work. The contemporary Irish order conducts parishes, a school in Dungarvan
(founded 1874), a school in New Ross
and special ministries in Ireland.
Contemporary Ireland is undergoing rapid change, and this presents challenges to the order there. Many Irish emigrants (including Augustinian friars) are now returning. Over 40,000 immigrants each year are admitted to keep the Irish economy working, and many are coming from the new Eastern European members of the European Union
. For example, there are now over 100,000 Poles in the country as well as asylum seekers from Africa and the Balkan countries. The formerly unified Celtic culture of Ireland is diversifying, and this means its predominantly Celtic Catholic ethos as well.
Many European Augustinian priories and foundations suffered serious setbacks (including suppression and destruction) from the various periods of anti-clericalism during the Reformation and other historical events such as the French Revolution
, the Spanish civil war
(among more than 6,000 clergy, 155 Spanish Augustinians were killed), the two World Wars and Communist repression.
The order of friars in Spain and France has had an eventful history, from being part of the Grand Union, through the periods of extensive Spanish colonisation, the French Revolution, the effects of the Napoleonic wars
, the War of the Spanish Succession
, suppression of the order, the Spanish Civil War
, and then Francisco Franco
.
The successful German branch, which until 1299 was counted as one province, was then divided into four provinces. These provinces produced significant Augustinian leaders and reformers. These included the most famous German Augustinian theologian before the Augustinian Martin Luther
: Andreas Proles (d. 1503), the founder of the Union or Congregation of the Observant Augustinian Hermits, organized after strict principles; Johann von Paltz, the famous Erfurt
professor and pulpit-orator (d. 1511); Bartholomaeus Arnoldi
von Usingen (d. 1532); as well as Johann von Staupitz
, Luther's monastic superior and Wittenberg
colleague (d. 1524).
Reforms were also introduced into the extra-German branches of the order, but a long time after Proles's reform and in connection with the Counter-Reformation
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Augustinian credentials of Martin Luther did not prevent anti-clerical attacks on the order during the Reformation
, and neither did it enhance the order's political influence within the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation.
A number of mathematicians, astronomers, and musicians are also found among the members of the order, but it was the great scientist Johann Gregor Mendel
, abbot of the Czech monastery of St. Thomas
at Alt-Brunn
in Moravia (d. 1884) who gave great credit to the Augustinian Order's scholarship in the 19th century. He was the discoverer of the Mendelian laws
of heredity and hybridization.
(vows) with those in simple profession. For a mendicant order such as the Augustinians, the most formal and significant commitments are the permanent and lifelong vows of Solemn profession. Ordination is considered a separate matter, and though most are, the Augustinian friar may or may not be ordained priest or deacon. Those in simple profession are the newer members of the order, but have agreed to make a serious commitment (temporary, but with a view to permanent commitment), and been formally accepted as suitable by senior members of the order to make that formal commitment. The figures quoted do not include aspirants to the order who have not reached the significant step of simple profession. The details of the median age of friars in respective national grouping is another way of assessing the vigour of the order, but these details are not included here. They may be found on the order's international website. Likewise, the growth of lay
organisations of Augustinian spirituality is another (less-precise) way of measuring the vigour of the order.
The Hermits of St. Augustine spread rapidly, partly because they did not radiate from a single parent monastery, and partly because, after violent conflicts in the previously existing congregations, the active life was finally adopted by the greater number of communities, following the example of the Friars Minor and the Dominicans. To the Brittinians alone, in 1260, was granted permission to continue following the contemplative life. A few years after the reorganization of the Augustinian Order, Hermit monasteries sprang up in Germany, France and Spain. Germany soon possessed forty, many of them large and important, such as those at Mainz, Würzburg, Worms, Nuremberg, Speyer, Strasburg, Ratisbon, all built between 1260 and 1270. As early as the year 1299, the German province was divided into four sub-provinces: the Rhenish-Swabian, the Cologne, the Bavarian and the Saxon. At the period of its greates prosperity the order comprised 42 ecclesiastical province
s and 2 vicariates numbering 2000 monasteries and about 30,000 members. (Cf. Aug. Lubin, "Orbis Augustinianus sive conventuum O. Erem. S. A. chorographica et topographica descriptio", Paris, 1659, 1671, 1672.)
This modern Latin Rite branch is active in society (i.e. not enclosed) and it is counted comprehensively in the article below. It is headed by the international Prior-General in Rome, and while spiritually and historically connected is now canonically separate from the other Independent Augustinian Communities
such as the Canons Regular
, Discalced Augustinians
, Augustinian nuns
, Premontres, Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
, Augustinian Recollects
and the Dominicans.
as a Non-Governmental Organization and maintains a full-time representative to the United Nations. Worldwide there are nearly 2,800 Augustinian friars working in:
Around 1,500 women live in Augustinian enclosed convents in:
and the Great Western Schism—discipline became relaxed in the Augustinian monasteries; and so reformers emerged who were anxious to restore it. These reformers were themselves Augustinians and instituted several reformed congregations, each having its own vicar-general (vicarius-generalis), but all under the control of the general of the order.
The most important of these congregations of the "Regular Observants" were those of Illiceto, in the district of Siena
, established in 1385. They initially had 12, and subsequently 8, convents. St. John ad Carbonariam (founded c. 1390) had 14 convents, Perugia
(1491), had 11, and the Lombardic Congregation (1430) had 56. The Congregation of the Spanish Observance (1430) included all the Castilian monasteries from 1505. The reform of Monte Ortono near Padua
(1436) had 6 convents, the Regular Observants of the Blessed Virgin at Genoa
(also called Our Lady of Consolation (c. 1470) had 25. The Regular Observants of Apulia
(c. 1490) had 11; the Congregation of Zampani
in Calabria (1507) had 40. The German (or Saxon) Congregation (1493) flourished; the Congregation of Zampani
in Calabria (1507) had 40 convents, the Dalmatia
n Congregation (1510) had 6,the Congregation of the Colorites (of Monte Colorito in Calabria (1600) had 11. At Centorbio in Sicily
(1590) there were 18, and the "Little Augustinians" of Bourges
, France (c. 1593) had 20. The Spanish, Italian and French congregations of Discalced, or Barefooted, Augustinians were successful (see below), and the Congregation del Bosco in Sicily established in the year 1818 had 3 convents.
Among these reformed congregations, besides those of the Barefooted Augustinians, the most important was the German (Saxon) Congregation. As in Italy, Spain and France, reforms were begun as early as the fifteenth century in the four German provinces existing since 1299. Johannes Zachariae, an Augustinian monk of Eschwege
, Provincial of the Order from 1419–1427 and professor of theology at the University of Erfurt, began a reform in 1492. Andreas Proles, prior of the Himmelpforten monastery, near Wernigerode
, strove to introduce the reforms of Father Heinrich Zolter in as many Augustinian monasteries as possible. Proles, aided by Father Simon Lindner of Nuremberg and other zealous Augustinians, worked indefatigably till his death, in 1503, to reform the Saxon monasteries, even calling in the assistance of the secular ruler of the country. As the result of his efforts, the German, or Saxon, Reformed Congregation, recognized in 1493, comprised nearly all the important convents of the Augustinian Hermits in Germany.
Johann von Staupitz
, his successor as vicar of the congregation, followed in his footsteps. Staupitz had been prior at Tübingen
, then at Munich
, and had taken a prominent part in founding the University of Wittenberg in 1502, where he became a professor of theology and the first dean of that faculty. He continued to reform the order with the zeal of Proles, as well as in his spirit and with his methods. He collected the "Constitutiones fratrum eremitarum S. August. ad apostolicorum privilegiorum formam pro Reformatione Alemanniae", which were approved in a chapter held at Nuremberg in 1504. A printed copy of these is still to be seen in the university library of Jena. Supported by the general of the order, Aegidius of Viterbo
, he obtained a papal brief
(15 March 1506), granting independence under their own vicar-general to the reformed German congregations and furthermore, 15 December 1507, a papal Bull
commanding the union of the Saxon province with the German Congregation of the Regular Observants. All the Augustinian convents of Northern Germany were, in accordance with this decree, to become parts of the regular observance. But when, in 1510, Staupitz commanded all the hermits of the Saxon province to accept the regular observance on pain of being punished as rebels, and to obey him as well as the general of the order, and, on 30 September, published the papal Bull at Wittenberg, seven convents refused to obey, among them that of Erfurt, of which Martin Luther
was a member—Luther seems to have gone to Rome on this occasion as a representative of the rebellious monks.
Because of this appeal to Rome, the consolidation did not take place. Staupitz also continued to favour Luther even after this. They had become acquainted at Erfurt, during a visitation, and Staupitz was responsible for Luther's summons to Wittenberg in 1508; yet even after 1517 he entertained friendly sentiments for Luther, looking upon his ideas as being motivated only against abuses. From 1519 on, he gradually turned away from Luther. Staupitz resigned his office of vicar-general of the German congregations in 1520. Father Wenzel Link, preacher at Nuremberg, former professor and dean of the theological faculty at Wittenberg, who was elected his successor, cast his lot with Luther, whose views were endorsed at a chapter of the Saxon province held in January, 1522, at Wittenberg. In 1523 Link resigned his office and became a Lutheran preacher at Altenberg, where he introduced the Reformation and married. In 1528 he went as preacher to Nuremberg, where he died in 1547. The examples of Luther and Link were followed by many Augustinians of the Saxon province, and their convents gradually became more and more deserted. The convent of Erfurt ceased to exist in 1525. German houses that remained in communion with Rome then united with the Lombardic Congregation.
Many Augustinians in Germany opposed the Reformation by their writings and their sermons, such as Bartholomäus Arnoldi of Usingen (d. 1532 at Würzburg), who for thirty years was professor at Erfurt and one of Luther's teachers, Johannes Hoffmeister (d. 1547), Wolfgang Cappelmair (d. 1531) and Konrad Treger (d. 1542).
The chief house of the order remains the International College of St. Monica at Rome, Via S. Uffizio No. 1. It is also the residence of the general of the order (prior generalis) and of the curia generalis. Another priory of the Augustinian order in Rome is that of S. Augustinus de Urbe, established in 1483, near the church of St. Augustine. It was there that the remains of St. Monica, the mother if St. Augustine, were deposited when they were brought from Ostia in the year 1430. This, formerly the chief priory of the order, was later occupied by the Italian Ministry of Marine, and the Augustinian friars who serve the church retained only a small portion of their former property. Another Augustinian priory in Rome is S. Maria de Populo de Urbe
.
In 1331 Pope John XXII
had appointed the Augustinian Hermits guardians of the tomb of St. Augustine in the Church of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia
. They were driven from there in 1700, and evacuated to Milan. Their priory was destroyed in 1799, the church desecrated, and the remains of St. Augustine were taken back to Pavia and placed in its cathedral. The church of S. Pietro was restored, and on 7 October 1900, the body of the saint and Doctor of the church was removed from the cathedral and replaced in San Pietro—an event commemorated in a poem by Pope Leo XIII. The Augustinians were subsequently restored their old church of S. Pietro.
, at Venice, in 1549, and at Rome, in 1553. The newly revised Constitutions were published at Rome in 1895, with additions in 1901 and 1907.
The government of the order is as follows: At the head is the prior general. Currently, the prior general is The Most Reverend Father Robert F. Prevost, OSA, who was first elected in 2001 and was recently reelected in 2007. The prior general is elected every six years by the general chapter. The prior general is aided by four assistants and a secretary, also elected by the general chapter. These form the Curia Generalitia. Each province is governed by a provincial
, each commissariate by a commissary general, each of the two congregations by a vicar-general, and every monastery by a prior
(only the Czech monastery of Alt-Brunn
, in Moravia, is under an abbot
) and every college by a rector. The members of the order are divided into priests and brothers.
The Augustinians, like most religious orders, have a cardinal protector
.
The choir and outdoor dress of the monks is of black woollen material, with long, wide sleeves, a black leather cincture
and a long pointed capuche reaching to the cincture. The indoor dress consists of a black habit
with capuche and cincture. In many Augustinian houses white is used in Summer and also worn in public, usually in places where there were no Dominicans
. Shoes and out of doors (prior to Vatican II) a black hat or biretta completed the habit.
in Canada in 1938. Among other Canadian foundations, the order also established a significant priory and St. Thomas of Villanova College
in Toronto. The order, by 2006 has since professed many native Canadians.
As of 2006 there were more than 70 Augustinian priories in the United States and Canada with 386 friars in solemn vows and 16 in simple vows. In Central and South America, the Augustinians remain established in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela as well three Peruvian Vicariates of Iquitos, Apurímac and Chulucanas, and the Province of Peru. There are currently 814 friars in Latin America.
As of 2006, there were more than 30 other Augustinian priories in Nigeria
, Congo
, Kenya
, Tanzania
, South Africa and Algeria
, with over 85 friars in solemn vows, and more than 60 in simple vows. There are also Augustinians working in the Republic of Benin
, Togo
, Madagascar
, Guinea
and Burkina.
The Augustnian order in the Region of Korea
was founded in 1985 by Australian, English and Scottish friars. Filipinos later replaced the UK friars. As of 2006 there are 5 Koreans professed in the order and 12 in formation.
As of 2006 there were 11 Augustinian priories in Australia with 36 friars in solemn vows, and one in simple vows. The order of friars is in numerical decline in Australia while affiliated orders are growing.
As of 2006 (and not counting Spanish Augustinian priories) there were more than 21 other Augustinian houses across the Philippines
, India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia
, with more than 140 friars in solemn vows and more than 40 in simple vows.
) and missions.
, Coimbra
, Alcalá
, Padua
, Pisa
, Naples
, Oxford
, Paris, Vienna
, Prague
, Würzburg
, Erfurt
, Heidelberg
, Wittenberg
etc. Others taught successfully in the schools of the Order, which controlled a number of secondary schools, colleges etc. In 1685 the Bishop of Würzburg, Johann Gottfried II, of Guttenberg, confided to the care of the Augustinians the parish and the gymnasium of Munnerstadt in Lower Franconia
(Bavaria), a charge that they still retain; connected with the monastery of St. Michael in that place is a monastic school, while the seminary directed by the Augustinians forms another convent, that of St. Joseph. From 1698 to 1805 there existed an Augustinian gymnasium at Bedburg
in the district of Cologne
. The Order possesses altogether fifteen colleges, academies and seminaries in Italy, Spain and America. The chief institutions of this kind in Spain are that at Valladolid
and that in the Escorial.
As a pedagogical writer, we may mention the general of the order Aegidius of Colonna (Giles of Rome), who died Archbishop of Bourges in 1316. Aegidius served as the preceptor of the French king, Philip IV
, the Fair, at whose request he wrote the work De regimine Principum.
Aegidius of Colonna was a disciple of the Scholastic St. Thomas Aquinas, and founded the school of theology known as the Augustinian school, which was divided into an earlier and a later. Representatives of the earlier Augustinian school (or Aegidians), include—besides Aegidius himself—(Doctor fundatissimus) Thomas of Strasburg
(d. 1357) and Gregory of Rimini
(d. 1358), both generals of the order, and Augustine Gibbon, professor at Würzburg (d. 1676). The later Augustinian school of theology is represented by Cardinal Henry Noris
(d. 1704), Federico Nicolò Gavardi (d. 1715), Fulgentius Bellelli (d. 1742), Petrus Manso (d. after 1729), Joannes Laurentius Berti (d. 1766) and Michelangelo Marcelli (d. 1804).
Jacques Barthelemy de Buillon, a French Augustinian exiled by the Revolution, fled to Munich and began the education of deaf and dumb children.
Giovanni Michele Cavalieri (d. 1757) was a rubricist of note. Father Angelo Rocca
, papal sacristan and titular Bishop of Tagaste (d. 1620), known for his liturgical and archaeological researches, founded the Angelica Library (Bibliotheca Angelica), called after him, which became the public library of the Augustinians in Rome.
Besides this devotion, the order traditionally fostered the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation. Traditionally, the girdle confraternity, members of which wear a blessed girdle of black leather in honour of Saints Augustine, Monica and Nicholas of Tolentino
, recite daily thirteen Our Fathers and Hail Marys and the Salve Regina, fast strictly on the eve of the feast of St. Augustine, and received Holy Communion on the feasts of the three above-named saints. This confraternity was founded by Pope Eugene IV
at San Giacomo, Bologna
, in 1439, made an archconfraternity
by Gregory XIII, in 1575, aggregated to the Augustinian Order, and favoured with indulgences. The Augustinians, with the approbation of Pope Leo XIII
, also encourage the devotion of the Scapular
of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the propagation of the Third Order
of St. Augustine for the laity, as well as the veneration of St. Augustine and his mother St. Monica, to instill the Augustinian spirit of prayer and self-sacrifice into their parishioners.
Augustinians
The term Augustinians, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , applies to two separate and unrelated types of Catholic religious orders:...
(but not to be confused with the Augustinian 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...
) is a Catholic Religious Order, which, although more ancient, was formally created in the thirteenth century and combined of several previous Augustinian eremetical
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
Orders into one. In its establishment in its current form, it was shaped as a mendicant Order, one of the four great Orders which follow that way of life. The Order has done much to extend the influence of the Church, to propagate the Roman Catholic Faith and to advance learning. The Order has, in particular, spread internationally the veneration of the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel
Our Lady of Good Counsel
Our Lady of Good Counsel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after an allegedly miraculous painting now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Measuring 40 by 45 centimeters the image is a fresco executed on a thin layer of porcelain no thicker...
(Mater boni consilii).
Foundation
As is well known, t. Augustine of f u first with some friends and afterward as bishopBishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
with his 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....
, led a monastic community life. Religious vows
Religious vows
Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices and views.In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of religious vows are taken by the lay community as well as by...
were not obligatory, but the possession of private property was prohibited. Their manner of life led others to imitate them. Instructions for their guidance were found in several writings of St. Augustine, especially in De opere monachorum (P.L., XL, 527), mentioned in the ancient codices regularum of the eighth or ninth century as the "Rule of St. Augustine
Rule of St. Augustine
The Rule of St. Augustine is a religious rule employed by a large number of orders, including the Dominicans, Servites, Mercederians, and Augustinians.-Overview:...
". Epistola ccxi, otherwise cix (P.L., XXXIII, 958), contains the early "Augustinian Rule for Nuns"; epistolae ccclv and ccclvi (P.L., XXXIX, 1570) "De moribus clericorum". This system of life for the cathedral clergy continued in various locations throughout Europe for centuries.
As the first millennium came to an end, the fervor of this life began to wane, and the cathedral clergy began to live independently of one another. At the start of the second millennium, there was a revival in interest in the stricter form of clerical
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....
life. Several groups of canons were established under various disciplines, all with the Augustinian Rule as their basis. Examples of these were the Congregation of canons in Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, founded by the Blessed
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...
Peter de Honestis
Peter de Honestis
Peter de Honestis was born at Ravenna. Among his ancestors was the great St. Romuald, founder of the Camaldolese monks. All his life Peter fasted on Saturday in honour of Our Lady, and strongly recommended this practice to his religious. He styled himself Petrus peccator 'Peter the Sinner'.He...
about 1100, as well as the Norbertines. The instructions contained in Augustine's Rule formed the basis of the Rule that, in accordance with the decree of the Lateran
Basilica of St. John Lateran
The Papal Archbasilica of St. John Lateran , commonly known as St. John Lateran's Archbasilica and St. John Lateran's Basilica, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope...
Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
of 1059, was adopted by canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
s who desired to practice a common apostolic life (Holstenius, Codex regularum, II, Rome, 1661, 120), hence the title of Canons Regular of Saint Augustine.
Around the start of the 13th century, many eremetical communities, especially in the vicinity of Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Italy, sprang up. These were often small (no more than ten) and composed of laymen, thus they lacked the clerical orientation of the canons. Their foundational spirit was one of solitude
Solitude
Solitude is a state of seclusion or isolation, i.e., lack of contact with people. It may stem from bad relationships, deliberate choice, infectious disease, mental disorders, neurological disorders or circumstances of employment or situation .Short-term solitude is often valued as a time when one...
and penance
Penance
Penance is repentance of sins as well as the proper name of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, and Anglican Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation/Confession. It also plays a part in non-sacramental confession among Lutherans and other Protestants...
. With time, some of the communities adopted a more outward looking way of life. As the number of hermit-priests increased, assisting the local clergy in providing spiritual care for their neighbors became a larger part of their lives. In 1223 four of the communities around Siena joined in a loose association, which had increased to thirteen within five years.
In 1231, two such associations of eremetical communities requested of Pope Gregory IX that they be allowed to share in following one of the approved monastic rules. The Pope charged Bonfiglio, the Bishop of Siena (1215-1252) to work on this request. Eventually they all adopted the Augustinian Rule, either voluntarily or by command of the Pope, without giving up certain peculiarities of life and dress introduced by the founder, or handed down by custom. These differences led to their being confounded with other Orders (e.g., the Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance
Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance
The Third Order Regular of St. Francis of Penance is a mendicant order rooted in the Third Order of St. Francis which was founded in 1447.-Foundations:...
, which was also of eremetical origin) and gave rise to quarrels.
To remedy confusion and to ensure harmony and unity among the various religious congregations, Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
sought to unite them into one Order. For this purpose he commanded that two delegates be sent to Rome from each of the hermit monasteries, to discuss, under the presidency of Cardinal Richard di Santi Angeli, the question of union. The first meeting of the delegates, on the 1st of March, 1256, resulted in a union. Lanfranc Septala of Milan, Prior of the Bonites, was appointed the first Prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
General of the newly-constituted Order. The belted, black tunic of the Tuscan
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
hermits was adopted as the common religious habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
, and the walking sticks
Staff of office
A staff of office is a staff, the carrying of which often denotes an official's position, a social rank or a degree of social prestige.Apart from the ecclesiastical and ceremonial usages mentioned below, there are less formal usages. A gold- or silver-topped cane can express social standing...
carried by the Bonites in keeping with eremetical tradition--and to distinguish themselves from those hermits who went around begging--ceased to be used.The Papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
"Licet ecclesiae catholicae", issued on 4 May 1256 (Bullarium Taurinense, 3rd ed., 635 sq.), ratifying these proceedings, is regarded as the foundation-charter of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine. Furthermore, the pope commanded that all hermit monasteries which had sent no delegates should conform to the newly-drawn up Constitutions.
Privileges of the Order
Ecclesiastical privileges were granted to the order almost from its beginning. Alexander IVPope Alexander IV
Pope Alexander IV was Pope from 1254 until his death.Born as Rinaldo di Jenne, in Jenne , he was, on his mother's side, a member of the de' Conti di Segni family, the counts of Segni, like Pope Innocent III and Pope Gregory IX...
freed the order from the jurisdiction of the bishops; Innocent VIII, in 1490, granted to the churches of the order indulgences such as can only be gained by making the Stations at Rome; Pope Pius V placed the Augustinians among the mendicant orders
Mendicant Orders
The mendicant orders are religious orders which depend directly on the charity of the people for their livelihood. In principle, they do not own property, either individually or collectively , believing that this was the most pure way of life to copy followed by Jesus Christ, in order that all...
and ranked them next to the Carmelites
Carmelites
The Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Mount Carmel or Carmelites is a Catholic religious order perhaps founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel, hence its name. However, historical records about its origin remain uncertain...
. Since the end of the 13th century the sacristan
Sacristan
A sacristan is an officer who is charged with the care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents.In ancient times many duties of the sacristan were performed by the doorkeepers , later by the treasurers and mansionarii...
of the Papal Palace was always to be an Augustinian friar, who would ordained as a Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
. This privilege was ratified by Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
and granted to the Order forever by a Bull issued in 1497. The holder of the office is Rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Vatican parish (of which the chapel of St. Paul is the parish church). To his office also belonged the duty of preserving in his oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
a consecrated Host
Blessed Sacrament
The Blessed Sacrament, or the Body and Blood of Christ, is a devotional name used in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic Churches, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches, to refer to the Host after it has been consecrated in the sacrament of the Eucharist...
, which must be renewed weekly and kept in readiness in case of the pope's illness, when it is the privilege of the papal sacristan to administer the last sacraments to His Holiness. The sacristan must always accompany the pope when he travels, and during a conclave it is he who celebrates Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
and administers the sacraments. He lived in the Vatican with a sub-sacristan and three lay brother
Lay brother
In the most common usage, lay brothers are those members of Catholic religious orders, particularly of monastic orders, occupied primarily with manual labour and with the secular affairs of a monastery or friary, in contrast to the choir monks of the same monastery who are devoted mainly to the...
s of the Order (cf. Rocca, "Chronhistoria de Apostolico Sacrario", Rome, 1605). Augustinian friars, as of 2009, still perform the duties of Vatican sacristans, but the appointment of an Augustinian bishop-sacristan lapsed under Pope John Paul II with the completion of the term of Petrus Canisius Van Lierde
Petrus Canisius Van Lierde
Petrus Canisius Jean van Lierde, O.S.A., born 22 April 1907 † 12 March 1995, served forty years from 1951 to 1991 as Vicar General of the Vatican State, and was the longest serving Vatican official in that position.-Early life:...
, O.S.A., in 1991. The Augustinian friars always fill one of the Chairs of the Sapienza University
University of Rome La Sapienza
The Sapienza University of Rome, officially Sapienza – Università di Roma, formerly known as Università degli studi di Roma "La Sapienza", is a coeducational, autonomous state university in Rome, Italy...
, and one of the consultor
Consultor
A consultor is one who gives counsel, i.e. a counselor.In the Catholic Church, it is a specific title for various advisory positions:*in the Roman Curia, a consultor is a specially appointed expert who may be called upon for advice desired by a department...
ships in the Congregation of Rites.
Missions
The value set upon learning and science by the Augustinian friars is demonstrated by the care given to their missionary work, their libraries and by the historic establishment of their own printing-press in their convent at Nuremberg (1479), as well as by the numerous learned individuals produced by the order and still contributing valuable additions to knowledge. The order has produced many saints, for example Clare of MontefalcoClare of Montefalco
Saint Clare of Montefalco , also called Saint Clare of the Cross, was an Augustinian nun and abbess. Before becoming a nun, St. Clare was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis . She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881.-Life:She was born at Montefalco, in Umbria, likely in the...
, Nicholas of Tolentino
Nicholas of Tolentino
Saint Nicholas of Tolentino , known as the Patron of Holy Souls, was an Italian saint and mystic.-Biography:...
(d. 1305), Rita of Cascia
Rita of Cascia
Saint Rita of Cascia is an Italian Augustinian saint.-Early life:St. Rita was born at Roccaporena near Spoleto, Umbria, Italy....
, John of Sahagún
John of Sahagún
John of Sahagún , also known as Saint John of San Facondo, was a Spanish priest who belonged to the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine...
(a Sancto Facundo) (d. 1479), and Thomas of Villanova
Thomas of Villanova
St. Thomas of Villanova, O.S.A. , was a preacher, ascetic, writer andSpanish friar of the Order of Saint Augustine....
(d. 1555). Stefano Bellesini (d. 1840), the Augustinian parish priest of Genazzano
Genazzano
Genazzano is a town and comune in the province of Rome, located on a tuff spur at 375 m over the sea level which, starting from the Monti Prenestini, ends on the Sacco River valley.-History:...
, in the Roman province, was beatified by Pius X on 27 December 1904.
Africa
Father Nikolaus Teschel (d. 1371), auxiliary BishopAuxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Ratisbon, where he died, with some brethren preached the Gospel in Africa. The Augustinians followed the Portuguese flag in Africa and the Gulf behind the explorer and seafarer Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira was a Portuguese explorer, one of the most successful in the Age of Discovery and the commander of the first ships to sail directly from Europe to India...
. He had sailed from Lisbon in 1497, and arrived at Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
in March 1498. Portuguese Augustinians also worked on the island of Sao Tome
São Tomé
-Transport:São Tomé is served by São Tomé International Airport with regular flights to Europe and other African Countries.-Climate:São Tomé features a tropical wet and dry climate with a relatively lengthy wet season and a short dry season. The wet season runs from October through May while the...
, in Warri (Nigeria) and in what is now known as Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, the Congo, Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...
, and Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
up until 1738. The Portuguese also took control of the port of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
in India—giving the Augustinians a foothold there also. Besides the early Portuguese Augustinians, other Augustinian missionaries have since followed to Africa from America, Ireland, Belgium and Australia.
North America
The North American foundation of the order happened in 1796 when Irish friars founded Olde St. Augustine's Church in Philadelphia. Michael Hurley was the first American to join the Order the following year. Friars established schools, Universities and other works throughout the Americas, including Villanova University
Villanova University
Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
(1842) near Philadelphia (USA) and Merrimack College
Merrimack College
Merrimack College is an independent college in the Roman Catholic, Augustinian tradition located in North Andover, Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate degrees in business, education, science, engineering, and the liberal arts...
(1947, USA). While Malvern Preparatory School
Malvern Preparatory School
Malvern Preparatory School, commonly referred to as Malvern Prep, is an independent Catholic middle and high school for boys located in Malvern, Pennsylvania. It was started and is still run by Order of Saint Augustine...
was founded in 1842 alongside Villanova University, by 1909 two Augustinian houses and a school
St. Rita of Cascia High School
St. Rita of Cascia High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school located on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and is operated by the Order of Saint Augustine...
had been established in Chicago, 1922 in San Diego, by 1925 a school in Ojai
Villanova Preparatory School
Villanova Preparatory School is an Augustinian Catholic co-ed day/ boarding school located in the small town of Ojai, California, USA. Sitting on more than 120 acres, Villanova's campus has sports fields and trails, modern gym, tennis courts and well equipped classrooms with up-to-date technology,...
and Los Angeles; 1926 a school in Oklahoma
Cascia Hall Preparatory School
Cascia Hall Preparatory School is an Augustinian Roman Catholic coeducational college-preparatory day school in Tulsa, Oklahoma.-History:Cascia Hall was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1926 at its current location, a campus at 2520 South Yorktown Avenue in midtown Tulsa. The school's...
; in 1947 a college in Massachusetts
Merrimack College
Merrimack College is an independent college in the Roman Catholic, Augustinian tradition located in North Andover, Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts. It offers undergraduate degrees in business, education, science, engineering, and the liberal arts...
; in 1952 a school in Michigan; in 1953 a school in Pennsylvania
Monsignor Bonner High School
Monsignor Bonner High School is an all-male Augustinian Catholic High School in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, United States. Bonner was created in 1953 as Archbishop Prendergast High School for Boys...
; 1959 a school in New Jersey
St. Augustine College Preparatory School
St. Augustine College Preparatory School is an all-boys Roman Catholic four-year high school located in the Richland section of Buena Vista Township, New Jersey, United States...
; in 1961 a school in Massachusetts
Austin Preparatory School
Austin Preparatory School is a co-educational Catholic school located in Reading, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1961...
; and in 1962 a school in Illinois
Providence Catholic High School
Providence Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic secondary school located in New Lenox, Illinois. Located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet, Providence Catholic is a private school run by the Order of Saint Augustine. The president of Providence is Father Richard McGrath, OSA, with Mr...
. The Augustinian Recollects are also present in the U.S.A. as are the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception.
The Order's 20th century establishment in Canada was one result of both poverty and political trouble being experienced by German Augustinians. From 1925 and later during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
German Augustinians began arriving in North America to teach. After 1936, with the political situation in Nazi Germany worsening, more German Augustinians departed for North America. By 1939 from there were 46 German priests, 13 German religious brothers and 8 German candidates in North America. The order established the first of their Canadian houses at Tracadie, Nova Scotia in Canada in 1938. Among other Canadian foundations, the order also established a significant priory and school in Toronto. The order, by 2006 has since professed many native Canadians.
- Latest Statistics:
As of 2006 there were more than 70 Augustinian priories in the United States and Canada with 386 friars in solemn vows and 16 in simple vows.
Central & South America
Otomi language
Otomi is an Oto-Manguean language and one of the indigenous languages of Mexico, spoken by approximately 240,000 indigenous Otomi people in the central altiplano region of Mexico. The language is spoken in many different dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible, therefore it is in...
; Father Diego Basalenque (d. 1651) and Miguel de Guevara compiled works in the languages of the Matlaltzinkas of Mexico; Father Manuel Perez translated the Roman Catechism into Aztec in 1723. Monasteries sprang up in the principal places and became the centers of Christianity, art, and civilization. The Patio (Cloister) of the former monastery of St. Augustine, now the post office, at Querétaro
Querétaro
Querétaro officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro de Arteaga is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities and its capital city is Santiago de Querétaro....
, is one of the most beautiful examples of stone-carving in America. They soon formed multiple priories, including at Guanajuato
Guanajuato
Guanajuato officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 46 municipalities and its capital city is Guanajuato....
(pictured) and were later instrumental in establishing the Pontifical and Royal University of Mexico
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México is a university in Mexico. UNAM was founded on 22 September 1910 by Justo Sierra as a liberal alternative to the Roman Catholic-sponsored Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (National Autonomous...
. By 1562 there were nearly 300 Spanish Augustinians in Mexico, and they had established some 50 priories. Their history in Mexico was not to be an easy one, given the civil strife of events like the Cristero War
Cristero War
The Cristero War of 1926 to 1929 was an uprising and counter-revolution against the Mexican government in power at that time. The rebellion was set off by the strict enforcement of the anti-clerical provisions of the Mexican Constitution of 1917 and the expansion of further anti-clerical laws...
, periodic anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
and suppression of the church that was to follow.
Spanish Augustinians first went to Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
in 1551. From there they went to Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
in 1573, and from Ecuador in 1575 to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. The order founded the Ecuadorean University of Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
in 1586. Augustinians also entered Argentina via Chile between 1617 and 1626, and their history there was eventful. The order had considerable property confiscated by the Argentinian government
State-Church relations in Argentina
The first conflicts between the Roman Catholic Church and the Argentine government can be traced to the ideas of the May Revolution of 1810. The Tribunal of the Inquisition was suppressed in the territories of the United Provinces of the River Plate on 1813-03-23, and on 4 June the General Assembly...
under the secularisation laws in the 19th century, and were entirely suppressed for 24 years until 1901 when they returned. The Augustinian Province of Holland later also founded houses in Bolivia from 1930.
The Provincia Michoacanensis had about 55 members, while the Provincia Mexicana had 31, most of whom are priests. Augustinian missionaries extended their friaries to South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Peru). Political events in these countries prevented the order from prospering and hindered the success of its undertakings, so that during the 19th century the monasteries became deserted. Later events in the Philippine Islands, however, permitted the Augustinians to return to their former churches and monasteries and even to found new ones.
In the Republic of Colombia, 26 members of the Philippine province were employed in 1900, including 6 at the residence of Santa Fe de Bogotá, 8 in the college at Facatativa, and 12 at other stations. In Peru 49 members of the same province were employed: 14 priests and 2 lay brothers belonging to the convent at Lima; 12 priests to the college in the same city; 6 in each of the two seminaries at Cuzco and Ayacucho. In the Prefecture Apostolic of San León de Amazonas, at the mission stations of Peba, Río Tigre, and Leticia in the territory of the Iquito Indians there were 9 priests in 1900. In June, 1904, Father Bernardo Calle, the lay brother Miguel Vilajoli, and more than 70 Christians, were murdered at a then recently erected mission station, Huabico, in Upper Maranon and the station itself was destroyed.
The Augustinian settlements in Brazil of the 19th century then belonged to the Philippine province. In the procuration house at S. Paulo (Rua Apeninos 6) and in the college at Brotas there were 4 Augustinians each; in the diocesan seminary at S. José de Manaos, 6; and in the other settlements, 27 priests—in all, 42 members of the order, including one lay brother. In Argentina, there were 25 priests and two lay brothers in the six colleges and schools of the order in 1900. In Ecuador, which formed a province by itself, there were 21 members of the order in 1900; being 9 priests and 7 lay brothers in the monastery at Quito; 3 priests in the convent at Latagun and 2 in that at Guayaquil. The province of Chile had 56 members in 1900, including 18 lay brothers; 11 at Santiago, 4 at La Serena, 5 at Concepción, 22 at Talca, 8 at San Fernando, 4 at Melipilla, and 2 in the residence at Picazo. The province of the United States of America increased in the end of the 19th century as the Augustinians were driven out of many European countries, and in 1848 sought refuge in the USA. The province numbered 200 members in 1900. The largest convent was then at Villanova, Pa.; it was also the novitiate for North America, and among the 117 religious then occupying the convent 21 were priests. The other convents contained 60 members by 1900, of whom 5 were lay brothers. The Order (from Mexico) arrived in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in 1608. It was suppressed by force in 1842. From 1892 the province of the United States had care of St. Augustine's College at Havana, Cuba, where there were 5 priests and 3 lay brothers in 1900 before they were expelled in 1961 by the government of Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
.
- Latest Statistics:
In the year 2000 in Central and South America, the Augustinians remain established in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela as well three Peruvian Vicariates of Iquitos, Apurímac and Chulucanas, and the Province of Peru. There are currently 814 friars in Latin America.
Oceania
By the early 20th century, the Augustinians established missions in Oceania and Australia. Here the Spanish Augustinians took over the missions founded by Spanish and German Jesuits in the LadronesMariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, which then numbered 7 stations, with about 10,000 souls, on Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
and about 2500 on each of the German islands of Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, Rota
Rota (island)
Rota also known as the "peaceful island", is the southernmost island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the second southernmost of the Marianas Archipelago. It lies approximately 40 miles north-northeast of the United States territory of Guam...
and Tinian. The mission on the German islands was separated from the Diocese of Cebú on 1 October 1906, and made a prefecture Apostolic on 18 June 1907, with Saipan as its seat of administration, and the mission given in charge to the German Capuchins
Order of Friars Minor Capuchin
The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin is an Order of friars in the Catholic Church, among the chief offshoots of the Franciscans. The worldwide head of the Order, called the Minister General, is currently Father Mauro Jöhri.-Origins :...
.
Australia
In Australia the Augustinians were established in the ecclesiastical Province
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
of Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and in the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown, Queensland, with twelve priests of the Irish province under Monsignor James D. Murray. The order has furnished some prominent bishops to Australia, e.g. Irishman James Alipius Goold. The Irish Augustinian college of St. Patrick at Rome, built in 1884 by Father Patrick Glynn, O.S.A., under a rector, was then the training college for the Augustinian missions.
James Alipius Goold O.S.A, had been the first Augustinian to arrive in the Australian colonies in 1838. He had been convinced to go to Australia by William Bernard Ullathorne
William Bernard Ullathorne
William Bernard Ullathorne was an English Roman Catholic bishop and a missionary in Australia.-Early life:William Ullathorne was born in Pocklington, Yorkshire, the eldest of ten children of William Ullathorne, a prosperous grocer, draper and spirit merchant, and his wife Hannah, née Longstaff...
(then the Benedictine Vicar-General of New Holland) after a chance meeting on the steps of the Roman Augustinian church at the monastery of Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
.
Goold began his missionary work in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
under Archbishop John Bede Polding, becoming parish priest at Campbelltown
Campbelltown, New South Wales
Campbelltown is a suburb in south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Campbelltown is located 51 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Campbelltown.- History :Campbelltown...
. Goold went on in 1848 to become the founding bishop and first Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of the Archdiocese of Melbourne
Archdiocese of Melbourne
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is a Latin rite metropolitan archdiocese, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Erected initially in 1847 as the Diocese of Melbourne, a suffragan diocese of Archdiocese of Sydney, the diocese was elevated in 1874 as an archdiocese of the...
. He also commenced the design and construction of its Neo-Gothic Cathedral
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne
St Patrick's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and seat of its archbishop, currently Denis J. Hart. The building is known internationally as a leading example of the Gothic Revival style of architecture.In 1974 Pope Paul VI...
. Despite's Goold's initial desire to establish immediately an Australian branch of the order, the first Australian Augustinian was not ordained until 1940, and the Australian Province was not formally established as separate from its Irish founding province until 1952.
The Irish Augustinian friars formally accepted responsibility in 1884 for the part of Queensland that became the Diocese of Cairns, and the first Australian priory was founded at Echuca, Victoria in 1886. Priories were established at Rochester
Rochester, Victoria
Rochester is a small town in country Victoria, Australia. It is located 180 km north of Melbourne with a mixture of rural and semi-rural communities on the northern Campaspe River, between Bendigo and the Murray River port of Echuca...
in 1889 and Kyabram in 1903. The order worked at different times in the colonies of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, taking part in some critical moments of the settlement and establishment of modern Australia. Charles O'Hea
Charles O'Hea
Father Charles Adolphus O'Hea OSA was a Catholic Priest best-known today as the man who baptised Ned Kelly, and who ministered to him before the bushranger was hanged in 1880....
O.S.A. baptized Ned Kelly
Ned Kelly
Edward "Ned" Kelly was an Irish Australian bushranger. He is considered by some to be merely a cold-blooded cop killer — others, however, consider him to be a folk hero and symbol of Irish Australian resistance against the Anglo-Australian ruling class.Kelly was born in Victoria to an Irish...
. Father Matthew Downing O.S.A. tried to calm the miners who were part of the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
in 1854. The order also supplied a number of the other early Australian bishops including Martin Crane
Martin Crane (Roman Catholic bishop)
Bishop Martin Crane, D.D. was an Irish-born Australian cleric, appointed to be the first Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Sandhurst.-Early Life:...
O.S.A. and Stephen Reville O.S.A both in Sandhurst (Bendigo)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sandhurst is a suffragan Latin rite diocese of the Archdiocese of Melbourne, erected in 1874, covering the central and north-east regions of Victoria, Australia, including Bendigo.-History:...
John Heavey O.S.A. (Cairns), John Hutchinson O.S.A (Cooktown), and James Murray O.S.A (Cooktown).
The order presently conducts parishes, two schools (one established 1948 in Brisbane
Villanova College
Villanova College is a private and catholic school for boys located in Coorparoo, a southern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The school has a non-selective enrolment policy for all years and caters for approximately 1,150 boys in three schools, Junior, Middle and Senior from year five to...
, the other established 1956 in Sydney)
St. Augustine's College (Brookvale)
St Augustine's College is an Independent Roman Catholic School for boys in Year 5 to Year 12. The distinctive ethos of the College is Augustinian. It is conducted and was founded by the Order of St. Augustine...
, St John Stone House (a centre for Augustinian Spirituality), a formation centre, and special ministries such as palliative care
Palliative care
Palliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...
, HIV/AIDS ministry, and Aboriginal ministry.
Associated orders such as the St John of God Brothers (arrived Australia 1947 and established mental health services) and the Filipino Augustinian Sisters of our Lady of Consolation also established an Australian house in the 1990s.
- Latest Statistics:
As of 2006 there were 11 other Augustinian priories in Australia with 36 friars in solemn vows, and one in simple vows. The order of friars is in numerical decline in Australia while affiliated orders are growing.
Papua
The Augustinian Delegation of Papua has operated since 1953. It presently contains five Dutch-born Augustinians and thirty-three Indonesian-born Augustinians.
The order of friars and affiliated orders are growing in the Indonesian deritories.
Indonesia
Two Dutch Augustinian friars re-established the order in Papua
Western New Guinea
West Papua informally refers to the Indonesian western half of the island of New Guinea and other smaller islands to its west. The region is officially administered as two provinces: Papua and West Papua. The eastern half of New Guinea is Papua New Guinea.The population of approximately 3 million...
(now Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
) in 1953 while it was still a Dutch colony. In 1956 the order took responsibility for the area that was to become the Diocese of Manokwari
Manokwari
Manokwari is a city in Indonesia. It is the largest city and, since 2003, the capital of the province of West Papua, at the western end of New Guinea. The city has many resorts and is a major tourist area. It is one of the seats of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manokwari–Sorong. It is also the...
. As of 2006, the Augustinian Vicariate of Indonesia has 15 friars in solemn profession, and 7 in simple vows. It is now predominantly Papuan.
The order of friars and affiliated orders are growing in Indonesia.
Philippines
The Augustinian friars were the first Christian missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to arrive in what is now regarded as Asia's only Catholic nation, and the leader of these first missionaries was the navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...
Andrés de Urdaneta
Andrés de Urdaneta
Friar Andrés de Urdaneta, O.S.A., was a circumnavigator, explorer and Augustinian friar. As a navigator he achieved in 1536 the "second" world circumnavigation after first one led by Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano in 1522...
(1498 – June 3, 1568, Mexico), an Augustinian friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
. He was navigator on the journey that established the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines. The historic Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines
Augustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines
The Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of the religious Order of St. Augustine was officially formed on March 7, 1575.-Historical background:...
was officially formed on December 31, 1575 as an offshoot of the establishment of the first permanent Spanish settlements. San Agustín Church and Monastery
San Agustin Church, Manila
San Agustin Church is a Roman Catholic church under the auspices of The Order of St. Augustine, located inside the historic walled city of Intramuros in Manila. Completed by 1607, it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines...
in Manila became the center of Augustinian efforts to evangelise the Philippines. Father Herrera OSA wrote a poetical life of Jesus in the Tagalog language
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
in 1639.
Cipriano Navarro's important work on "The Inhabitants of the Philippines" and a monumental work in six volumes entitled "La Flora de Filipinas" (Madrid, 1877– ), are valuable contributions to literature and learning on the Philippines. Manuel Blanco, Ignacio Mercado, Antonio Llanos, Andrés Naves and Celestino Fernandez are also worthy of mention. Fathers Angelo Perez and Cecilio Guemes published in 1905 a work in four volumes entitled "La Imprenta de Manila".
Arguably, the most energetic missionary activity of the Augustinian Order has been displayed in the Philippine Islands. When Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer. He was born in Sabrosa, in northern Portugal, and served King Charles I of Spain in search of a westward route to the "Spice Islands" ....
discovered the Philippines (16 March 1521) and took possession of them in the name of the King of Spain, he was accompanied by the chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
of the fleet, who preached the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
to the inhabitants, baptizing Kings Colambu and Siagu and 800 natives of Mindanao and Cebú, on Low Sunday, 7 April 1521. The effect of these conversions however, were soon almost negated. Magellan was killed in a fight with natives on the little island of Mactan on 27 April and the Catholic foundation established by the first Spanish missionaries almost disappeared. The missionaries brought from Mexico in 1543 by Ruy López Villalobos were not more successful, for they were forced to return to Europe by way of Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, having had little influence on the islanders. Under the Adelantado Legaspi who in 1565 established the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
of Spain in the Philippines and selected Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
as the capital in 1571, Father Andrés de Urdaneta and 4 other Augustinian friars landed at Cebú in 1565, and at once began a very successful apostolate. The first houses of the Augustinians were established at Cebú, in 1565, and at Manila, in 1571.
Augustinian friars made researches in the languages of the Philippine Islands including Father Diego Bergano, and José Sequi (d. 1844), a prominent missionary of the order who baptized 30,000 persons. Many wrote grammars and compiled dictionaries.
In 1575, under the leadership of Father Alfonso Gutierez, twenty-four Spanish Augustinians landed in the islands and, with the respective provincials Diego de Herrera and Martin de Rado, worked very successfully, at first as wandering preachers. The Franciscans first appeared in the Philippines in 1577 and were welcomed by the Augustinians. Soon they were joined by Dominicans and Jesuits. Sent by Philip III
Philip III
Philip III may refer to:*Philip III of Macedon *Philip III of France *Philip III of Navarre *Philip III of Taranto, Prince of Achaea *Philip III, Duke of Burgundy "the Good"...
, the first Discalced Augustinians
Discalced Augustinians
The reform movement of Roman Catholic religious orders, which occurred as part of the Counterreformation developing in Catholic Europe, also found sympathy among the friars of the Augustinian Order...
landed in 1606. All these Orders shared in the work and challenges of the missions. Protected by Spain, they prospered, and their missionary efforts became more and more successful. In 1773 the Jesuits, however, were obliged to give up their missions in consequence of the suppression of the Society.
Religious orders suffered persecution in the Philippines at the end of the 19th century, especially the Augustinians. In 1897 the Calced Augustinians, numbering 319 out of 644 religious then in the Philippine province, had charge of 225 parishes, with 2,377,743 souls; the Augustinian Recollects
Augustinian Recollects
-History:The Order of Augustinian Recollects or simply the Augustinian Recollects are a Roman Catholic mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. They are a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follow the same Rule of St...
, numbering about 220, with 233 parishes and 1,175,156 souls; the Augustinians of the Philippine province numbered in all 522, counting those in the priories at Manila, Cavite, San Sebastian, and Cebú, those at the large model farm at Imus, and those in Spain at the colleges of Monteagudo, Marcilla, and San Millan de la Cogulla. Besides the numerous parishes served by the Calced Augustinians, they possessed several educational institutions: a superior and intermediate school at Vigan (Villa Fernandina) with 209 students, an orphanage and trade school at Tambohn near Manila, with 145 orphans, etc. Because of the disturbances, the schools and missions were deserted; six Augustinian priests were killed and about 200 imprisoned and some of them harshly treated. Those who escaped unmolested fled to the principal house at Manila, to Macao, to Han-kou, to South America, or to Mexico. Up to the beginning of 1900, 46 Calced and 120 Discalced Augustinians had been imprisoned. Upon their release, they returned to the few monasteries still left them in the islands or set out for Spain, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Argentina and China. The province of the United States sent some members to supply the vacancies in the Philippines. The Monastery of St. Paul, at Manila, had 24 priests and 6 lay brothers back in 1900; that at Cebú, 5 members of the order, that at Iloilo, on the island of Panay, 11 priests and 2 lay brothers, while in the 10 residences there were 20 priests; so that in 1900 there were only 68 Calced Augustinians in the islands. In all, the "Provincia Ss. Nominis Jesu Insularum Philippinarum", including theological students and the comparatively small number of lay brothers, had 600 members in 1900: 359 being in Spain, 185 of whom were priests; 68 in the Philippines; 29 in China (before their latewr expulsion) ; 26 in Colombia; 49 in Peru; 42 in Brazil; 27 in Argentina.
The Order in the 21st century still has responsibility for one of the oldest churches in the Philippines, the Basilica del Santo Niño de Cebu in Cebu. Before the Philippine Revolution
Philippine Revolution
The Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
of 1898, which accelerated the separation of church and state in the Philippines, the Augustinians conducted more than 400 hundred schools and churches there and had pastoral care for some 2,237,000 Filipinos, including 328 village missions. The Philippine Revolution of 1896 cost the )rder its heaviest losses in the entire 19th century, breaking the historic connection with, or destroying the majority of its established works there. This included the removal of friars from 194 parishes, the capture of 122 friars by Filipino revolutionaries and the deprivation of income from 240 friars. Many Spanish Augustinians were forced to leave the country for Spain or Latin America, repopulating the Augustinian houses in Spain and reinforcing Augustinian missionary work in South America.
In 1904 members of the order belonging to the Philippine province established the University of San Agustin
University of San Agustin
The University of San Agustin is a private Catholic university in Iloilo City, Philippines, the first in Western Visayas.-History:Augustinian friars from Spain belonging to the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines founded the University of San Agustin on July 15, 1904. They...
in Iloilo City
Iloilo City
The City of Iloilo is a highly urbanized city in the Philippines and the capital city of Iloilo province. It is the regional center of the Western Visayas, as well as the center of the Iloilo-Guimaras Metropolitan Area...
, Philippines. They have also since established schools such as the Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod
Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod
Colegio San Agustin – Bacolod is a private, Catholic, co-educational institution of learning owned and administered by the Augustinians of the Province of Santo Niño de Cebu in the Philippines. It is located in Bacolod City, the capital of Negros Occidental province...
in Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental
Negros Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Western Visayas region. Its capital is Bacolod City and it occupies the northwestern half of Negros Island; Negros Oriental is at the southeastern half...
(1962), the Colegio San Agustin, Makati
Colegio San Agustin, Makati
Colegio San Agustin – Makati is a private, co-educational Catholic school conducted by the Order of Saint Augustine. It is located on Palm Avenue, Dasmariñas Village, Makati City, Philippines...
(1969) and the Colegio San Agustin, Biñan
Colegio San Agustin, Biñan
Colegio San Agustin – Biñan is a Catholic school owned and managed by the Augustinian Friars of the Province of Sto. Niño de Cebu in Biñan, Laguna, Philippines. Its primary and secondary education programs are accredited Level II by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and...
in Biñan, Laguna
Biñan, Laguna
The City of Biñan is a first class component city in the Republic of the Philippines. It is located in the Province of Laguna, in the island of Luzon, and also accessible from Metro Manila via the South Luzon Expressway, Biñan City has become both a suburban residential community of Metro Manila...
(1985). In 1968 friars of the Philippine province re-established the Augustinian presence on the Indian subcontinent.
In 2004 the all-Filipino Augustinian Province of Cebu celebrated its twentieth year of existence. It has 85 members in final vows with 19 in simple profession. There are 12 priories including a mission on Socorro Island.
The Order of friars is once again growing in the Philippines. The Augustinian Recollects are also present in the Philippines.
China
The first Western major work on the history of China was by Augustinian friar Juan González de Mendoza
Juan González de Mendoza
Juan González de Mendoza was the author of the first Western history of China to publish Chinese characters for Western delectation. Published by him in 1586, Historia de las cosas más notables, ritos y costumbres del gran reyno de la China is an account of observations several Spanish travelers...
. It was a description of a visit to China by three others (including another Augustinian friar), and included the first known depiction of Chinese characters in Western publishing. In 1585 he published it at Rome in Spanish.
Fathers Martin de Hereda and Hieronymus penetrated into the interior of China in 1577, to study Chinese literature with the intention of bringing it into Europe. Father Antonius Aug. Georgius (d. 1797) composed the "Alphabetum Tibetanum" for the use of missionaries. Father Agostino Ciasca
Agostino Ciasca
Agostino Ciasca was an Italian Augustinian and Cardinal. He was a distinguished orientalist, and archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives....
(d. 1902), titular Archbishop of Larissa and cardinal, established a special faculty for Oriental languages at the Roman Seminary, published an Arabic translation of Tatian
Tatian
Tatian the Assyrian was an Assyrian early Christian writer and theologian of the 2nd century.Tatian's most influential work is the Diatessaron, a Biblical paraphrase, or "harmony", of the four gospels that became the standard text of the four gospels in the Syriac-speaking churches until the...
's "Diatessaron" and wrote "Bibliorum Fragmenta Copto-Sahidica". Father Dionysius of Borgo San Sepolcro (d. 1342), Bishop of Monopoli in Lower Italy, is the author of a commentary on the "Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri IX" of Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus was a Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes. He worked during the reign of Tiberius .-Biography:...
, and was also much esteemed for his talents as poet, philosopher, and orator. The missionaries of the order have also given us valuable descriptive works on foreign countries and peoples.
In about 1681, the Filipino Augustinian Alvaro de Benevente arrived in China and established the first of the Augustinian houses in China at Kan-chou
Ganzhou
Ganzhou is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. Its administrative seat is at Zhanggong .-History:...
. Benevente was made bishop and became head of the newly-created Vicariate of Kiang-si
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
in 1699. The Augustinian missionaries had success in propagating Catholicism, but in 1708, during the Chinese Rites controversy
Chinese Rites controversy
The Chinese Rites controversy was a dispute within the Catholic Church from the 1630s to the early 18th century about whether Chinese folk religion rites and offerings to the emperor constituted idolatry...
they were forced to withdraw from China. Portuguese Augustinians also served in the colonial port of Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
from 1586 until 1712.
In 1879 Spanish Augustinians from Manila (Elias Suarez O.S.A. and Agostino Villanueva O.S.A) entered China to re-establish an Augustinian mission.
In 1891 there were only 219 Christians and 11 catechumens, as well as 29 schools, with 420 children and 750 orphans. In 1900 the order possessed the mission of Northern Hu-nan, China, where there were 24 members, 2 of whom were natives; 6 were in the district of Yo-chou; 6 in the district of Ch'ang-te; 9 in the district of Li-chu; three other religious were also labouring in other districts—all under the vicar Apostolic, then Mgr. Perez. The 1900 mission comprised about 3000 baptized Christians and 3500 catechumens in a population of 11 million. In 1900 there were also two priests at the mission house at Han-kou and two at the procuration house at Shang-hai (Yang-tsze-poo Road, 10). By 1910 the Augustinian mission had 24 members of the Order, two were indigenous Chinese. By 1947 the Augustinian mission counted 24,332 baptised Catholics as well as 3,250 preparing for baptism. They had established 20 major churches and 90 satellite churches. By that time there were 25 Chinese-born priests.
All foreign missionaries were expelled or imprisoned from 1953 by the Communist government. Chinese-born Augustinians were dispersed by government order and directed not to live the monastic life. Church officials were arrested, schools and other church institutions closed or confiscated by the State. Many priests, religious brothers and sisters, as well as leaders among the Christian laity were sent to labour camps. One of the last of the pre-Revolution Chinese Augustinians was Father Dai O.S.A.. He died in 2003.
- Latest Information:
Since the re-unification of the former colonies of Macau and Hong-Kong with the central Chinese government and further developments in government religious policy, Roman Catholicism in China
Roman Catholicism in China
Roman Catholicism in China has a long and complicated history...
—including clergy, Roman Catholic bishops, and a Cardinal—once again exists openly alongside the members of the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
The Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association , abbreviated CPA, CPCA, or CCPA, is an association of people, established in 1957 by the People's Republic of China's Religious Affairs Bureau to exercise state supervision over mainland China's Catholics...
and their co-religionists in the continuing underground Church.
The Augustinian have recently re-established friendly relations with Chinese educational organisations through school-placement programmes as well as through the University of the Incarnate Word
University of the Incarnate Word
The University of the Incarnate Word is a private Catholic university located within the cities of San Antonio and Alamo Heights in Texas, United States....
Chinese campus founded by the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word.
While there are Chinese Augustinian friars, there is not yet a priory in mainland China re-established.
India
After an extensive period of expansion in India from the 15th century the Portuguese Augustinians had not only established the order but also provided sixteen Indian bishops between 1579 and 1840. The order subsequently disappeared in India, cut off from its usual governance after the suppression of Portuguese monasteries in 1838, and the friars were forced to become secular priests. The order had failed successfully to establish itself as an autonomous indigenous Indian foundation.
However, the Augustinians were re-established by Filipino friars in 1968 at Cochin, and the Indian Augustinians took on further responsibilities in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
in 2005. The Indian order currently has 16 ordained friars and 8 in simple vows. The order is growing numerically in India.
Iran
The missionary history of Iran (Persia) also mentions the Augustinians. Towards the close of the sixteenth century, Aleixo de Menezes
Aleixo de Menezes
Aleixo de Menezes was Archbishop of Goa, Archbishop of Braga, Portugal, and Viceroy of Portugal during the Iberian Union.-Biographical sketch:Aleixo was born in 1559. It is known that he joined the Augustinians...
, Count of Cantanheda (d. 1617), a member of the order, appointed Archbishop of Goa in 1595, and of Braga in 1612, Primate of the East Indies, and several times Viceroy of India, sent several Augustinians as missionaries to Iran (Persia) while he himself laboured for the reunion of the Thomas Christians, especially at the Synod of Diamper, in 1599, and for the conversion of the Muslims and the non-Christians of Malabar.
Japan
Despite a vigorous early Christian foundation in Nagasaki by Jesuits, Franciscans and Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
Augustinians and the many 17th century Japanese Augustinian martyrs, the earlier Augustinian mission attempts eventually failed after the repression of Tokugawa Hidetada
Tokugawa Hidetada
was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate.-Early life :...
(ruled 1605–1623; second Tokugawa shogun of Japan) and the expulsion of Christians under Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu
Tokugawa Iemitsu was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.-Early life :...
(ruled 1623 to 1651; third Tokugawa shogun of Japan).
The Augustinian missions in the Philippines provided missionaries for the East since their first establishment. In 1603 some of them penetrated into Japan, where several were martyred, and in 1653 others entered China, where, in 1701, the order had six missionary stations before their expulsion.
However, American Augustinian friars returned to Japan in 1954, symbolically establishing their first priory in 1959 at Nagasaki (also site of the second atomic bomb dropped on August 13, 1945). They then established priories in Fukuoka
Fukuoka, Fukuoka
is the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture and is situated on the northern shore of the island of Kyushu in Japan.Voted number 14 in a 2010 poll of the World's Most Livable Cities, Fukuoka is praised for its green spaces in a metropolitan setting. It is the most populous city in Kyushu, followed by...
(1959), Nagoya (1964), and Tokyo (1968). As of 2006, there are seven United States Augustinian friars and five Japanese Augustinian friars.
Early Japanese Augustinian leaders, including St Magdalen of Nagasaki and St Thomas Jihyoe are venerated as saints.
Korea
The Augustinian Recollects are also present in Korea, but for the Augustinian friars, the Region of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
was founded in 1985 by Australian, English and Scottish friars. Filipinos later replaced the UK friars. As of 2006 there are 5 Koreans professed in the order and 12 in formation.
The order of friars is growing numerically in Korea.
- Latest Statistics:
As of 2006 (and not counting Spanish Augustinian priories) there were more than 21 other Augustinian houses across the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia, with more than 140 friars in solemn vows and more than 40 in simple vows.
The order of friars is growing in Asia.
Europe
In its most flourishing state at the beginning of the 14th century A.D., the order in Europe had forty-two provinces (besides the two vicariates of India and MoraviaMoravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
) with 2,000 monasteries and about 30,000 members. The Canons Regular and the Augustinian Recollects also have considerable history in Europe.
- Latest statistics:
As of 2006 there were 148 active Augustinian priories in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Spanish houses in the Philippines. This includes 1,031 friars in solemn vows, and 76 in simple vows.
England
In England and Ireland of the 14th century the Augustinian order had had over 800 friars, but these priories had declined (for other reasons) to around 300 friars before the anti-clerical laws of the Reformation Parliament and the Act of Supremacy
Act of Supremacy 1559
The Act of Supremacy 1558 was an Act of the Parliament of England, passed under the auspices of Queen Elizabeth I of England. It replaced the original Act of Supremacy 1534 issued by Elizabeth's father, Henry VIII, which arrogated ecclesiastical authority to the monarchy, and which had been...
. The friaries were dispersed from 1538 in the dissolution of monasteries
Dissolution of the Monasteries
The Dissolution of the Monasteries, sometimes referred to as the Suppression of the Monasteries, was the set of administrative and legal processes between 1536 and 1541 by which Henry VIII disbanded monasteries, priories, convents and friaries in England, Wales and Ireland; appropriated their...
during the English Reformation
English Reformation
The English Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England by which the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church....
. The martyr St John Stone was one of the few British Augustinians to publicly defy the will of Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
in this matter. The partial List of monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII of England alone includes 19 Augustinian houses. Clare Priory
Clare Priory
Clare Priory is a modern English house of the Augustinian order, established 1248 near Clare Castle on the banks of the River Stour in Suffolk. It was one of the first English monastic houses suppressed in 1538 during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but the Irish Augustinian Friars purchased...
was one of the houses dissolved by King Henry VIII, but the Order managed to buy it back in 1953, with help from the family who then owned it.
Spain
A significant Augustinian missionary college was established at the former Spanish capital of Valladolid in 1759—and this house was exempted from the suppression of monastic houses in Spain c.1835, later becoming the centre of restoration for the order in Spain. In 1885 Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
Augustinians took charge of the famous Escorial, and friars continue to administer it today. The modern Augustinian province of Spain was refounded in 1926—largely through Spanish and Filipino friars from the Philippines—but that was not the end of difficulty for the order in Spain. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) ninety eight Augustinians were murdered—sixty five friars from the Escorial alone were executed. Many of the discalced Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , are several Roman Catholic enclosed monastic orders of women living...
of Valencia were also put to death.
As of 2006 there were 177 Spanish Augustinian friars, with 23 in simple profession.
Ireland
The English Province of the Order of Saint Augustine founded their first house in Dublin some time before 1280, and for a considerable time the Augustinians of Ireland were all English, effectively serving the English settlers in Ireland. Great Connell Priory
Great Connell Priory
Great Connell Priory is a former Augustinian monastery dedicated to Saint Mary and Saint David, situated on the eastern side of the River Liffey, in the Barony of Connell just to the south-east of the town of Newbridge, County Kildare, Republic of Ireland....
was founded about 1202. However, by the mid 14th century thirteen houses of the Order had been established in Ireland. The Irish branch was relatively poor, and very few of the indigenous Irish friars were sent to the universities of Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
and Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
for their education (unlike the English Augustinians). The fortunes of the Irish order changed in 1361 when Lionel
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Ulster and 5th Baron of Connaught, KG was the third son, but the second son to survive infancy, of Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault...
, the second son of King Edward III, became viceroy of Ireland. He favoured the order, and soon established an Augustinian professor of theology based at St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Saint Patrick's Cathedral , or more formally, the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Patrick is a cathedral of the Church of Ireland in Dublin, Ireland which was founded in 1191. The Church has designated it as The National Cathedral of Ireland...
, and the Irish order then grew significantly until the time of the English Reformation.
In Ireland after the Reformation Parliament that began in 1529, the Augustinian houses in Leinster
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...
, Munster
Munster
Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...
, Dublin, Dungarvan
Dungarvan
Dungarvan is a town and harbour on the south coast of Ireland in the province of Munster. Dungarvan is the county town and administrative centre of County Waterford. The town's Irish name means "Garbhan's fort", referring to Saint Garbhan who founded a church there in the seventh century...
and Drogheda
Drogheda
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea....
were soon suppressed. The houses in Ardnaree
Ballina, County Mayo
Ballina is a large town in north County Mayo in Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountain range to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west...
, Ballinrobe
Ballinrobe
-Early history:Dating back to 1390, Ballinrobe is said to be the oldest town in South Mayo. The registry of the Dominican friary of Athenry mentions the monastery de Roba, an Augustinian friary whose recently restored ruins are one of the historical landmarks of the town today...
, Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis
Ballyhaunis is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is situated at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line connecting Dublin to Westport and Ballina....
, Banada and Murrisk
Murrisk
Murrisk is one of the Baronial divisions of County Mayo and also a village in County Mayo, Ireland, on the south side of Clew Bay, about 8 km west of Westport and 4 km east of Lecanvey....
managed to remain functioning until 1610. By decree in 1542 the English parliament had allowed the Augustinian community at Dunmore in County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
, Ireland to continue. After 1610 the Dunmore community was the only surviving foundation, and in 1620 the Irish Province of the Augustinians was given pastoral charge of both England (where all houses had been forcibly closed) and Ireland. Irish Augustinian students were sent to the Continent to study, and the Irish Augustinians continued their work in Ireland under the harsh English Penal laws designed to protect the establishment
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
. A number were executed—including William Tirry
William Tirry
William Tirry was a martyred Irish Roman Catholic priest who was beatified by Pope John Paul II for his loyalty to the church....
http://www.augnet.org/default.asp?ipageid=819 OSA (executed 1654 for saying mass). In 1656, in response to the persecution at home, Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII
Pope Alexander VII , born Fabio Chigi, was Pope from 7 April 1655, until his death.- Early life :Born in Siena, a member of the illustrious banking family of Chigi and a great-nephew of Pope Paul V , he was privately tutored and eventually received doctorates of philosophy, law, and theology from...
established the Irish Augustinians in Rome in the church and priory of San Matteo in Merulana. Many Augustinians though remained in Ireland. In 1751 Augustine Cheevers O.S.A, an Irish Augustinian, was made Bishop of Ardagh
Bishop of Ardagh
The Bishop of Ardagh was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Ardagh in County Longford, Ireland. It was used by the Roman Catholic Church until 1756, and intermittently by the Church of Ireland until 1839....
. Others left to work in America and after the 1830s to Australia. After the Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
Act of 1829, the order began to re-organise more openly in Ireland. The Irish friars took the Order back to England, establishing a priory at Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
, London in 1864. They further turned their attention to Nigeria, Australia, America and missionary work. The contemporary Irish order conducts parishes, a school in Dungarvan
St. Augustine's College (Dungarvan)
St. Augustine's College , at Duckspool Abbeyside in Dungarvan is a co-educational secondary school in Ireland. It was founded and is now conducted by the Irish Augustinians. The school recently received a grant of €750,000 in order to give the school a much needed and sought after renovation...
(founded 1874), a school in New Ross
St Augustine's and Good Counsel College, New Ross
St Augustine's and Good Counsel College,' New Ross, known exclusively as "Good Counsel College" or 'The Counsel' by its students and residents of the local area, is an all-boys secondary school in Ireland which caters for over 850 students. It was founded and is now conducted by the Irish...
and special ministries in Ireland.
Contemporary Ireland is undergoing rapid change, and this presents challenges to the order there. Many Irish emigrants (including Augustinian friars) are now returning. Over 40,000 immigrants each year are admitted to keep the Irish economy working, and many are coming from the new Eastern European members of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. For example, there are now over 100,000 Poles in the country as well as asylum seekers from Africa and the Balkan countries. The formerly unified Celtic culture of Ireland is diversifying, and this means its predominantly Celtic Catholic ethos as well.
Europe (Setbacks)
Many European Augustinian priories and foundations suffered serious setbacks (including suppression and destruction) from the various periods of anti-clericalism during the Reformation and other historical events such as the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, the Spanish civil war
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
(among more than 6,000 clergy, 155 Spanish Augustinians were killed), the two World Wars and Communist repression.
French-speaking lands
The order of friars in Spain and France has had an eventful history, from being part of the Grand Union, through the periods of extensive Spanish colonisation, the French Revolution, the effects of the Napoleonic wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, suppression of the order, the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
, and then Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
.
German-speaking lands
The successful German branch, which until 1299 was counted as one province, was then divided into four provinces. These provinces produced significant Augustinian leaders and reformers. These included the most famous German Augustinian theologian before the Augustinian Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
: Andreas Proles (d. 1503), the founder of the Union or Congregation of the Observant Augustinian Hermits, organized after strict principles; Johann von Paltz, the famous Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
professor and pulpit-orator (d. 1511); Bartholomaeus Arnoldi
Bartholomaeus Arnoldi
Bartholomaeus Arnoldi was an Augustinian friar and doctor of divinity who taught Martin Luther and later turned into his earliest and one of his personally closest opponents.-Life:...
von Usingen (d. 1532); as well as Johann von Staupitz
Johann von Staupitz
Johann von Staupitz was a theologian, university preacher, Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order in Germany who supervised Martin Luther during a critical period in that man's spiritual life. Martin Luther himself remarked, "If it had not been for Dr...
, Luther's monastic superior and Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
colleague (d. 1524).
Reforms were also introduced into the extra-German branches of the order, but a long time after Proles's reform and in connection with the Counter-Reformation
Counter-Reformation
The Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Augustinian credentials of Martin Luther did not prevent anti-clerical attacks on the order during the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, and neither did it enhance the order's political influence within the Catholic Church during the Counter-Reformation.
A number of mathematicians, astronomers, and musicians are also found among the members of the order, but it was the great scientist Johann Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel was an Austrian scientist and Augustinian friar who gained posthumous fame as the founder of the new science of genetics. Mendel demonstrated that the inheritance of certain traits in pea plants follows particular patterns, now referred to as the laws of Mendelian inheritance...
, abbot of the Czech monastery of St. Thomas
St Thomas's Abbey, Brno
St Thomas's Abbey in Brno a big austrian church]] located in the Czech Republic. The geneticist and Abbot Gregor Mendel was its most famous religious leader to date, and between 1856 and 1863 conducted his experiments on pea plants in the monastery garden...
at Alt-Brunn
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
in Moravia (d. 1884) who gave great credit to the Augustinian Order's scholarship in the 19th century. He was the discoverer of the Mendelian laws
Mendelian inheritance
Mendelian inheritance is a scientific description of how hereditary characteristics are passed from parent organisms to their offspring; it underlies much of genetics...
of heredity and hybridization.
Growth or Decline of the Order Internationally
Given that the Roman Catholic Church in the Western world has been experiencing a decline in vocations to the priesthood and religious life since the 1960s, a relatively simple way to assess the vigour of this order is to compare the numbers of those in solemn professionProfession (religious)
The term religious profession is defined in the 1983 Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to members of religious institutes as follows:By religious profession members make a public vow to observe the three evangelical counsels...
(vows) with those in simple profession. For a mendicant order such as the Augustinians, the most formal and significant commitments are the permanent and lifelong vows of Solemn profession. Ordination is considered a separate matter, and though most are, the Augustinian friar may or may not be ordained priest or deacon. Those in simple profession are the newer members of the order, but have agreed to make a serious commitment (temporary, but with a view to permanent commitment), and been formally accepted as suitable by senior members of the order to make that formal commitment. The figures quoted do not include aspirants to the order who have not reached the significant step of simple profession. The details of the median age of friars in respective national grouping is another way of assessing the vigour of the order, but these details are not included here. They may be found on the order's international website. Likewise, the growth of lay
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
organisations of Augustinian spirituality is another (less-precise) way of measuring the vigour of the order.
Extension
The Bull "Licet ecclesiae catholicae" mentions the hermit convents that had been invited to take part in the proceedings at Rome, in 1256, which led to the union. "Quaedam [domus] S. Guillelmi, quaedam S. Augustini ordinum, nonnullae autem fratris Joannis Boni, aliquae vero de Fabali, aliae vero de Britinis." According to this statement, the original branches of the hermits were:- The WilliamitesHermits of Saint WilliamThe Hermits of Saint William was a monastic order founded by Albert, companion and biographer of William of Maleval, and Renaldus, a physician who had settled at Maleval shortly before the saint's death...
, founded by St. William of Maleval shortly before his death in 1157. From this congregation sprang two others, the principal houses being at Stabulum Rodis, in the valley of Maleval, and at Fabali on Monte Fabali. The mode of life, originally very severe, was mitigated by Pope Gregory IX, under whom the majority of the Williamite monasteries adopted the Rule of St. Benedict. When these were required by the Bull "Licet ecclesiae catholicae" to join the new order, they raised objections and obtained a prohibition to exchange the Benedictine Rule for the milder one of the Augustinians. (See Guil. De Waha, "Explanatio vitae S. Guillelmi Magni" etc., 1693; "Acta Sanct. Boll.", Feb., II, 450 sqq.; "Kirchenlex.", 2nd ed., XII, 1609 sqq.) - Several unspecified houses of the Order of St. Augustine, established chiefly in Italy, and forming separate congregations. To these belong the Hermits of the Holy Trinity in TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, who had already been united into an Augustinian congregation by Pope Innocent IV, in 1243, with Cardinal Richard for a protector, and with indulgences granted to those who visited their churches (in 1244). - The Bonites, so called from their founder, Blessed John Buoni, a member of the Buonuomini family, born about 1168 in Mantua. He lived a hermit's life at Cesena, and died in his native city in 1249 (Lodi, "Vita e miracoli del b. Giov. Buoni", Mantua, 1591; "Acta SS. Boll.", Oct., IX, 693 sq.). In the year 1256 the Bonites possessed eleven monasteries and gave the first general to the Augustinian Order (see above).
- The Brittinians (Brictinians), so called from their oldest foundation, that of St. Blasius de Brittinis, near FanoFanoFano is a town and comune of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
, in the MarcheMarcheThe population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
district of AnconaAnconaAncona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. Many congregations, such as the Brothers of Penance of Christ (Saccati, or "Sack-bearers"), the foundations of Durandus of Huesca (Osca), and those of the "Catholic Poor", united with the Bonites.
The Hermits of St. Augustine spread rapidly, partly because they did not radiate from a single parent monastery, and partly because, after violent conflicts in the previously existing congregations, the active life was finally adopted by the greater number of communities, following the example of the Friars Minor and the Dominicans. To the Brittinians alone, in 1260, was granted permission to continue following the contemplative life. A few years after the reorganization of the Augustinian Order, Hermit monasteries sprang up in Germany, France and Spain. Germany soon possessed forty, many of them large and important, such as those at Mainz, Würzburg, Worms, Nuremberg, Speyer, Strasburg, Ratisbon, all built between 1260 and 1270. As early as the year 1299, the German province was divided into four sub-provinces: the Rhenish-Swabian, the Cologne, the Bavarian and the Saxon. At the period of its greates prosperity the order comprised 42 ecclesiastical province
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
s and 2 vicariates numbering 2000 monasteries and about 30,000 members. (Cf. Aug. Lubin, "Orbis Augustinianus sive conventuum O. Erem. S. A. chorographica et topographica descriptio", Paris, 1659, 1671, 1672.)
This modern Latin Rite branch is active in society (i.e. not enclosed) and it is counted comprehensively in the article below. It is headed by the international Prior-General in Rome, and while spiritually and historically connected is now canonically separate from the other Independent Augustinian Communities
Independent Augustinian Communities
Independent Augustinian communities are Roman Catholic religious communities that follow the Augustinian Rule, but are not under the jurisdiction of the Prior General of the Augustinian hermits in Rome....
such as the 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...
, Discalced Augustinians
Discalced Augustinians
The reform movement of Roman Catholic religious orders, which occurred as part of the Counterreformation developing in Catholic Europe, also found sympathy among the friars of the Augustinian Order...
, Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns
Augustinian nuns are the most ancient and continuous segment of the Roman Catholic Augustinian religious order under the canons of contemporary historical method. The Augustinian nuns, named after Saint Augustine of Hippo , are several Roman Catholic enclosed monastic orders of women living...
, Premontres, Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
The Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception is an Institute of Consecrated Life which follows the Augustinian Rule, and is part of the Canonical Order of the Canons Regular of St...
, Augustinian Recollects
Augustinian Recollects
-History:The Order of Augustinian Recollects or simply the Augustinian Recollects are a Roman Catholic mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. They are a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follow the same Rule of St...
and the Dominicans.
Priories All Over the World
The modern order of friars (Under the Prior General in Rome) is associated with the United NationsUnited Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
as a Non-Governmental Organization and maintains a full-time representative to the United Nations. Worldwide there are nearly 2,800 Augustinian friars working in:
- Algeria
- Argentina
- Austria
- Australia
- Belgium
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Canada
- Chile
- China
- Colombia
- Dem. Rep. Congo
- Costa Rica
- Cuba
- Czech Republic
- Dominican Republic
- England
- Ecuador
- France
- Germany
- Guinea
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Kenya
- Madagascar
- Malta
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Panama
- Papua
- PeruProvince of Our Lady of Grace of PeruComing from the Agustinian Mission of Mexico, the Priest Agustin de la Santísima Trinidad, come to Peru with 12 agustinian, and created the Province of Peru, dedicated to the Mother of Grace....
- PhilippinesAugustinian Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the PhilippinesThe Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus of the Philippines of the religious Order of St. Augustine was officially formed on March 7, 1575.-Historical background:...
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Scotland
- Spain
- South Korea
- Tanzania
- Togo
- U.S.A.
- Uruguay
- Vatican City
- Venezuela
Around 1,500 women live in Augustinian enclosed convents in:
- Bolivia
- Canada
- Chile
- Ecuador
- Italy
- Kenya
- Malta
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Panama
- Peru
- Philippines
- Spain
- Switzerland
- U.S.A
Historic Reform movements
In the fourteenth century, owing to various causes such as the mitigation of the rule—either by permission of the pope, or through a lessening of fervour, but chiefly because of the PlagueBlack Death
The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...
and the Great Western Schism—discipline became relaxed in the Augustinian monasteries; and so reformers emerged who were anxious to restore it. These reformers were themselves Augustinians and instituted several reformed congregations, each having its own vicar-general (vicarius-generalis), but all under the control of the general of the order.
The most important of these congregations of the "Regular Observants" were those of Illiceto, in the district of Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, established in 1385. They initially had 12, and subsequently 8, convents. St. John ad Carbonariam (founded c. 1390) had 14 convents, Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
(1491), had 11, and the Lombardic Congregation (1430) had 56. The Congregation of the Spanish Observance (1430) included all the Castilian monasteries from 1505. The reform of Monte Ortono near Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
(1436) had 6 convents, the Regular Observants of the Blessed Virgin at Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
(also called Our Lady of Consolation (c. 1470) had 25. The Regular Observants of Apulia
Apulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
(c. 1490) had 11; the Congregation of Zampani
Zampani
Zampani is a railway station located on Tenali-Repalle railway in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.it is a small place which had a co-operative sugar factory some time back, closed down now....
in Calabria (1507) had 40. The German (or Saxon) Congregation (1493) flourished; the Congregation of Zampani
Zampani
Zampani is a railway station located on Tenali-Repalle railway in Guntur district, Andhra Pradesh, India.it is a small place which had a co-operative sugar factory some time back, closed down now....
in Calabria (1507) had 40 convents, the Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
n Congregation (1510) had 6,the Congregation of the Colorites (of Monte Colorito in Calabria (1600) had 11. At Centorbio in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
(1590) there were 18, and the "Little Augustinians" of Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
, France (c. 1593) had 20. The Spanish, Italian and French congregations of Discalced, or Barefooted, Augustinians were successful (see below), and the Congregation del Bosco in Sicily established in the year 1818 had 3 convents.
Among these reformed congregations, besides those of the Barefooted Augustinians, the most important was the German (Saxon) Congregation. As in Italy, Spain and France, reforms were begun as early as the fifteenth century in the four German provinces existing since 1299. Johannes Zachariae, an Augustinian monk of Eschwege
Eschwege
Eschwege , the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany.- Location :The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Werra at the foot of the Leuchtberg northwest of the Schlierbachswald and east of the Hoher Meißner...
, Provincial of the Order from 1419–1427 and professor of theology at the University of Erfurt, began a reform in 1492. Andreas Proles, prior of the Himmelpforten monastery, near Wernigerode
Wernigerode
Wernigerode is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,500 in 1999....
, strove to introduce the reforms of Father Heinrich Zolter in as many Augustinian monasteries as possible. Proles, aided by Father Simon Lindner of Nuremberg and other zealous Augustinians, worked indefatigably till his death, in 1503, to reform the Saxon monasteries, even calling in the assistance of the secular ruler of the country. As the result of his efforts, the German, or Saxon, Reformed Congregation, recognized in 1493, comprised nearly all the important convents of the Augustinian Hermits in Germany.
Johann von Staupitz
Johann von Staupitz
Johann von Staupitz was a theologian, university preacher, Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order in Germany who supervised Martin Luther during a critical period in that man's spiritual life. Martin Luther himself remarked, "If it had not been for Dr...
, his successor as vicar of the congregation, followed in his footsteps. Staupitz had been prior at Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, then at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and had taken a prominent part in founding the University of Wittenberg in 1502, where he became a professor of theology and the first dean of that faculty. He continued to reform the order with the zeal of Proles, as well as in his spirit and with his methods. He collected the "Constitutiones fratrum eremitarum S. August. ad apostolicorum privilegiorum formam pro Reformatione Alemanniae", which were approved in a chapter held at Nuremberg in 1504. A printed copy of these is still to be seen in the university library of Jena. Supported by the general of the order, Aegidius of Viterbo
Aegidius of Viterbo
Aegidius Antonini of Viterbo was an Italian Augustinian cardinal, a reforming theologian, orator, humanist and poet. He was born at Viterbo, Italy and died at Rome.-Life:...
, he obtained a papal brief
Papal brief
The Papal Brief is a formal document emanating from the Pope, in a somewhat simpler and more modern form than a Papal Bull.-History:The introduction of briefs, which occurred at the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Eugenius IV , was clearly prompted for the same desire for greater simplicity...
(15 March 1506), granting independence under their own vicar-general to the reformed German congregations and furthermore, 15 December 1507, a papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
commanding the union of the Saxon province with the German Congregation of the Regular Observants. All the Augustinian convents of Northern Germany were, in accordance with this decree, to become parts of the regular observance. But when, in 1510, Staupitz commanded all the hermits of the Saxon province to accept the regular observance on pain of being punished as rebels, and to obey him as well as the general of the order, and, on 30 September, published the papal Bull at Wittenberg, seven convents refused to obey, among them that of Erfurt, of which Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
was a member—Luther seems to have gone to Rome on this occasion as a representative of the rebellious monks.
Because of this appeal to Rome, the consolidation did not take place. Staupitz also continued to favour Luther even after this. They had become acquainted at Erfurt, during a visitation, and Staupitz was responsible for Luther's summons to Wittenberg in 1508; yet even after 1517 he entertained friendly sentiments for Luther, looking upon his ideas as being motivated only against abuses. From 1519 on, he gradually turned away from Luther. Staupitz resigned his office of vicar-general of the German congregations in 1520. Father Wenzel Link, preacher at Nuremberg, former professor and dean of the theological faculty at Wittenberg, who was elected his successor, cast his lot with Luther, whose views were endorsed at a chapter of the Saxon province held in January, 1522, at Wittenberg. In 1523 Link resigned his office and became a Lutheran preacher at Altenberg, where he introduced the Reformation and married. In 1528 he went as preacher to Nuremberg, where he died in 1547. The examples of Luther and Link were followed by many Augustinians of the Saxon province, and their convents gradually became more and more deserted. The convent of Erfurt ceased to exist in 1525. German houses that remained in communion with Rome then united with the Lombardic Congregation.
Many Augustinians in Germany opposed the Reformation by their writings and their sermons, such as Bartholomäus Arnoldi of Usingen (d. 1532 at Würzburg), who for thirty years was professor at Erfurt and one of Luther's teachers, Johannes Hoffmeister (d. 1547), Wolfgang Cappelmair (d. 1531) and Konrad Treger (d. 1542).
The chief house of the order remains the International College of St. Monica at Rome, Via S. Uffizio No. 1. It is also the residence of the general of the order (prior generalis) and of the curia generalis. Another priory of the Augustinian order in Rome is that of S. Augustinus de Urbe, established in 1483, near the church of St. Augustine. It was there that the remains of St. Monica, the mother if St. Augustine, were deposited when they were brought from Ostia in the year 1430. This, formerly the chief priory of the order, was later occupied by the Italian Ministry of Marine, and the Augustinian friars who serve the church retained only a small portion of their former property. Another Augustinian priory in Rome is S. Maria de Populo de Urbe
Santa Maria del Popolo
Santa Maria del Popolo is an Augustinian church located in Rome, Italy.It stands to the north side of the Piazza del Popolo, one of the most famous squares in the city. The Piazza is situated between the ancient Porta Flaminia and the park of the Pincio...
.
In 1331 Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII , born Jacques Duèze , was pope from 1316 to 1334. He was the second Pope of the Avignon Papacy , elected by a conclave in Lyon assembled by Philip V of France...
had appointed the Augustinian Hermits guardians of the tomb of St. Augustine in the Church of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
. They were driven from there in 1700, and evacuated to Milan. Their priory was destroyed in 1799, the church desecrated, and the remains of St. Augustine were taken back to Pavia and placed in its cathedral. The church of S. Pietro was restored, and on 7 October 1900, the body of the saint and Doctor of the church was removed from the cathedral and replaced in San Pietro—an event commemorated in a poem by Pope Leo XIII. The Augustinians were subsequently restored their old church of S. Pietro.
Government
The Order of St Augustine, while following the rule known as that of St. Augustine, are also subject to the Constitutions drawn up by Augustinus Novellus (d. 1309), prior general of the order from 1298 to 1300, and by Clement of Osimo. The Rule and Constitutions were approved at the general chapter held at Florence in 1287 and at Ratisbon in 1290. A revision was made at Rome in 1895. The Constitutions have frequently been printed: at Rome, in 1581, and, with the commentary of Girolamo SeripandoGirolamo Seripando
Girolamo Seripando was an Augustinian friar, Italian theologian and cardinal.- Life :He was of noble birth, and intended by his parents for the legal profession...
, at Venice, in 1549, and at Rome, in 1553. The newly revised Constitutions were published at Rome in 1895, with additions in 1901 and 1907.
The government of the order is as follows: At the head is the prior general. Currently, the prior general is The Most Reverend Father Robert F. Prevost, OSA, who was first elected in 2001 and was recently reelected in 2007. The prior general is elected every six years by the general chapter. The prior general is aided by four assistants and a secretary, also elected by the general chapter. These form the Curia Generalitia. Each province is governed by a provincial
Provincial superior
A Provincial Superior is a major superior of a religious order acting under the order's Superior General and exercising a general supervision over all the members of that order in a territorial division of the order called a province--similar to but not to be confused with an ecclesiastical...
, each commissariate by a commissary general, each of the two congregations by a vicar-general, and every monastery by a prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
(only the Czech monastery of Alt-Brunn
St Thomas's Abbey, Brno
St Thomas's Abbey in Brno a big austrian church]] located in the Czech Republic. The geneticist and Abbot Gregor Mendel was its most famous religious leader to date, and between 1856 and 1863 conducted his experiments on pea plants in the monastery garden...
, in Moravia, is under an 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...
) and every college by a rector. The members of the order are divided into priests and brothers.
The Augustinians, like most religious orders, have a cardinal protector
Cardinal protector
Since the thirteenth century it has been customary at Rome to confide to some particular Cardinal a special solicitude in the Roman Curia for the interests of a given religious order or institute, confraternity, church, college, city, nation etcetera. Such a person is known as a Cardinal Protector...
.
The Habit
The choir and outdoor dress of the monks is of black woollen material, with long, wide sleeves, a black leather cincture
Cincture
The cincture is a liturgical vestment, worn encircling the body around or above the waist. The term has two distinct meanings, the usage generally dividing along denominational lines...
and a long pointed capuche reaching to the cincture. The indoor dress consists of a black habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
with capuche and cincture. In many Augustinian houses white is used in Summer and also worn in public, usually in places where there were no Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. Shoes and out of doors (prior to Vatican II) a black hat or biretta completed the habit.
Modern distribution
As of 2006 there were 148 active Augustinian priories in Europe, including Germany, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, England, Scotland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Malta, Spain and Spanish houses in the Philippines. This includes 1,031 friars in solemn vows, and 76 in simple vows. The order established the first of their Canadian houses at Tracadie, Nova ScotiaNova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
in Canada in 1938. Among other Canadian foundations, the order also established a significant priory and St. Thomas of Villanova College
St. Thomas of Villanova College
St. Thomas of Villanova College is a middle school and high school in King City, Ontario, Canada. It was established at Mary Lake by lay educators Paul Paradiso and Grant Purdy in 1999 at Mary Lake Augustinian Monastery as a Catholic school together with the Order of Saint Augustine's friars of...
in Toronto. The order, by 2006 has since professed many native Canadians.
As of 2006 there were more than 70 Augustinian priories in the United States and Canada with 386 friars in solemn vows and 16 in simple vows. In Central and South America, the Augustinians remain established in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela as well three Peruvian Vicariates of Iquitos, Apurímac and Chulucanas, and the Province of Peru. There are currently 814 friars in Latin America.
As of 2006, there were more than 30 other Augustinian priories in Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, South Africa and Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, with over 85 friars in solemn vows, and more than 60 in simple vows. There are also Augustinians working in the Republic of Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
and Burkina.
The Augustnian order in the Region of Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
was founded in 1985 by Australian, English and Scottish friars. Filipinos later replaced the UK friars. As of 2006 there are 5 Koreans professed in the order and 12 in formation.
As of 2006 there were 11 Augustinian priories in Australia with 36 friars in solemn vows, and one in simple vows. The order of friars is in numerical decline in Australia while affiliated orders are growing.
As of 2006 (and not counting Spanish Augustinian priories) there were more than 21 other Augustinian houses across the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, India, Korea, Japan, and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, with more than 140 friars in solemn vows and more than 40 in simple vows.
The work of Augustinians
The work of the Augustinians includes teaching, scientific study, parish and pastoral work (cure of soulsCure of souls
In some denominations of Christianity, the cure of souls , an archaic translation which is better rendered today as "care of souls," is the exercise by a priest of his office. This typically embraces instruction, by sermons and admonitions, and administration of sacraments, to the congregation...
) and missions.
Teaching
The history of education makes frequent mention of Augustinians who distinguished themselves particularly as professors of philosophy and theology at the great universities of SalamancaSalamanca
Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to...
, Coimbra
Coimbra
Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...
, Alcalá
Alcalá de Henares
Alcalá de Henares , meaning Citadel on the river Henares, is a Spanish city, whose historical centre is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, and one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain...
, Padua
Padua
Padua is a city and comune in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice and Treviso, in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, having...
, Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Paris, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Würzburg
Würzburg
Würzburg is a city in the region of Franconia which lies in the northern tip of Bavaria, Germany. Located at the Main River, it is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. The regional dialect is Franconian....
, Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
, Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, Wittenberg
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a city in Germany in the Bundesland Saxony-Anhalt, on the river Elbe. It has a population of about 50,000....
etc. Others taught successfully in the schools of the Order, which controlled a number of secondary schools, colleges etc. In 1685 the Bishop of Würzburg, Johann Gottfried II, of Guttenberg, confided to the care of the Augustinians the parish and the gymnasium of Munnerstadt in Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia
Lower Franconia is one of the three administrative regions of Franconia in Bavaria , Germany ....
(Bavaria), a charge that they still retain; connected with the monastery of St. Michael in that place is a monastic school, while the seminary directed by the Augustinians forms another convent, that of St. Joseph. From 1698 to 1805 there existed an Augustinian gymnasium at Bedburg
Bedburg
Bedburg is a town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia of Germany with 25,000 residents. The town is documented as existing as early as 893.-External links:*...
in the district of Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
. The Order possesses altogether fifteen colleges, academies and seminaries in Italy, Spain and America. The chief institutions of this kind in Spain are that at Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
and that in the Escorial.
As a pedagogical writer, we may mention the general of the order Aegidius of Colonna (Giles of Rome), who died Archbishop of Bourges in 1316. Aegidius served as the preceptor of the French king, Philip IV
Philip IV of France
Philip the Fair was, as Philip IV, King of France from 1285 until his death. He was the husband of Joan I of Navarre, by virtue of which he was, as Philip I, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne from 1284 to 1305.-Youth:A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born at the Palace of...
, the Fair, at whose request he wrote the work De regimine Principum.
Aegidius of Colonna was a disciple of the Scholastic St. Thomas Aquinas, and founded the school of theology known as the Augustinian school, which was divided into an earlier and a later. Representatives of the earlier Augustinian school (or Aegidians), include—besides Aegidius himself—(Doctor fundatissimus) Thomas of Strasburg
Thomas of Strasburg
Thomas of Strasburg was a fourteenth-century scholastic of the Augustinian Order.In 1347, two years after he became general, his second son died of the plague. In 1345 he became the general of his order, a position he would hold for the rest of his life. During his tenure he would revise the...
(d. 1357) and Gregory of Rimini
Gregory of Rimini
Gregory of Rimini , also called Gregorius de Arimino or Ariminensis, was one of the great scholastic philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages...
(d. 1358), both generals of the order, and Augustine Gibbon, professor at Würzburg (d. 1676). The later Augustinian school of theology is represented by Cardinal Henry Noris
Henry Noris
Henry Noris was an Italian church historian, theologian and Cardinal, of English ancestry....
(d. 1704), Federico Nicolò Gavardi (d. 1715), Fulgentius Bellelli (d. 1742), Petrus Manso (d. after 1729), Joannes Laurentius Berti (d. 1766) and Michelangelo Marcelli (d. 1804).
Jacques Barthelemy de Buillon, a French Augustinian exiled by the Revolution, fled to Munich and began the education of deaf and dumb children.
Theology
Augustianian hermits included the following notable theologians:- James of ViterboJames of ViterboBlessed James of Viterbo , known as Giacomo da Viterbo, Jacobus de Viterbo, surname Capocci, and nicknamed Doctor speculativus, was an Augustinian friar and student of Giles of Rome.He was born in Viterbo, Italy...
(Giacomo di Capoccio), Archbishop of Benevento and Archbishop of Naples(d. 1308), called Doctor speculativus - Alexander a S. Elpideo (also called Fassitelli or A. de Marchina) (d. 1326), Bishop of Melfi
- Augustinus TriumphusAugustinus TriumphusAugustinus Triumphus , also known as Augustinus of Ancona or Agostino Trionfo, was a Hermit of St. Augustine and writer. He is celebrated for his work Summa de potestate ecclesiastica, printed in 1473. In the latter part of the sixteenth century, according to William J...
(d. 1328) - Bartholomew of Urbino (also called de Carusis) (d. 1350), Bishop of Urbino;
- Henry of FriemarHenry of FriemarHenry of Friemar was a German Augustinian theologian....
(d. 1354) - Blessed Herman of Schildesche (Schildis, near Bielefeld) (d. 1357), called Doctor Germanus and Magnus legista
- Giacomo Caraccioli (d. 1357)
- Simon Baringuedus (d. after 1373)
- Johann Klenkok (Klenke) (d. 1374), author of the Decadicon, an attack on the SachsenspiegelSachsenspiegelThe Sachsenspiegel is the most important law book and legal code of the German Middle Ages. Written ca...
- Johannes Zachariae (d. 1428), known for his controversy with John Hus at the Council of ConstanceCouncil of ConstanceThe Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...
and for his "Oratio de necessitate reformationis" - Paulus (Nicolettus) de Venetiis (d. 1429)
- Giovanni Dati (d. 1471)
- Ambrose of Cora (Corianus, Coriolanus) (d. 1485), general of the order after 1476
- Thomas Pencket (d. 1487)
- Aegidius of ViterboAegidius of ViterboAegidius Antonini of Viterbo was an Italian Augustinian cardinal, a reforming theologian, orator, humanist and poet. He was born at Viterbo, Italy and died at Rome.-Life:...
(d. 1532) - Cosmas Damian Hortulanus (Hortola) (d. 1568)
- Caspar Casal (d. 1587), Bishop of Coimbra
- Pedro Aragon (d. 1595)
- Giovanni Battista Arrighi (d. 1607)
- Gregorio Nuñez CoronelGregorio Nuñez CoronelGregorio Nuñez Coronel was a Portuguese Augustinian theologian, writer, and preacher.-Life:At an early age he entered the Order of St. Augustine...
(d. 1620) - Aegidius a Praesentatione Fonseca (d. 1626)
- Luigi Alberti (d. 1628)
- Basilius Pontius (d. 1629)
- Ludovicus Angelicus Aprosius (d. 1681)
- Nikolaus Gircken (d. 1717).
Giovanni Michele Cavalieri (d. 1757) was a rubricist of note. Father Angelo Rocca
Angelo Rocca
Angelo Rocca founder of the Angelica Library at Rome, afterwards accessible from 1604 as a public library....
, papal sacristan and titular Bishop of Tagaste (d. 1620), known for his liturgical and archaeological researches, founded the Angelica Library (Bibliotheca Angelica), called after him, which became the public library of the Augustinians in Rome.
Writing
Many Augustinians have written ascetic works and sermons. In historical writing there are:- Onofrio Panvini (d. 1568)
- Joachim Brulius (d. after 1652), who wrote a history of the colonization and Christianizing of PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(Antwerp, 1615) and a history of China - Enrique FlorezEnrique FlorezEnrique Flórez de Setién y Huidobro was a Spanish historian.Florez was born in Valladolid. At 15 years old, he entered the order of St Augustine. He subsequently became professor of theology at the University of Alcala, where he published a Cursus theologiae in five volumes...
(d. 1773), called "the first historian of Spain", author of "Espana Sagrada" - Manuel RiscoManuel RiscoJuan Manuel Martínez Ugarte , known as Manuel Risco or Padre Risco, was a Spanish historian. Born at Haro, he took the Augustinian habit at the Convento de Nuestra Señora del Risco in the Diocese of Ávila...
(d. 1801), author of a history of printing in Spain.
Augustinian Devotional Practices
The particular devotional practices connected with the Augustinian Order, and which it has striven to propagate, include the veneration of the Blessed Virgin under the title of "Mother of Good Counsel" (Mater Boni Consilii), whose miraculous picture is to be seen in the Augustinian church at Genazzano in the Roman province. This devotion has spread to other churches and countries, and confraternities have been formed to encourage it. Several periodicals dedicated to the honour of Our Lady of Good Counsel are published in Italy, Spain and Germany by the Augustinians (cf. Meschler on the history of the miraculous picture of Genazzano in "Stimmen aus Maria-Laach", LXVII, 482 sqq.).Besides this devotion, the order traditionally fostered the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation. Traditionally, the girdle confraternity, members of which wear a blessed girdle of black leather in honour of Saints Augustine, Monica and Nicholas of Tolentino
Nicholas of Tolentino
Saint Nicholas of Tolentino , known as the Patron of Holy Souls, was an Italian saint and mystic.-Biography:...
, recite daily thirteen Our Fathers and Hail Marys and the Salve Regina, fast strictly on the eve of the feast of St. Augustine, and received Holy Communion on the feasts of the three above-named saints. This confraternity was founded by Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
at San Giacomo, Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, in 1439, made an archconfraternity
Archconfraternity
An archconfraternity is a Roman Catholic confraternity, empowered to aggregate or affiliate other confraternities of the same nature, and to impart to them its indulgences and privileges.-Status and operation:...
by Gregory XIII, in 1575, aggregated to the Augustinian Order, and favoured with indulgences. The Augustinians, with the approbation of Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
, also encourage the devotion of the Scapular
Scapular
The term scapular as used today refers to two specific, yet related, Christian Sacramentals, namely the monastic and devotional scapulars, although both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular"....
of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the propagation of the Third Order
Third order
The term Third Order designates persons who live according to the Third Rule of a Roman Catholic religious order, an Anglican religious order, or a Lutheran religious order. Their members, known as Tertiaries, are generally lay members of religious orders, i.e...
of St. Augustine for the laity, as well as the veneration of St. Augustine and his mother St. Monica, to instill the Augustinian spirit of prayer and self-sacrifice into their parishioners.
See also
- Augustinian RecollectsAugustinian Recollects-History:The Order of Augustinian Recollects or simply the Augustinian Recollects are a Roman Catholic mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. They are a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follow the same Rule of St...
- Bridgittines
- Canons RegularCanons RegularCanons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons living in community under the Augustinian Rule , and sharing their property in common...
- Canons Regular of Saint John CantiusCanons Regular of Saint John CantiusThe Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius is a clerical Institute of Consecrated Life in the Catholic Church, founded in 1998 in the Archdiocese of Chicago as the Society of St. John Cantius by Fr. C. Frank Phillips, C.R., the pastor of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago...
- Canons Regular of the Immaculate ConceptionCanons Regular of the Immaculate ConceptionThe Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception is an Institute of Consecrated Life which follows the Augustinian Rule, and is part of the Canonical Order of the Canons Regular of St...
- The DominicansDominican OrderThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
- Independent Augustinian CommunitiesIndependent Augustinian CommunitiesIndependent Augustinian communities are Roman Catholic religious communities that follow the Augustinian Rule, but are not under the jurisdiction of the Prior General of the Augustinian hermits in Rome....
- Liturgy of the HoursLiturgy of the hoursThe Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
- Norbertines
- Order of the Canons Regular of Premontre
- Our Lady of Good CounselOur Lady of Good CounselOur Lady of Good Counsel is a title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after an allegedly miraculous painting now found in the thirteenth century Augustinian church at Genazzano, near Rome, Italy. Measuring 40 by 45 centimeters the image is a fresco executed on a thin layer of porcelain no thicker...
- Society of Saint AugustineSociety of Saint AugustineThe Society of Saint Augustine , also known as the "Augustinians of Kansas" is a Roman Catholic Institute of Consecrated Life which takes as its pattern of living, the way of life delineated in the Rule of Saint Augustine of Hippo...
External links
- International Order of St. Augustine
- Augustinians in Canada
- Augnet.org
- Text of the Rule of St. Augustine
- Catholic Encyclopedia entry for the "Hermits of St Augustine"
- Catholic Encyclopedia entry for "Canons and Canonesses Regular"
- Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
- The Augustinian Recollects
- Augustinian nuns (America)
- Augustinian nuns at Santo Quattro, Rome, Italy
- Augustinian nuns at Cascia, Italy
- List of Augustinian Saints
- Augustinian Missionary Sisters
- Italian language site of the Discalced Augustinians
- Augustines of the Mercy of Jesus
- Augustinian friars in Britain
- Augustinian friars in Ireland
- Brothers Hospitallers of St John of God
- Augustinian Canons of Stift Klosterneuburg in Austria
- Order of the Hermit Friars of St. Augustine (O.S.A.)
- The Society of Saint Augustine (S.S.A.)
- Augustinians in Brazil (Portuguese language)
- Augustinians of the Midwest
- Augustinians of the East Coast, Province of St. Thomas of Villanova
- Order of Augustinians of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Independent Catholic
- One Mind, One Heart - Augustine's Spirituality of Religious Life
- Catholic Encyclopaedia article