Paulists
Encyclopedia
Paulists, or Paulines, is the name used for several Roman Catholic Orders and Congregations taken in honour and under the patronage of St. Paul the Hermit.
From the time that the abode and virtues of St. Paul were revealed to St. Antony the Abbot, various communities of hermits adopted him as their patron saint
. These are treated on this page.
The name Paulists, however, was also applied to the members of congregations established under the patronage of St. Paul the Apostle.
(18 December 1620) and later by king Louis XIII of France
(May, 1621).
There were two classes of monasteries, those in the cities, obliged to maintain at least twelve members, who visited the poor, the sick, and prisoners, attended those condemned to death, and buried the dead; and the houses outside the city, with which were connected separate cells in which solitaries lived, the whole community assembling weekly for choir and monthly in chapter to confess their sins. Severe fasts and disciplines were prescribed. The name Brothers of Death originated from the fact that the thought of death was constantly before the religious. At their profession the prayers for the dead were recited; their scapular
bore the skull; their salutation was Memento mori 'remember you're to die'; the death's head was set before them at table and in their cells. This congregation was suppressed by Urban VIII in 1633.
, where he built an oratory and gave himself up to prayer and penance, gradually assuming the leadership of a number of other hermits in the vicinity.
Later a community of hermits of Sierra de Ossa, the date of whose foundation is also in dispute, being left without a superior, prevailed on Mendo Gomez to unite the two communities, under the patronage of St. Paul, first hermit.
At the chapter held after the death of the founder (24 January 1481), constitutions were drawn up, which at a later date were approved, with some alterations, by Gregory XIII in 1578, at the request of Cardinal Henry of Portugal, who also obtained for the congregation the privilege of adopting the Rule of St. Augustine
.
This congregation was later suppressed. Probably the most celebrated member was Antonius a Matre Dei, author of "Apis Libani", a commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon.
The Order spread throughout Hungary and then into Croatia, Germany, Poland, Austria and Bohemia. At one time there were over 5000 Pauline monks in Hungary alone.
A significant event in the Order's history took place in 1382 when they became the custodians of the miraculous picture of The Black Madonna
, believed to be painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. Legend says the Icon was brought to Poland by Prince Ladislaus from a castle at Beiz, Russia. He invited the monks to come from Hungary into Poland to safeguard the holy picture. The monks established a Shrine for the venerable image of the Blessed Mother in the small town of Częstochowa
. Today this Shrine is the Motherhouse of the Order, and is also the largest monastery, with over 100 monks of the order. There are less than 500 members of the Order throughout the world.
Most of the Order's monasteries are located in Poland. The Order has monasteries and shrines in Germany, Slovakia, Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Italy, United States of America, and South Africa.
(1819–1888) and four companions in New York
. They use the initials C.S.P. after their names (Otherwise known as the "Paulist Fathers
").
Formerly known as "Daughters of the School." In 1696, the congregation was founded by Fr. Louis Chauvet, parish priest of Levesville-la-Chenard, a little village in the region of Beauce, some 60 miles southeast of Paris.
Marie Anne de Tilly, co-foundress of the community, prepared her young companions for their mission: to instruct the daughters of the farm laborers, to teach the poor ignorant girls of the village, to visit the poor and the sick in their hamlets, to serve in the hospices in small communities of two or three sisters. As early as 1708, Father Chauvet had entrusted the growing
community of the School Sisters to Msgr. Paul Godet des Marais
, Bishop of Chartres, who provided them a house in the St. Maurice suburbs, an ecclesiastical superior in the person
of Father Marechaux, and a name, that of the Apostle Paul who was to be their patron and model.
From the time of its birth, one foundation followed another in rapid succession.
One of their houses in Chartres, formerly belonged to a sabot-maker, and this gave them the name of "Les Soeurs Sabotiers", by which they were originally known. They devote themselves to teaching, nursing, visiting the poor and taking care of orphans, the old and infirm, and the insane.
There are no lay-sisters, but every sister must be prepared to undertake any kind of work. The interior spirit is a love of sacrifice and labor for the spiritual and temporal good of others. The postulancy lasts from six to nine months, the novitiate
two years, after which the sisters take vows annually for five years, and then perpetual vows.
The congregation was dispersed under the Commune at the French Revolution
, but it was restored by Napoleon I, who gave the sisters a monastery
at Chartres, which originally belonged to the Jacobins, from which they became known as "Les Soeurs de St. Jacques".
After its revival the congregation soon numbered 1200 sisters and over 100 houses in England, Guadeloupe
, Martinique
, French Guiana
, Korea
, China, Japan, Further India, the Philippines
etc. In China a novitiate has been established for native subjects, and in Hong Kong
a school for European children, besides various benevolent institutions. In Further India they founded thirty institutions, chiefly of a benevolent nature, in addition to a novitiate, which has already admitted a number of native postulants; in the Philippines schools and a leper hospital.
They settled in England in 1847 at the invitation of Cardinal
Wiseman. In 1907 they had fifty-six houses in various towns. Their work in England is mainly educational, schools being attached to all their houses; the English branch is under the government of a mother general. Until 1902 they had over two hundred and fifty houses in France where, besides various kinds of schools, they undertook asylums for the blind, the aged, and the insane, hospitals, dispensaries, and crèches. Since that date more than one hundred and sixty of these schools have been closed, also thirty of the hospitals, military and civil, in the French colonies, three convent
s at Blois
and a hospice at Brie
. On the other hand, they opened five or six hospitals in the French colonies, six hospitals and 39 schools in the Philippines
, and three educational houses and Saint Louis Hospital
in Siam.
Guided by the motto of the congregation, "Caritas Christi Urget Nos" (The Charity of Christ Urges Us), at present, there are about 4000 Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres in 34 countries all over the world. http://www.spcspr.edu.hk/sisterse.htm and http://www.paulchartres.org/
From the time that the abode and virtues of St. Paul were revealed to St. Antony the Abbot, various communities of hermits adopted him as their patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
. These are treated on this page.
The name Paulists, however, was also applied to the members of congregations established under the patronage of St. Paul the Apostle.
- See the articles on BarnabitesBarnabitesThe Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic order.-Establishment of the Order :It was founded in 1530 by three Italian noblemen: St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria The Barnabites, or Clerics Regular of Saint Paul (Latin: Clerici Regulares Sancti Pauli, abbr. B.) is a Roman Catholic...
, Minims (Franciscans), PiaristsPiaristsThe Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools or, in short, Piarists , is the name of the oldest Catholic educational order also known as the Scolopi, Escolapios or Poor Clerics of the Mother of God...
and TheatinesTheatinesThe Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
.
Hermits of St. Paul of France
Also called Brothers of Death. There is much discussion as to the origin of this congregation, but it was probably founded about 1620 by Guillaume Callier, whose constitutions for it were approved by Pope Paul VPope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
(18 December 1620) and later by king Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
(May, 1621).
There were two classes of monasteries, those in the cities, obliged to maintain at least twelve members, who visited the poor, the sick, and prisoners, attended those condemned to death, and buried the dead; and the houses outside the city, with which were connected separate cells in which solitaries lived, the whole community assembling weekly for choir and monthly in chapter to confess their sins. Severe fasts and disciplines were prescribed. The name Brothers of Death originated from the fact that the thought of death was constantly before the religious. At their profession the prayers for the dead were recited; their 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"....
bore the skull; their salutation was Memento mori 'remember you're to die'; the death's head was set before them at table and in their cells. This congregation was suppressed by Urban VIII in 1633.
Hermits of St. Paul of Portugal
Among the conflicting accounts of the foundation of this congregation, the most credible seems to be that it was established about 1420 by Mendo Gomez, a nobleman of Simbria, who resigned dearly bought military laurels to retire to a solitude near SetúbalSetúbal
Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....
, where he built an oratory and gave himself up to prayer and penance, gradually assuming the leadership of a number of other hermits in the vicinity.
Later a community of hermits of Sierra de Ossa, the date of whose foundation is also in dispute, being left without a superior, prevailed on Mendo Gomez to unite the two communities, under the patronage of St. Paul, first hermit.
At the chapter held after the death of the founder (24 January 1481), constitutions were drawn up, which at a later date were approved, with some alterations, by Gregory XIII in 1578, at the request of Cardinal Henry of Portugal, who also obtained for the congregation the privilege of adopting 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:...
.
This congregation was later suppressed. Probably the most celebrated member was Antonius a Matre Dei, author of "Apis Libani", a commentary on the Proverbs of Solomon.
Hermits of St. Paul of Poland
This Monastic Order of St. Paul the First Hermit was founded in 1215 in Hungary. The founder was Eusebius of Esztergom, who united the hermits of Hungary in monasteries under the patronage of St Paul the Hermit.The Order spread throughout Hungary and then into Croatia, Germany, Poland, Austria and Bohemia. At one time there were over 5000 Pauline monks in Hungary alone.
A significant event in the Order's history took place in 1382 when they became the custodians of the miraculous picture of The Black Madonna
Black Madonna of Czestochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa is a revered icon of the Virgin Mary housed at the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa, Poland.-The icon:The origins of the icon and the date of its composition are still hotly contested among scholars...
, believed to be painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. Legend says the Icon was brought to Poland by Prince Ladislaus from a castle at Beiz, Russia. He invited the monks to come from Hungary into Poland to safeguard the holy picture. The monks established a Shrine for the venerable image of the Blessed Mother in the small town of Częstochowa
Czestochowa
Częstochowa is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants . It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship...
. Today this Shrine is the Motherhouse of the Order, and is also the largest monastery, with over 100 monks of the order. There are less than 500 members of the Order throughout the world.
Most of the Order's monasteries are located in Poland. The Order has monasteries and shrines in Germany, Slovakia, Croatia, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Italy, United States of America, and South Africa.
Congregation of Missionary Priests of St. Paul the Apostle
One of the societies of apostolic life founded on July 10, 1858 by Rev. Isaac T. HeckerIsaac Hecker
Isaac Thomas Hecker was an American Roman Catholic Priest and founder of the Paulist Fathers, the North American religious society of men; he is named a Servant of God by the Catholic Church....
(1819–1888) and four companions in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. They use the initials C.S.P. after their names (Otherwise known as the "Paulist Fathers
Paulist Fathers
The Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle, better known as the Paulist Fathers, is a Roman Catholic religious society for men founded in New York City in 1858 by Servant of God Fr. Isaac Thomas Hecker in collaboration with Fr. George Deshon, Fr. Augustine Hewit, and Fr. Francis A. Baker....
").
Blind Sisters of St. Paul
Founded at Paris in 1852, by A. F. Villemain (d. 1870), Anne Bergunion (d. 1863), and the Abbé Jugé, to enable blind women to lead a religious life, and to facilitate the training of blind children in useful occupations. A home was established for blind women and girls with defective sight.Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres
Marie Anne de Tilly, co-foundress of the community, prepared her young companions for their mission: to instruct the daughters of the farm laborers, to teach the poor ignorant girls of the village, to visit the poor and the sick in their hamlets, to serve in the hospices in small communities of two or three sisters. As early as 1708, Father Chauvet had entrusted the growing
community of the School Sisters to Msgr. Paul Godet des Marais
Paul Godet des Marais
Paul Godet des Marais was a French Bishop of Chartres.He studied at Saint-Sulpice, took the doctorate of theology at the Sorbonne, was ordained, and became superior of the Séminaire des Trente-Trois...
, Bishop of Chartres, who provided them a house in the St. Maurice suburbs, an ecclesiastical superior in the person
of Father Marechaux, and a name, that of the Apostle Paul who was to be their patron and model.
From the time of its birth, one foundation followed another in rapid succession.
One of their houses in Chartres, formerly belonged to a sabot-maker, and this gave them the name of "Les Soeurs Sabotiers", by which they were originally known. They devote themselves to teaching, nursing, visiting the poor and taking care of orphans, the old and infirm, and the insane.
There are no lay-sisters, but every sister must be prepared to undertake any kind of work. The interior spirit is a love of sacrifice and labor for the spiritual and temporal good of others. The postulancy lasts from six to nine months, the novitiate
Novitiate
Novitiate, alt. noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a novice monastic or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether they are called to the religious life....
two years, after which the sisters take vows annually for five years, and then perpetual vows.
The congregation was dispersed under the Commune at 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...
, but it was restored by Napoleon I, who gave the sisters a monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
at Chartres, which originally belonged to the Jacobins, from which they became known as "Les Soeurs de St. Jacques".
After its revival the congregation soon numbered 1200 sisters and over 100 houses in England, Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
, Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, French Guiana
French Guiana
French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...
, 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...
, China, Japan, Further India, 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...
etc. In China a novitiate has been established for native subjects, and in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
a school for European children, besides various benevolent institutions. In Further India they founded thirty institutions, chiefly of a benevolent nature, in addition to a novitiate, which has already admitted a number of native postulants; in the Philippines schools and a leper hospital.
They settled in England in 1847 at the invitation of Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Wiseman. In 1907 they had fifty-six houses in various towns. Their work in England is mainly educational, schools being attached to all their houses; the English branch is under the government of a mother general. Until 1902 they had over two hundred and fifty houses in France where, besides various kinds of schools, they undertook asylums for the blind, the aged, and the insane, hospitals, dispensaries, and crèches. Since that date more than one hundred and sixty of these schools have been closed, also thirty of the hospitals, military and civil, in the French colonies, three convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
s at Blois
Blois
Blois is the capital of Loir-et-Cher department in central France, situated on the banks of the lower river Loire between Orléans and Tours.-History:...
and a hospice at Brie
Brie
Brie is a historic region of France most famous for its dairy products, especially Brie cheese. It was once divided into two sections ruled by different feudal lords: the western Brie française, corresponding roughly to the modern department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region; the...
. On the other hand, they opened five or six hospitals in the French colonies, six hospitals and 39 schools in 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...
, and three educational houses and Saint Louis Hospital
Saint Louis Hospital
Saint Louis Hospital - private non-profit general hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. It organizes inpatient and outpatient treatment in the majority of medical specializations. Situated in South Sathorn Road...
in Siam.
Guided by the motto of the congregation, "Caritas Christi Urget Nos" (The Charity of Christ Urges Us), at present, there are about 4000 Sisters of Saint Paul de Chartres in 34 countries all over the world. http://www.spcspr.edu.hk/sisterse.htm and http://www.paulchartres.org/
External links
- This article incorporates text from the Sisters of St-Paul of Chartres official website
- National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa (a Paulist church and retreat house in the United States) official website (see also: National Shrine of Our Lady of CzestochowaNational Shrine of Our Lady of CzestochowaThe National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa , known also as the American Czestochowa is a Polish-American Roman Catholic shrine near Doylestown, Pennsylvania, founded in 1953. It houses a reproduction of the Black Madonna icon of Częstochowa, Poland...
)