Canons Regular
Encyclopedia
Canons Regular are members of certain bodies of Canons
living in community under the Augustinian Rule ("regula" in Latin), and sharing their property in common. Distinct from monks, who live a cloistered, contemplative life and sometimes engage in ministry to those from outside the monastery, the purpose of the life of a canon is to engage in public ministry of liturgy and sacraments for those who visit their churches (historically the monastic life was by its nature lay, whereas canonical life was essentially clerical). Distinct from Clerks Regular
(Regular Clerics)—an example of which is the Society of Jesus
—they are members of a particular community of a particular place, and are bound to the public praying of the Liturgy of the Hours
in choir.
Secular canons by contrast belong to a community of priests attached to a church but do not take vows or live under a rule.
Canons Regular are sometimes called Black or White Canons, depending on the order to which they belong.
s of chastity, poverty and obedience; though this is a later development, the first communities of Canons took vows of common property and stability. Some congregations of Canons Regular have retained the vow of stability, e.g. the members of the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular take a vow of stability for the house which they join. Famous Canons Regular include the only English Pope Adrian IV
, mystic Thomas à Kempis
and Christian humanist Desiderius Erasmus
.
According to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
of the Holy See
, "Canons Regular, who combine the clerical office and state with the observance of community religious life and the evangelical counsels
, have their origin in the communities of clergy which lived with their bishop. It was Saint Augustine
who, at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries, gave this form of religious life its most characteristic features.
Historically, the French Canons had the care of St. Victor's Abbey, Paris, pre-cursor body to the University of Paris, and the pre-Reformation English Canons were the custodians of the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
.
The characteristic habit
of Canons Regular is the rochet
. With regard to the other parts of their dress, as a general rule, they wear the white habit and black cloak, although some communities have added a scapular
and others have taken to wearing the black soutane (cassock) of the secular clergy. Most wear the rochet as part of their daily dress, though sometimes reduced to a small linen band (sarozium) hanging from the shoulders in front and behind - as it is currently worn in some houses in Austria e.g. Klosterneuburg Monastery.
In 1959, four congregations of Canons Regular came together to form a confederated Order, which with time has grown to the extent that there are currently nine congregations. These Congregations of the confederation elect an Abbot primate, the current Abbot Primate being the Rt Rev. Bernhard H. Backovsky, Abbot of Klosterneuburg Monastery, and Abbot General of the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular. The Order has houses in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Peru, Uruguay and Taiwan.
The Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular, based in the monasteries of Herzogenburg Priory
, Klosterneuburg Priory, Neustift Priory, Reichersberg Priory, St. Florian's Priory
and Vorau Priory, look after over 100 parishes in Austria.
The Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini
is a new Protestant religious community of Canons founded in 2008 at the ecumenical Priory of St. Wigbert
in Werningshausen near Erfurt in Germany.
, a canon regular is essentially a religious cleric; "The Order of Canons Regular is necessarily constituted by religious clerics, because they are essentially destined to those works which relate to the Divine mysteries, whereas it is not so with the monastic Orders." (II-II:189:8 ad 2 um, and II-II:184:8). This is what constitutes a canon regular and what distinguishes him from a monk. The clerical state is essential to the Order of Canons Regular, whereas it is only accidental to the Monastic Order.
Erasmus, himself a canon regular, declared that the canons regular are a "median point" between the monks and the secular clergy. And for the same reason Nigellus Vireker, a Benedictine monk of Canterbury in the twelfth century, contrasts the life of canons regular with that of his own fellow-monks and the Cistercians, pointing out the advantages of the former. The canons, he tells us, were spared the long choral duties, the sharp reproofs, the stern discipline of the Black Monks, and were not bound to the Spartan simplicity of clothing and diet of the field-working Cistercians. The "Llanthony Chronicler" relates how the first founders of his famous abbey, having consulted among themselves, decided to become canons regular, first, because on account of the charity they were well liked by all, and then because they were satisfied with a modest manner of living, their habit, though clean, being decent, neither too coarse, nor too rich. In this moderation of life we may say that canons regular follow the example of their lawgiver, St. Augustine, of whom St. Possidius, his biographer, relates that his habit, his furniture, his clothes were always decent, neither too showy nor too humble and shabby. The spirit of the canonical order is also explained in the "Observances in Use at the Augustinian Priory at Barnwell, Cambridge."
According to St. Augustine, a canon regular professes two things, "sanctitatem et clericatum". He lives in community, he leads the life of a religious, he sings the praises of God by the daily recitation of the Divine Office in choir; but at the same time, at the bidding of his superiors, he is prepared to follow the example of the Apostles by preaching, teaching, and the administration of the sacraments, or by giving hospitality to pilgrims and travellers, and tending the sick.
But the canons regular do not confine themselves exclusively to canonical functions. They also give hospitality to pilgrims and travelers on the Great St. Bernard and on the Simplon
, and in former times the hospitals of St. Bartholomew's Smithfield, in London, of S. Spirito, in Rome, of Lochleven, Monymusk
and St. Andrew's, in Scotland, and others like them, were all served by canons regular. Many congregations of canons worked among the poor, the lepers, and the infirm. The clerics established by St. Patrick in Ireland had a Guest House for pilgrims and the sick whom they tended by day and by night. And the rule given by Chrodegang to this canons enjoined that a hospital should be near their house that they might tend the sick. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) also ordains the erection of a hospital for pilgrims over which a canon regular is to preside.
, who expressed the wish that all the clergy should be either monks or canons living in common, as prescribed by the Council of Aix la Chapelle, in 789, and Mainz
, in 813.
St Augustine of Hippo is also regarded by the Canons as their founder. Ives, bishop of Chartres promoted the order in Italy through the newly founded congregation of Blessed Peter de Honestis
, and elsewhere through the congregation of St. Rufus. History tells us that about the eleventh century the regular or canonical life hitherto observed almost everywhere by the clergy was given up in many churches, and thus a distinction was made between the clerics who lived in separate houses and those who still preserved the old discipline. The former were called canonici saeculares (Secular Canons), the latter canonici regulares (Canons Regular). It is also true that in the year 763 Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, assembled the clergy of his cathedral around him, led with them a community life, and gave them a rule taken from the statutes of ancient orders and canons, a discipline also recommended shortly after by the Councils of Aix-la-Chapelle and Mainz; but in doing this he was only following the example of Augustine of Hippo who had introduced among his own clergy the manner of life which he had seen practiced at Milan.
Eusebius, the historian, relates that St. Mark, the disciple of St. Peter, established this discipline at Alexandria, as did St. Crescentius in Gaul, St. Saturninus in Spain, and St. Maternus in Germany. We know that St. Eusebius introduced it at Vercelli in Italy, and St. Ambrose at Milan. Popes Urban I (A.D. 227), Paschal II (1099), Benedict XII (1334), Eugenius IV (1431), Sixtus V and Pius V in various Letters and bulls, are quoted by the historians of the order, to prove distinctly that St. Augustine
, Bishop of Hippo, only restored, or caused to reflourish, the order of canons regular, which was first instituted by the Apostles.
, Vincent of Beauvais
, Sigebert
, Peter of Cluny, Prospero Fagnani
and many others tell us that the canonical order traces back its origin to the earliest ages of the Church. Suarez sums up the case very clearly, after having stated that the Apostles taught by Christ formed the first order of clerics, and that the order did not perish with the Apostles, but was preserved by continuous succession in their disciples, as proved by letters of Pope St. Clement and Urban I (though these letters are Pseudo-Isidorain in character): 'The Life of St. Augustine says when he was made priest, he instituted a monastery within the church and began to live with the servants of God according to the manner and rules constituted by the holy Apostles.
Many therefore suppose that the Order of Regular Clerics, or Canons Regular, was not instituted by St. Augustine, but was either reformed by him or introduced by him into Africa and furnished with a special rule. Pius IV maintains that the Order of Regular Clerics was instituted by the Apostles, and this Benedict XII confirms in his preface to the Constitutions of the Canons Regular. There is no question as regards the continuance of this state from the time of St. Augustine to this time, although with great variety as far as various institutes are concerned.'
When a controversy arose between the Benedictine
monks and the canons regular with regard to precedence, the question was settled by Pius V in favour of the canons, on account of their Apostolic origin.
Cardinal Pie, addressing the Canons Regular of the Lateran congregation, says: 'These that are clothed in white robes, who are they, and whence come they? Come, I shall tell you. Their origin is nothing else but the society and the common life of Jesus and the Apostles, the original model of community life between the bishop and his clergy. On that account they chiefly come from Hippo and from the home of Augustine, who has given them a Rule, which they still glory to observe.'
The name Austin (or Augustinian) Canons is commonly used instead of Canons Regular, and there are some who erroneously think that Austin Canons are so styled because they were instituted by St. Augustine, but St. Augustine did not found the order of canons regular, not even those who are called Austin Canons, there were canons regular before St. Augustine as various authorities prove; all St. Austin did was to induce his clergy to live secundum regulam sub sanctis Apostolis constitutam, which he had seen practised at Milan, adding to the Apostolic Rule hitherto observed by clerics living in common, some regulations, afterwards called the "Rule of St. Augustine."
Or, in the words of Pope Paschal II in a Bull quoted by Pennott, "Vitæ regularis propositum in primitiva ecclesia cognoscitur ab Apostolis institutum quam B. Augustinus tam gratanter amplexus est ut eam regulis informaret" (A regular mode of life is recognized in the Early Church as instituted by the Apostles, and adopted earnestly by Blessed Augustine, who provided it with new regulations) -- Hist. Tripart., Lib. II, c. iv, 4. These regulations which St. Austin had given to the clerics who lived with him soon spread and were adopted by other religious communities of canons regular in Italy, in France and elsewhere. When, in and after the eleventh century, the various congregations of canons regular were formed, and adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, they were usually called Canonici Regulares Ordinis S. Augustini Congregationis, and in England Austin Canons or Black Canons, but there have always been canons regular who never adopted the Rule of St. Augustine. Giraldus Cambrenisis mentions some in his day in England. In a word, canons regular may be considered as the genus, and Austin Canons as the species; or we may say that all Austin Canons are canons regular, but not all canons regular are Austin canons.
If further proofs of the Apostolic origin of the canonical order are desired, many may be found in the work of Abbot Ceasare Benvenuti, who century by century, from councils, Fathers, and other ecclesiastical sources, proves that from the first to the twelfth century there had always been clerics living in common according to the example of the Apostles. It will be enough to citehere the authority of Döllinger who, after saying that from the time of the Apostles there have been in the Church, virgins, laymen, and ecclesiastics named ascetics, continues:
At Vercelli, Bishop Eusebius introduced the severe discipline of the Oriental monks among his clergy both by word and example. Before the gate of Milan was a cloister for monks under the protection of St. Ambrose. St. Augustine, when a priest, founded a cloister at Hippo
, in which with other clerics he lived in humility and community of goods. (Eccl. History, tr. by the Rev. E. Cox, II, 270).
To this again may be added, among many others, the words of popes Benedict XII, Eugenius IV, Pius IV and Pius V, in their bulls, all asserting almost in as many words, what has been here said. The following words, taken from the Martyrologium for canons regular and approved by the Congregation of Sacred Rites, will suffice for the purpose:
Ordo Canonicorum Regularium, qui in primaevis Ecclesiae saeculis Clerici nominabantur utque ait S. Pius V. in Bullâ (Cum ex ordinum 14 Kal. Jan., 1570): 'ab Apostolis originem traxerunt, quique ab Augustiono eorum Reformatore iterum per reformationis viam mundo geniti fuere', per universum orbem diffusus innumerabilium SS. agmine fulget.
(The order of canons regular, who in the early ages of the Church were called clerics, and who, as St. Pius V says in the Bull Cum ex ordinum, 1570, derived their origin from the Apostles, and who later were born anew to the world through a process of reformation, by their reformer, Augustine, being spread throughout the universe, are renowned for an army of innumerable saints).
, happily joins the canonical and clerical life together, was soon adopted by many prelates, not only in Africa, but elsewhere also. After the death of the holy Doctor, it was carried into Italy
and France
by his disciples. One of them, Pope Gelasius
, about the year 492, re-established the regular life in the Lateran Basilica. From St. John Lateran (the Mother and Mistress of all Churches) the reform spread till at length the Rule was universally adopted by almost all the canons regular. It was in the same Lateran Basilica, tradition tells us, that St. Patrick, the future Apostle of Ireland, professed the canonical institute which he afterwards introduced with the Christian faith, into his own country. At the voice of the great apostle the Irish nation not only embraced Christianity, but many also, following his example, embraced the canonical life.
On the authority of Sir James Ware, Canon Burke (Life and Labours of St. Augustine) asserts that "all the monasteries founded in Ireland by St. Patrick, were for canons regular." This opinion is also maintained by Allemande, who affirms (Histoire monastique de l'Irlande) that "the Regular Canons of St. Augustine were so early or considerable in Ireland before the general suppression of monasteries, that the number of houses they are said to have had seems incredible. They alone possessed, or had been master of, as many houses as all the other orders together, and almost all the chapters of the cathedral and collegiate churches in Ireland consisted of canons regular." To these authorities we might add that of the Rev. R. Butler, who, in his notes to the "Registrum Omnium Sanctorum", expressly affirms that the "old foundations in Ireland were exclusively for Canons."
We might also quote the words of Bishop Thomas De Burgo, who, in his "Hibernia Dominicana", does not hesitate to say that St. Patrick was a canon regular, and that, having preached the Christian faith in Ireland, he established there many monasteries of the canonical institute. After this no one will think that the same writer exaggerates when he appends to his work a catalogue of 231 monasteries which at some time or other belonged to canons and canonesses regular. The Irish clerics became the most learned scholars in Europe, Ireland's seats of learning, monasteries, nunneries and charitable institutions were unsurpassed in number or excellence by those of any other nation. The Abbots or Priors of Christ Church and All Hallows in Dublin, of Connell, Kells
, Athessel, Killagh, Newton, and Raphoe
had seats in Parliament.
There seems very little doubt that the canonical institute was introduced into Scotland by St. Columba. This saint, called "monasteriorum pater et fundator", in reference to the numerous churches and monasteries built either by him or by his disciples in Ireland and Scotland, was formed to the religious life in the monastery of St. Finnian. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anno 565, relates that Columba, Masspreost (Mass-Priest), "came to the Picts to convert them to Christ", or, as another manuscript says: "This year, 565, Columba the Messa-preost, came from the parts of the Scots (Ireland) to the Britons to teach the Picts, and built a monastery in the island of Hy." To what order this monastery, founded by Columba, belonged, we may judge from other monasteries built by the saint in Ireland and Scotland. As we have already stated, St. Columba was the disciple of St. Finnian
, who was a follower of St. Patrick; both then had learned and embraced the regular life which the great Apostle had established in Ireland.
Moreover, such writers as Ware, De Burgo, Mervyn Archdall, Cardinal Moran, Bower, expressly tell us that Columba
built monasteries for canons regular in Ireland and Scotland. So, for instance, Ware, in his "Antiquitates Hiberniae", writing of Derry, says: "St. Columba built (this monastery) for Canons Regular in the year 545." This monastery was a filiation of the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul at Armagh
-- which, according to the same writer, had been founded by "St. Patrick for Canons Regular." Again, tradition places the first landing of the saint on leaving Ireland at Oronsay, and Fordun (Bower) notices the island as "Hornsey, ubi est monasterium nigrorum Canonicorum, quod fundavit S. Columba" (where is the monastery of Black Canons which St. Columba founded). Speaking of the very monastery built by the saint at Hy, the historian Gervase of Canterbury
, in his "Mappa Mundi", informs us that the monastery belonged to the Black Canons.
Some writers think that the monasteries established by St. Columba in Scotland were for Culdees. Numerous opinions have been expressed concerning the origin and the institute of the Culdees, some calling them monks, some secular canons and hospitallers, and others going so far as to say that they were Independents, or Dissenters, or even the forefathers of the modern Freemasons. Others are of opinion that the Culdees originally, and some even to the very end, were nothing else but clerics living in common just as those St. Patrick had established in Ireland and St. Columba had introduced into Scotland.
At the time of the Reformation
there were in Scotland at least thirty-four houses of canons regular and one of canonesses. These included six Premonstratensian
houses, one Gilbertine, and one of the Order of St. Anthony. The others seem to have been chiefly of the Aroasian Congregation, first introduced into Scotland from Nostall Priory, in England. The chief houses were:
Many of the houses founded by St. Columba remained in possession of the canons till the Reformation. Oronsay and Crusay were of the number.
Information concerning many of the canonical houses may be found in Fordun's Scoti-Chronicon, written before 1384 (ed. Skene, Edinburgh, 1871–72). As Walter Bower, its continuator and annotator, was a canon regular, and abbot of Inchcolm, he no doubt derived all his materials at firs hand from the archives of the order, and thus many important particulars are related by him concerning the foundations of the houses, their inmates, and particular events.
There are not wanting writers who, on the authority of Jocelin of Soissons
, William of Malmesbury
, "Gesta Pontificum" and others, are of opinion that the canonical order was established in Britain by St. Patrick, on his return from Rome to Ireland. Be this as it may, the Saxon conquerors of the country extirpated not only the religious establishments, but almost the faith of Christ from the land. The faithful either were obliged to dwell in the fastnesses of Wales or were made slaves. It was in these circumstances that Pope Gregory the Great
sent to England St. Augustine
with forty clerics, who according to the Bull of Pope Eugenius IV (quoted by Lingard in his Anglo-Saxon Church, I, iv), by which, in 1446, he restored the Lateran Basilica to the Canons Regular, formed a Canonical Institute.
Speaking of the order founded by the Apostle and reformed by the holy Bishop of Hippo, the pope says: "Blessed Gregory commanded St. Augustine
, the Bishop of England, to establish it as a new plantation among the nation entrusted to his care and spread it to the utmost distant parts of the West." And William of Coventry, in his Chronicle, A.D. 620, tells us that "Paulinus with twelve clerics was sent by the Pope to help Augustine." In the North also the disciples of St. Columba were preaching the Gospel and establishing the canonical order among the nation they were converting to Christ.
The Roman and British clergy amalgamated, and were learn from English historians that most if not all the cathedral and large churches were served by regular clerics or Canons Regular till the tenth century, when they were replaced by Benedictine monks by royal authority, and sometimes by means even less lawful. Dr. Lingard clearly states that: 'in many of these religious establishments the inmates had been Canons Regular from the beginning. In many they had originally been monks and had converted themselves into Canon, but all considered themselves bound by their rule to reside within the precincts of their monasteries, to meet daily in the church for the performance of divine service, to take their meals in the same hall, and to sleep in the same dormitory.'
In fact, this same historian is of opinion that St. Augustine and his companions were clerics living in common. Writing of the clergy in Anglo-Saxon times, Dr. Lingard says: 'The chief resource of the Bishop lay in the Cathedral monastery, where the clergy were carefully instructed in their duties and trained in the exercise of their holy profession. They were distinguished by the name of Canons because the rule which they observed had been founded in accordance with the canons enacted in different councils.' and he adds this explanatory note from the Excerptiones of Egbert: Canonen dicimus regulas quas sancti Patres constiturerunt in quibus scriptum est quomodo canonici, id est clerici regulares, vivere debeant. (By the term canons we designate those rules which the holy Fathers have laid down, in which it has been written how canons (canonici), i.e. regular clerics, ought to live).
In the twelfth century many churches served by secular canons, like Plympton
, Twynham
, Taunton
, Dunnow, Gisburn
, were given to Canons Regular, who, it would seem, were the original owners. This view is confirmed by various historians. In his History of the Archbishops (ed. William Stubbs
, Rolls Series
, London, 1876), Ralph Diceto tells us that at Dunstan
's suggestion King Edgar
drove the clerics out of most of the churches of England and placed monks in their stead. In Liber de Hyda we find that canons had been introduced at Winchester by King Ethelred
, and that Bishop Grimbald, a zealous reformer of the clergy, had established a community of clerics whose duty it was to perform the Divine Office. Speaking of Ælfric
, a monk who had been elected Archbishop of Canterbury
, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
, A.D. 995, remarks that when he came to his cathedral he was received by a community of clerics, when he would have preferred monks.
It would seem, then, that writers like Tanner, the modern editors of William Dugdale
's Monasticon, and others, who think that the Canons Regular were introduced into England after the year 1100, or after the coming of William the Conqueror, may have been misled by the fact that it was only after the eleventh century that the canons regular were so styled generally; nevertheless these are the same ecclesiastics, until then commonly called religious or regular clerics. It is also true that, as elsewhere so in England, in the twelfth century there was a great revival in the canonical order on account of various congregations newly found in France, Italy and the Low countries, and it was some of these new canons that came with the Conqueror; but this does not prove that the canonical life was unknown before.
In England alone, from the Conquest to the death of Henry II Plantagenet, no fewer than fifty-four houses were founded where the canons regular were established. Colchester in 1096 was the first, followed ten years later by Holy Trinity in London. In 1100 Ralph Mortimer
, by consent of Gerard, Bishop of Hereford
, founded a canonical house at Wigmore, and in 1110 another house for Austin Canons was built at Haghmond. At Taunton
a colony of secular priests became a monastery of canons regular. Secular canons were also replaced by canons regular at Twynham
, Plympton
, Waltham
and other places. In the period mentioned there were, among others, the foundations of the Austin houses at Dunmow
, Thremhall, Southampton
, Gisburn
, Newnham
in Bedfordshire, Norton
in Cheshire, Stone in Staffordshire, Anglesey
and Barnwell
in Cambridgeshire
, Berden
in Essex. This was a period of great prosperity for the canonical order in England, but soon evil days came.
There was first the Black Plague, and like every other ecclesiastical institution, the canons regular were fairly decimated, and we may say that they never quite recovered. To remedy the evil Cardinal Wolsey thought it expedient to introduce a general reform of the whole canonical order in England. In the capacity of papal delegate, on 19 March 1519, he issued the Statuta, which were to be observed by all the Austin Canons. These ordinances, as F. A. Gasquet observes, are evidence as to the state of the Augustinian Order at that time in England. The statutes provide for the union of all the Austin Canons; for the assembly of a general chapter every three years; for various matters concerning obedience, poverty, and the general discipline of the cloister. Special regulations are given for the daily recitation of the Divine Office and singing of Masses.
Directions are laid down for the reception and profession of novices, for uniformity in the religious habit, and sending young students to Oxford University. But troubled days soon came over the land, and these statutes, good though they were, could not keep off the evil times. The canonical houses were suppressed, and the religious dispersed, persecuted, little by little disappeared from the land altogether. Yet, in spite of the previous disasters, by Abbot Gasquet's computation ninety-one houses belonging to the canons regular wee suppressed or surrendered at the time of the Reformation between 1538 and 1540, with one thousand and eighty-three inmates—namely, Austin Canons, fifty-nine houses and seven hundred and seventy-three canons; Premonstratensians, nineteen houses and one hundred and fifty-one religious. This number of houses and religious does not include the lesser monasteries with an aggregate of one house and five hundred monks and canon, nor the nuns of the various orders estimated at one thousand five hundred and sixty.
Their best known canonical houses were at: Walsingham
, Waltham
, St. Mary's Overy, Bolton
, St. Bartholomew's Smithfield, Nostall, Bridlington
, Bristol
, Carlisle, Newbury
, Hexham, Lanercost, Bodmin, Colchester
, Dunstable
, Merton
, Kertmele, Llanthony
, Plympton, St. Frideswide's at Oxford
and Osney
.
At Walshingham there was a famous shrine
of Our Lady, a model of the Holy House of Nazareth, founded two hundred years before the miraculous removal to Loretto. Erasmus, writing in the sixteenth century, gives a vivid description of the shrine and the canons, its custodians. At Bourne Abbey lived from 1300 to 1340 Robert de Brunne, a canon regular, who had been styled the "Father of the English language." In his monastic seclusion he welded together the diverse dialects, which then divided shire from shire, into the grammatical structure which the language has since retained. Bridlington Priory, where William de Newbridge and several other historians lived, was also sanctified by the life, virtues, and miracles of its holy prior, John de Tweng, the last English saint to be canonized prior to the Reformation. He died in 1379. In 1386 a mandate was issued to collect evidence with a view to canonization.
The body was translated in 1405 de mandato Domini papae, and Boniface IX by a Bull, the original of which was found in the Vatican Archives by J. A. Twemlow, formally canonized him. The holy prior was a very popular saint in the North of England. A rich shrine had been built over his tomb, from which the people begged Henry VIII Tudor
to withhold his hand; but all in vain. Lest the people should be reduced in the offering of their money, the shrine was pulled down and destroyed. Sempringham saw the beginning by St. Gilbert, and the wonderful growth of the only pre-Reformation institute of distinctly English origin.
Here, too, Peter de Langtoft, the historian, lived and wrote his well-known works. Within the walls of Merton Abbey Thomas of Canterbury, when a youth, received his education and made his profession as a canon regular before he was consecrated archbishop. Chic Priory, whence came William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, was renowned for the learning of its religious clerics: "clerical litteraturâ insignes." Thurgarton was the home of the spiritual writer Walter Hilton
, who, about the year 1400, wrote the Scala perfectionis 'ladder of perfection', usually attributed to some Carthusian monk. St. Frideswide's, founded for canons regular at Castle Tower by Robert d'Oiley, and translated to Osney in 1149, became, as Cardinal Newman tells, "a nursery for secular students, subject to the Chancellor's jurisdiction." At Lilleshall Priory lived John Myrk, the author of Instructions for Parish Priests, a work written in irregular couplets, doubtless that they might be easily committed to memory; it was edited by the Early English Text Society
. The following verses, where Myrk gives excellent and explicit directions for behaviour in church, are a fair sample of the author's style:
Some twenty-five years ago the canons regular of the Lateran Congregation returned to this Cornish town where before the Reformation their brethren the Austin Canons had a beautiful priory in honour of St. Mary and St. Petrock. The new prior became the residence of the provincial, or visitor, the novitiate-house for England, and the centre from which several Missions—as Truro, St. Ives and Newquay—were served by canons regular.
When the English religious houses were dissolved, many Canons Regular gave up Catholicism. Others retained their faith: Of this number were W. Wold, Prior of Bridlington, the Sub-Prior of Walsingham
, with sixteen canons, and Laurence Vaux
.
The canonical order was in the early 20th century represented in England by Premonstratensians at Crowley, Manchester
, Spalding
and Storrington
; the Canons Regular of the Lateran Congregation at Bodmin
, Truro
, St Ives
, and Newquay
, in Cornwall; at Spettisbury and Swanage
, in Dorsetshire; at Stroud Green
and Eltahm, in London. Besides the occupations of the regular life at home and the public recitation of the Divine Office in choir, they were chiefly employed in serving missions, preaching retreats, supplying for priests who ask their service, and hearing confessions, either as ordinary or extraordinary confessors to convents or other religious communities.
The canonical order must have been introduced into the New World soon after its 'discovery' by Columbus. In fact, tradition tells us that some Canons Regular from Spain were his companions in one or other of his voyages. Certain it is that at the general chapter of the Lateran Congregation held at Ravenna in 1558, at the request of many Spanish canons, Don Francis de Agala, a professed canon regular from Spain, who for some ten years had already laboured in the newly-discovered country, was created vicar-general in America, with powers to gather into communities all the members of the canonical institute who were then dispersed in those parts, and the obligation to report to the authorities of the order. There are canons regular of the Lateran Congregation in the Argentine, and in Canada the Canons of the Immaculate Conception serve different missions. The premonstratensian Canons also are in different places in South America.
, about the year 1100, gave to his canons at Ravenna
, where also he instituted the first sodality
, called "The Children of Mary." In order to preserve uniformity and regularity among these numerous congregations Pope Benedict XII, in the year 1339, issued his Papal Bull
Ad decorem, which may be rather called a book of constitutions to be observed by all canons regular then existing. By this Bull the order, then extending through Europe and Asia, was divided into twenty-two ecclesiastical province
s or "kingdoms", among them being Ireland, England and Scotland, forming each a province. The abbots and visitors were to be convened at a provincial chapter to be held in each province every four years. Visitors were to be elected to make a canonical visitation of every house in their respective provinces. Minute regulations are laid down for the daily recitation or singing of the Divine Office
in choir, clothing, professions, studies at the universities, expenses and other details in the clerical life and the general discipline of the canons in the cloister. The Roman Martyrology
mentions the existence of more than thirty-three different congregations of canons regular. The historian of the order numbers no fewer than fifty-four. It would be impossible to give here even an account of each in particular, therefore we only mention a few.
, the pope's own cathedral. History, confirmed by the authority of Pontifical Bulls, informs us that Pope Sylvester I established in the basilica built by the Emperor Constantine clerics living in common after the manner of the Primitive Church. In the year 492, Gelasius, a disciple of St. Augustine, introduced in the patriarchal basilica the regular discipline which he had learnt at Hippo.
Popes Gregory the Great, Eugenius II, Sergius III
and Alexander II
, all endeavoured to maintain the observance of the regular life established among the clergy of the basilica. As relaxation had crept in, the last name pope, at the request of St. Peter Damian, called some canons from St. Frigidian at Lucca
, a house of strict observance. The reform spread, till at length the houses that had embrace it were formed into one large congregation. In the eighteenth century the Lateran Congregation numbered forty-five abbeys and seventy-nine other houses in Italy, besided many affiliated convents of canonesses, monasteries, and colleges of canons regular outside of Italy.
The canons regular served the Lateran Basilica from the time they were put in possession till 1391, when secular canons were introduced by Boniface VIII
. Several attempts were made to restore the basilica to its original owners, and finally in 1445 Pope Eugenius IV gave it over to them, an act which was confirmed by Nicholas I
. But the arrangement did not last long, and eventually the canons regular were definitively displaced, and the basilica made over to secular canons. All that remains now to the canons regular is the nae they derive from the basilica and a few other privileges, such as precedence over all the other religious orders and the faculty of saying all the Offices which are said by the Lateran Canons in all their Church.
There are houses belonging to the Lateran Congregation in Italy, Poland, France, Belgium, England, Spain and America. The congregation is divided into six ecclesiastical province
s, each presided over by a visitor or provincial
. The abbot general and procurator general reside in Rome at S. Pietro in Vincoli, where is also the directorate of the confraternity called "The Children of Mary." There are novitiate houses, where young men are prepared for the order, in Italy, Belgium, Spain, England and Poland. The proper habit
of the Lateran Congregation is a white woolen cassock
with a linen rochet
, which is worn as an essential part of the daily dress. Their work is essentially clerical, the recitation of the Divine Office
in church, the administration of the Sacraments and preaching. In Italy they have charge of parishes in Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Fano, Gubbio and elsewhere.
. On the other hand, Suarez, Mauburn, Ferreri, Vanderspeeten and others, upholding the tradition of the canonical order, maintain that Saint James
, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, established clerics living in common the in the Holy City, where also, after the crusades, flourished the Congregation of the Holy Sepulchre. Driven away by the Moslems, the canons sought refuge in Europe, where they had monasteries, in Italy, France, Spain, Poland and the Low Countries. In these countries, except Italy, they continued to exist until the French Revolution. In Italy they seem to have been suppressed by Innocent VIII
, who, in 1489, transferred all their property to the Knights of Malta
. As regards men, the congregation seems now extinct, but it is still represented by Sepulchrine Canonesses, who have converts in Belgium, Holland, France, Spain and England. According to Dugdale's Monasticon, the canons had two houses in England, one at Thetford
and the other at Warwick
. By a papal bull
, dated 10 January 1143, to be found in the Bullarium Lateranense, Pope Celestine II
confirmed the church and the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre in all the possessions they had received from Godfrey, as well as from his brother and successor, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem
, and other benefactors. Mention is also made in the Bull of several churches in the Holy Land and in Italy belonging to the canons. Jacques de Vitry
, a canon regular of Oignies
and Cardinal, Patriarch of Jerusalem
, who had lived in Palestine some years, relates that the canons served, amongst other churches, that of the Holy Sepulchre and those on Mount Sion
and on Mount Olivet. The patriarch was also Abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, and was elected by the canons regular.
says, "Les lettres y furent toujours logées a bonnes enseignes" (there, letters were always entertained at good inns). So great was the reputation of the monastery built by William that houses were soon established everywhere after the model of St. Victor's, which was regarded as their mother-house. At the death of Gilduin, the immediate successor of William, who had been made Bishop of Châlons, the Congregation already counted forty-four houses.
From this congregation, in 1149, sprang another, that of the Sainte-Geneviève Abbey
, which in its turn became very numerous and, reformed as the Gallican Congregation, in the sixteenth century, by a holy man called Charles Faure, had, at the outbreak of the Revolution, no fewer than one hundred abbeys and monasteries in France. Both these congregations became extinct, as far as men are concerned, but the ancient congregation of St. Victor is still represented by a very old community of canonesses at Ronsbrugge, near Ypres in Flanders (Belgium).
, near Laon
, in Picardy
(northern France), by St. Norbert
in the year 1120, and approved by Pope Honorius II
in 1126. According to the spirit of its founder, this congregtion unites the active with the contemplative life, the institute embracing in its scope the sanctification of its members and the administration of the sacraments. It grew large even during the lifetime of its founder, and now has charge of many parishes and schools, especially in the Habsburg provinces of Austria and Hungary. The Premonstratensians wear a white habit with white cincture. They are governed by an abbot general, vicars and visitors.
appears to be uncertain, although all admit its great antiquity. It has been divided into four chief branches: the Italian, the Bohemian, the Belgian and the Spanish. Of this last very little is known. The branch once flourishing in Italy, after several attempts at reformation, was finally suppressed by Alexander VII
in 1656. In Bohemia there are still some houses of Crosier Canons, as they are called, who, however, seem to be different from the well known Belgian Crosiers, who trace their origin to the time of Innocent III
and recognize for their Father Blessed Theodore de Celles, who founded their first house at Huy, near Liège. These Belgian Croisier Canons have a great affinity with the Dominicans. They follow the Rule of St. Augustine, and their constitutions are mainly those compiled for the Dominican Order by St. Raymond of Penafort. Besides the usual duties of canons in the church, they are engaged in preaching, administering the sacraments, and teaching. Formerly they had houses in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Till around 1900 they served missions in North America, since they had five monasteries in Belgium, of which St. Agatha is considered the mother-house. To these Croisier Canons belongs the privilege, granted to them by Pope Leo X
and confirmed by Leo XIII
, of blessing beads with an indulgence
of 500 days. Their habit was formerly black, but is now a white soutane with a black scapular and a cross, white and red on the breast. In choir they wear in summer the rochet
with a black almuce
.
, where he began to labor with great zeal for the salvation of souls, becoming a canon regular in the monastery of Bridlington
. But finding that the discipline of the regular life was being not strictly observed in that community, he conceived, in 1148, the idea of introducing a reform in those regions. After much prayer, thought, and taking advice from holy men, he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to establish a new congregation, composed of both men and women, who should live under the same roof, though of course separated. This idea he put into execution, giving the Rule of St. Benedict to the women and the Rule of St. Augustine
to the men, establishing them as canons regular, with special and carefully elaborated constitution
s for both. The Gilbertine Congregation spread especially in the North of England, and as already stated, at the time of the general Dissolution of the Monasteries
, it had twenty houses and one hundred and fifty-one religious. At the temporary University of Stamford, Sempringham Hall, founded by Robert Lutrell in 1292, was built especially for the theology
students of this Congregation.
, a canon regular of Aosta
(Italy), about the year 969, according to some, or later, according to others. The religious institute in such a place was only meant by the founder for the convenience of pilgrims and travellers who cross the Alps at a point always full of dangers. The hospice, the canons, their work are too well known to need more than a short mention here. Besides lay brothers and servants, thee are always at the hospice about fifteen canons, who come from Martigny, their mother-house, where also resides the superior general of the congregation. Some canons have charge of the hospice on the Simpion Pass, and a certain number of parishes in the Canton Valais are served by canons of the same congregation.
. This became the mother-house of the famous congregation, which, only sixty years after the death of Groot, possessed in Belgium alone more than eighty well-organized monsteries, some of which, according to the chronicler John Buschius, who had visited them all, contained as many as a hundred, or even two hundred, inmates. The congregation continued in its primitive fervour until the devastations of the Reformers drove it from its native soil, and it was at last utterly destroyed during the French Revolution
. To this double institute the Church owes many pious and learned men—as Raymond Jordan, called Idiota, John of Ruysbroeck, Mauburn, Garetius, Latomus and Erasmus. Some, like St. John Ostervick, canonized by Pius IX
, shed their blood rather than deny their Faith. Chief among these learned and holy men stands Thomas a Kempis
, when still a youth joined the institute, and knew the saintly Floretius and the first founders of the congregation.
, on account of the persecution, little by little it appears to have languished, and by 1620 to have been nearly extinct; it somewhat revived, however, for canons regular were once more to be found in the country not long after this. It is not improbable that at the outbreak of the persecution, like many members of other religious orders, some of the Irish canons may have retired to foreign monasteries and maintained a quasi-independent existence, and have been joined by others of their compatriots who were desirous of entering the canonical institute. In 1645 Dom Thaddeus O'Conel was butchered at Sligo by the Scottish Puritans together with the Archbishop of Tuam, Malachy O'Quechly. At the commencement of 1646 the canons were sufficiently numerous to be formed by Innocent X into a separate congregation of St. Patrick, which the pope declared to inherit all the rights, privileges and possessions of the old Irish canons.
In the year 1698 the Irish Congregation, by a Bull of Innocent XII
, was affiliated and aggregated to the Lateran Congregation. From the moment the union was made the two congregations formed but one, and the members of each enjoyed all the rights and privileges of the other. The constitutions of the Lateran Congregation were adopted with some little modification by the Irish. In 1703 Dom Milerius Burke, Abbot of St. Thomas, Dublin, was appointed by the abbot general, Clappini, with the approval of Clement XI
, vicar-general in the three kingdoms. In 1735 the Irish canons were claiming before the Congregation of Propaganda their right to several churches, parishes, and houses. The cause was settled in their favour, but there were many difficulties, and they could get possession of only a few. In the "Spicilegium Ossoriense" (III, 148) we find that Henry O'Kelly, a canon regular, obtained from Pope Benedict XIII
letters in virtue of which he not only called himself Abbot of St. Thomas, Dublin, but also claimed the parochial rights over a great part of the city, without any dependence upon the metropolitan. The last canon of the Irish Congregation died towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, but as the Irish Congregation has been united with the Lateran Congregation, all its rights and privileges still survive in the last-named.
. The laws of separation of Church and State in France in 1904 made it difficult for most of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception
to stay in France. A new home was found for the congregation who moved to Italy, where it increased its base. Before their expulsion from France they served the ancient Abbey of St. Anthony in the Dauphiné
, The early period of this congregation saw missions established in Canada and Peru, where there are still houses today. The Canons Regular have houses in Brasil, Canada, England, France, Italy, Peru and the United States. Before their expulsion from France they served the ancient Abbey of St. Anthony in the Dauphiné
. Their habit is a white cassock, with leather girdel, linen rochet, black cloak and hood, and black biretta.
; of Aroasia (Diocese of Arras, in France), founded in 1097; Marbach (1100); of the Holy Redeemer of Bologna
, also called the Renana (1136), now united to the Lateran Congregation; of the Holy Spirit in Sassia
(1198); of St. George in Alga, at Venice (1404); of Our Saviour in Lorraine
, reformed in 1628 by St. Peter Fourier.
regular, as well as canons regular; the Apostolic
origin is common to both. As Suarez says, with regard to origin and antiquity the same is to be said of orders of women both in general and in particular as of orders of men. The one generally began with the other. St. Basil in his rules addresses both men and women. And St. Augustine founded his first monastery for women in Africa at Tagaste. Most, if not all, of the congregations which go to form the canonical order had, or still have, a correlative congregation for women. In Ireland St. Patrick instituted canons regular, and St. Bridget was the first of numberless canonesses. The monasteries of the Gilbertine Congregation were nearly always double, for men and women.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries many of them became canonicae saeclulares and though living in the same house, no longer cherished the spirit of religious poverty or kept a common table.
On the other hand many communities of canonesses willingly took the name and the rule of life laid down for the congregations of regular canons. There still exist in Italy
, France
, Spain
, Belgium
, Holland, England
, Germany
, Africa, and America
nuns and convents belonging to the Lateran or to some other congregation of canons regular. The contemplative life is represented by such convents as Newton Abbot in England, Sta. Pudenziana at Rome, Sta. Maria di Passione at Genoa, Hernani in Spain, St. Trudo at Bruges. The Hospitalarians were till lately well represented in France with convents of canonesses at Paris
, Reims
, Laon
, Soissons
, and elsewhere.
Occupied in the education of children, there are besides some of the ancient convents of canonesses of various congregations, the canonesses of the Congregation of Notre Dame (in full: Congrégation de Notre-Dame de chanoinesses de Saint Augustin), instituted in 1597 at Mattaincourt
, in Lorraine
, by St. Peter Fourier
and the blessed Alix Le Clerc. This congregation, whose object is the gratuitous education of poor girls, spread rapidly in France and Italy. There are now convents of Notre Dame in France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Africa. In France alone, until the persecution of 1907, they had some thirty flourishing communities and as many schools for externs and boarders. Driven away from France, some have taken refuge in England, like those of the famous convent of Les Oiseaux, Paris, who are now at Westgate, and those of Versailles who have settled at Hull. With some modifications the work was soon introduced into the New World in a remarkable way. The canonesses of the convent at Troyes
had for some time earnestly desired to carry on their institute in Canada. Circumstances, however, prevented their going, but at their request Marguerite Bourgeoys
, the president, of the confraternity attached to their convent, gladly crossed the ocean. In 1657 she opened a school at Montreal, in which, in accordance with the rules laid down by Peter Fourier, the poor were taught gratuitously. The school was a great success. Margaret returned to France to ask for helpers, and found them among her sister, the Children of Mary of Troyes. Returning to Canada with four fellow-workers, and soon followed by others she opened a school for boarders as well as a day school. In 1676 these pious women were formed into the "Congregation of Notre Dame." Margaret died in 1700 and has since been declared venerable. The work she had transferred to Canada is still flourishing. At her death there were ten houses in the Dominion; there are now more than a hundred spread over the whole of North America under a superior general, who resides at the mother-house, Montreal.
In 1809 Bishop George Michael Wittman founded, in Bavaria, the Poor Sisters of the Schools of Notre Dame, and institute similar to that founded by St. Peter Fourier
. This association is now widespread in Europe and in America, and has done excellent work in the field of education.
There are English canonesses at Bruges, and at Neuilly, near Paris. In England there is a convent of the Holy Sepulchre at New Hall, with a flourishing school, originally at Liège; also a filiation of that at Bruges, at Hayward's heath, with a large school; at Newton Abbot a numerous community, with a colony at Hoddesdon, devoted to the contemplative life and the Perpetual Adoration. This last convent is, as it were, a link with the pre-Reformation canonesses, through Sister Elizabeth Woodford, who was professed at Barnharm, Priory, Bucks, 8 December 1519. When the convent was suppressed, in 1539, she was received for some time into the household of Saint Thomas More. Later on she went to the Low Countries and was received into the convent of canonesses regular at St. Ursula's, Louvain, of the Windersheim Congregation. So many English ladies, daughters and sisters of martyrs, like Ann Clitheroe, Margaret Clement
, Eleanor and Margaret Garnet, followed her that, in 1609, they formed an English community, St. Monica's, Louvain. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, this community of English canonesses returned to England, first to Spettisbury, afterwards to their present home at Newton Abbot. The chronicles of this ancient convent are being published, and two very interesting volumes have already appeared.
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 ....
living in community under the Augustinian Rule ("regula" in Latin), and sharing their property in common. Distinct from monks, who live a cloistered, contemplative life and sometimes engage in ministry to those from outside the monastery, the purpose of the life of a canon is to engage in public ministry of liturgy and sacraments for those who visit their churches (historically the monastic life was by its nature lay, whereas canonical life was essentially clerical). Distinct from Clerks Regular
Clerks Regular
The term Clerks Regular designates a number of Catholic priests who are members of a religious order of priests, but in the strictest sense of the word are not Canons Regular.-Canonical Status:...
(Regular Clerics)—an example of which is the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
—they are members of a particular community of a particular place, and are bound to the public praying of the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The 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...
in choir.
Secular canons by contrast belong to a community of priests attached to a church but do not take vows or live under a rule.
Canons Regular are sometimes called Black or White Canons, depending on the order to which they belong.
Canons Regular
The Canons Regular of Saint Augustine (CRSA or Can.Reg.), also referred to as Augustinian Canons or Austin Canons ('Austin' being a corruption of 'Augustinian'), is one of the oldest Latin Rite orders. The canons live together in community and take the three vowVow
A vow is a promise or oath.-Marriage vows:Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony. Marriage customs have developed over history and keep changing as human society develops...
s of chastity, poverty and obedience; though this is a later development, the first communities of Canons took vows of common property and stability. Some congregations of Canons Regular have retained the vow of stability, e.g. the members of the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular take a vow of stability for the house which they join. Famous Canons Regular include the only English Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
, mystic Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...
and Christian humanist Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus
Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus , known as Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian....
.
According to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for everything which concerns institutes of consecrated life and Society of Apostolic Life regarding their government, discipline, studies, goods, rights, and...
of the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, "Canons Regular, who combine the clerical office and state with the observance of community religious life and the evangelical counsels
Evangelical counsels
The three evangelical counsels or counsels of perfection in Christianity are chastity, poverty , and obedience . As Jesus of Nazareth stated in the Canonical gospels , they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect"...
, have their origin in the communities of clergy which lived with their bishop. It was Saint Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
who, at the end of the fourth and the beginning of the fifth centuries, gave this form of religious life its most characteristic features.
Historically, the French Canons had the care of St. Victor's Abbey, Paris, pre-cursor body to the University of Paris, and the pre-Reformation English Canons were the custodians of the shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham
Our Lady of Walsingham is a title used for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The title derives from the belief that Mary appeared in a vision to Richeldis de Faverches, a devout Saxon noblewoman, in 1061 in the village of Walsingham in Norfolk, England...
.
The characteristic 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...
of Canons Regular is the rochet
Rochet
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
. With regard to the other parts of their dress, as a general rule, they wear the white habit and black cloak, although some communities have added a 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"....
and others have taken to wearing the black soutane (cassock) of the secular clergy. Most wear the rochet as part of their daily dress, though sometimes reduced to a small linen band (sarozium) hanging from the shoulders in front and behind - as it is currently worn in some houses in Austria e.g. Klosterneuburg Monastery.
In 1959, four congregations of Canons Regular came together to form a confederated Order, which with time has grown to the extent that there are currently nine congregations. These Congregations of the confederation elect an Abbot primate, the current Abbot Primate being the Rt Rev. Bernhard H. Backovsky, Abbot of Klosterneuburg Monastery, and Abbot General of the Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular. The Order has houses in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, the Czech Republic, England, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Poland, Peru, Uruguay and Taiwan.
The Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular, based in the monasteries of Herzogenburg Priory
Herzogenburg Priory
Herzogenburg Priory is a monastery of the Augustinian Canons in Herzogenburg in Lower Austria.-History:The monastery was founded in 1112 by Ulrich I, Bishop of Passau, at St. Georgen an der Traisen, now in Traismauer, at the confluence of the Traisen with the Danube. In 1244 because of frequent...
, Klosterneuburg Priory, Neustift Priory, Reichersberg Priory, St. Florian's Priory
St. Florian's Priory
St. Florian's Priory is a monastery in the town of Sankt Florian, Upper Austria, Austria.-History:The monastery, named after Saint Florian, was founded in the Carolingian period. From 1071 it has housed a community of Augustinian Canons, and is thus is one of the oldest operational monasteries in...
and Vorau Priory, look after over 100 parishes in Austria.
The Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini
Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini
Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini is a German High Church religious community of clergy and laymen....
is a new Protestant religious community of Canons founded in 2008 at the ecumenical Priory of St. Wigbert
Priory of St. Wigbert
Priory of St Wigbert is an ecumenical Benedictine monastery for men, belonging to the Lutheran Church of Thuringia. It is located in Werningshausen near Erfurt in Germany. This community includes Congregatio Canonicorum Sancti Augustini...
in Werningshausen near Erfurt in Germany.
The concept of "canon"
According to St. Thomas AquinasThomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
, a canon regular is essentially a religious cleric; "The Order of Canons Regular is necessarily constituted by religious clerics, because they are essentially destined to those works which relate to the Divine mysteries, whereas it is not so with the monastic Orders." (II-II:189:8 ad 2 um, and II-II:184:8). This is what constitutes a canon regular and what distinguishes him from a monk. The clerical state is essential to the Order of Canons Regular, whereas it is only accidental to the Monastic Order.
Erasmus, himself a canon regular, declared that the canons regular are a "median point" between the monks and the secular clergy. And for the same reason Nigellus Vireker, a Benedictine monk of Canterbury in the twelfth century, contrasts the life of canons regular with that of his own fellow-monks and the Cistercians, pointing out the advantages of the former. The canons, he tells us, were spared the long choral duties, the sharp reproofs, the stern discipline of the Black Monks, and were not bound to the Spartan simplicity of clothing and diet of the field-working Cistercians. The "Llanthony Chronicler" relates how the first founders of his famous abbey, having consulted among themselves, decided to become canons regular, first, because on account of the charity they were well liked by all, and then because they were satisfied with a modest manner of living, their habit, though clean, being decent, neither too coarse, nor too rich. In this moderation of life we may say that canons regular follow the example of their lawgiver, St. Augustine, of whom St. Possidius, his biographer, relates that his habit, his furniture, his clothes were always decent, neither too showy nor too humble and shabby. The spirit of the canonical order is also explained in the "Observances in Use at the Augustinian Priory at Barnwell, Cambridge."
According to St. Augustine, a canon regular professes two things, "sanctitatem et clericatum". He lives in community, he leads the life of a religious, he sings the praises of God by the daily recitation of the Divine Office in choir; but at the same time, at the bidding of his superiors, he is prepared to follow the example of the Apostles by preaching, teaching, and the administration of the sacraments, or by giving hospitality to pilgrims and travellers, and tending the sick.
But the canons regular do not confine themselves exclusively to canonical functions. They also give hospitality to pilgrims and travelers on the Great St. Bernard and on the Simplon
Simplon Pass
Simplon Pass is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont . The pass itself and the villages on each side of it, such as Gondo, are in Switzerland...
, and in former times the hospitals of St. Bartholomew's Smithfield, in London, of S. Spirito, in Rome, of Lochleven, Monymusk
Monymusk
Monymusk is a planned village in the Marr area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland which was almost entirely rebuilt in 1840, although its history dates back to 1170.It is a site for fishing on the nearby River Don.-External links:* *...
and St. Andrew's, in Scotland, and others like them, were all served by canons regular. Many congregations of canons worked among the poor, the lepers, and the infirm. The clerics established by St. Patrick in Ireland had a Guest House for pilgrims and the sick whom they tended by day and by night. And the rule given by Chrodegang to this canons enjoined that a hospital should be near their house that they might tend the sick. The Council of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen) also ordains the erection of a hospital for pilgrims over which a canon regular is to preside.
Origin of the canons
The historic origins are disputed. Some writers, like Joachim Coriolanus Marquez, held that the canonical order began about 1100. According to others the order dates from the time of CharlemagneCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
, who expressed the wish that all the clergy should be either monks or canons living in common, as prescribed by the Council of Aix la Chapelle, in 789, and Mainz
Mainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
, in 813.
St Augustine of Hippo is also regarded by the Canons as their founder. Ives, bishop of Chartres promoted the order in Italy through the newly founded congregation of Blessed 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...
, and elsewhere through the congregation of St. Rufus. History tells us that about the eleventh century the regular or canonical life hitherto observed almost everywhere by the clergy was given up in many churches, and thus a distinction was made between the clerics who lived in separate houses and those who still preserved the old discipline. The former were called canonici saeculares (Secular Canons), the latter canonici regulares (Canons Regular). It is also true that in the year 763 Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, assembled the clergy of his cathedral around him, led with them a community life, and gave them a rule taken from the statutes of ancient orders and canons, a discipline also recommended shortly after by the Councils of Aix-la-Chapelle and Mainz; but in doing this he was only following the example of Augustine of Hippo who had introduced among his own clergy the manner of life which he had seen practiced at Milan.
Eusebius, the historian, relates that St. Mark, the disciple of St. Peter, established this discipline at Alexandria, as did St. Crescentius in Gaul, St. Saturninus in Spain, and St. Maternus in Germany. We know that St. Eusebius introduced it at Vercelli in Italy, and St. Ambrose at Milan. Popes Urban I (A.D. 227), Paschal II (1099), Benedict XII (1334), Eugenius IV (1431), Sixtus V and Pius V in various Letters and bulls, are quoted by the historians of the order, to prove distinctly that St. Augustine
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
, Bishop of Hippo, only restored, or caused to reflourish, the order of canons regular, which was first instituted by the Apostles.
, Vincent of Beauvais
Vincent of Beauvais
The Dominican friar Vincent of Beauvais wrote the Speculum Maius, the main encyclopedia that was used in the Middle Ages.-Early life:...
, Sigebert
Sigebert
Sigebert was the name of several early Frankish and Anglo-Saxon kings:*Sigobert the Lame *Sigebert of Gembloux...
, Peter of Cluny, Prospero Fagnani
Prospero Fagnani
Prospero Fagnani was an Italian canon lawyer. Some writers place his birth in 1598, others in 1587 or in 1588....
and many others tell us that the canonical order traces back its origin to the earliest ages of the Church. Suarez sums up the case very clearly, after having stated that the Apostles taught by Christ formed the first order of clerics, and that the order did not perish with the Apostles, but was preserved by continuous succession in their disciples, as proved by letters of Pope St. Clement and Urban I (though these letters are Pseudo-Isidorain in character): 'The Life of St. Augustine says when he was made priest, he instituted a monastery within the church and began to live with the servants of God according to the manner and rules constituted by the holy Apostles.
Many therefore suppose that the Order of Regular Clerics, or Canons Regular, was not instituted by St. Augustine, but was either reformed by him or introduced by him into Africa and furnished with a special rule. Pius IV maintains that the Order of Regular Clerics was instituted by the Apostles, and this Benedict XII confirms in his preface to the Constitutions of the Canons Regular. There is no question as regards the continuance of this state from the time of St. Augustine to this time, although with great variety as far as various institutes are concerned.'
When a controversy arose between the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monks and the canons regular with regard to precedence, the question was settled by Pius V in favour of the canons, on account of their Apostolic origin.
Cardinal Pie, addressing the Canons Regular of the Lateran congregation, says: 'These that are clothed in white robes, who are they, and whence come they? Come, I shall tell you. Their origin is nothing else but the society and the common life of Jesus and the Apostles, the original model of community life between the bishop and his clergy. On that account they chiefly come from Hippo and from the home of Augustine, who has given them a Rule, which they still glory to observe.'
The name Austin (or Augustinian) Canons is commonly used instead of Canons Regular, and there are some who erroneously think that Austin Canons are so styled because they were instituted by St. Augustine, but St. Augustine did not found the order of canons regular, not even those who are called Austin Canons, there were canons regular before St. Augustine as various authorities prove; all St. Austin did was to induce his clergy to live secundum regulam sub sanctis Apostolis constitutam, which he had seen practised at Milan, adding to the Apostolic Rule hitherto observed by clerics living in common, some regulations, afterwards called the "Rule of St. Augustine."
Or, in the words of Pope Paschal II in a Bull quoted by Pennott, "Vitæ regularis propositum in primitiva ecclesia cognoscitur ab Apostolis institutum quam B. Augustinus tam gratanter amplexus est ut eam regulis informaret" (A regular mode of life is recognized in the Early Church as instituted by the Apostles, and adopted earnestly by Blessed Augustine, who provided it with new regulations) -- Hist. Tripart., Lib. II, c. iv, 4. These regulations which St. Austin had given to the clerics who lived with him soon spread and were adopted by other religious communities of canons regular in Italy, in France and elsewhere. When, in and after the eleventh century, the various congregations of canons regular were formed, and adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, they were usually called Canonici Regulares Ordinis S. Augustini Congregationis, and in England Austin Canons or Black Canons, but there have always been canons regular who never adopted the Rule of St. Augustine. Giraldus Cambrenisis mentions some in his day in England. In a word, canons regular may be considered as the genus, and Austin Canons as the species; or we may say that all Austin Canons are canons regular, but not all canons regular are Austin canons.
If further proofs of the Apostolic origin of the canonical order are desired, many may be found in the work of Abbot Ceasare Benvenuti, who century by century, from councils, Fathers, and other ecclesiastical sources, proves that from the first to the twelfth century there had always been clerics living in common according to the example of the Apostles. It will be enough to citehere the authority of Döllinger who, after saying that from the time of the Apostles there have been in the Church, virgins, laymen, and ecclesiastics named ascetics, continues:
At Vercelli, Bishop Eusebius introduced the severe discipline of the Oriental monks among his clergy both by word and example. Before the gate of Milan was a cloister for monks under the protection of St. Ambrose. St. Augustine, when a priest, founded a cloister at Hippo
Hippo Regius
Hippo Regius is the ancient name of the modern city of Annaba, in Algeria. Under this name, it was a major city in Roman Africa, hosting several early Christian councils, and was the home of the philosopher and theologian Augustine of Hippo...
, in which with other clerics he lived in humility and community of goods. (Eccl. History, tr. by the Rev. E. Cox, II, 270).
To this again may be added, among many others, the words of popes Benedict XII, Eugenius IV, Pius IV and Pius V, in their bulls, all asserting almost in as many words, what has been here said. The following words, taken from the Martyrologium for canons regular and approved by the Congregation of Sacred Rites, will suffice for the purpose:
Ordo Canonicorum Regularium, qui in primaevis Ecclesiae saeculis Clerici nominabantur utque ait S. Pius V. in Bullâ (Cum ex ordinum 14 Kal. Jan., 1570): 'ab Apostolis originem traxerunt, quique ab Augustiono eorum Reformatore iterum per reformationis viam mundo geniti fuere', per universum orbem diffusus innumerabilium SS. agmine fulget.
(The order of canons regular, who in the early ages of the Church were called clerics, and who, as St. Pius V says in the Bull Cum ex ordinum, 1570, derived their origin from the Apostles, and who later were born anew to the world through a process of reformation, by their reformer, Augustine, being spread throughout the universe, are renowned for an army of innumerable saints).
Development
This rule, which, in the words of Giraldus CambrensisGiraldus Cambrensis
Gerald of Wales , also known as Gerallt Gymro in Welsh or Giraldus Cambrensis in Latin, archdeacon of Brecon, was a medieval clergyman and chronicler of his times...
, happily joins the canonical and clerical life together, was soon adopted by many prelates, not only in Africa, but elsewhere also. After the death of the holy Doctor, it was carried into Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by his disciples. One of them, Pope Gelasius
Pope Gelasius I
Pope Saint Gelasius I was pope from 492 until his death in 496. He was the third and last bishop of Rome of African origin in the Catholic Church. Gelasius was a prolific writer whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages...
, about the year 492, re-established the regular life in the Lateran Basilica. From St. John Lateran (the Mother and Mistress of all Churches) the reform spread till at length the Rule was universally adopted by almost all the canons regular. It was in the same Lateran Basilica, tradition tells us, that St. Patrick, the future Apostle of Ireland, professed the canonical institute which he afterwards introduced with the Christian faith, into his own country. At the voice of the great apostle the Irish nation not only embraced Christianity, but many also, following his example, embraced the canonical life.
On the authority of Sir James Ware, Canon Burke (Life and Labours of St. Augustine) asserts that "all the monasteries founded in Ireland by St. Patrick, were for canons regular." This opinion is also maintained by Allemande, who affirms (Histoire monastique de l'Irlande) that "the Regular Canons of St. Augustine were so early or considerable in Ireland before the general suppression of monasteries, that the number of houses they are said to have had seems incredible. They alone possessed, or had been master of, as many houses as all the other orders together, and almost all the chapters of the cathedral and collegiate churches in Ireland consisted of canons regular." To these authorities we might add that of the Rev. R. Butler, who, in his notes to the "Registrum Omnium Sanctorum", expressly affirms that the "old foundations in Ireland were exclusively for Canons."
We might also quote the words of Bishop Thomas De Burgo, who, in his "Hibernia Dominicana", does not hesitate to say that St. Patrick was a canon regular, and that, having preached the Christian faith in Ireland, he established there many monasteries of the canonical institute. After this no one will think that the same writer exaggerates when he appends to his work a catalogue of 231 monasteries which at some time or other belonged to canons and canonesses regular. The Irish clerics became the most learned scholars in Europe, Ireland's seats of learning, monasteries, nunneries and charitable institutions were unsurpassed in number or excellence by those of any other nation. The Abbots or Priors of Christ Church and All Hallows in Dublin, of Connell, Kells
Kells, County Meath
Kells is a town in County Meath, Ireland. The town lies off the M3 motorway, from Navan and from Dublin. In recent years Kells has grown greatly with many Dublin commuters moving to the town....
, Athessel, Killagh, Newton, and Raphoe
Raphoe
Raphoe is a town in County Donegal, part of the province of Ulster in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe and the Church of Ireland Diocese of Derry and Raphoe.-Name:Raphoe,...
had seats in Parliament.
There seems very little doubt that the canonical institute was introduced into Scotland by St. Columba. This saint, called "monasteriorum pater et fundator", in reference to the numerous churches and monasteries built either by him or by his disciples in Ireland and Scotland, was formed to the religious life in the monastery of St. Finnian. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, anno 565, relates that Columba, Masspreost (Mass-Priest), "came to the Picts to convert them to Christ", or, as another manuscript says: "This year, 565, Columba the Messa-preost, came from the parts of the Scots (Ireland) to the Britons to teach the Picts, and built a monastery in the island of Hy." To what order this monastery, founded by Columba, belonged, we may judge from other monasteries built by the saint in Ireland and Scotland. As we have already stated, St. Columba was the disciple of St. Finnian
Finnian of Clonard
Saint Finnian of Clonard , or Finian, 'Fionán' or 'Fionnán' in Irish, was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him...
, who was a follower of St. Patrick; both then had learned and embraced the regular life which the great Apostle had established in Ireland.
Moreover, such writers as Ware, De Burgo, Mervyn Archdall, Cardinal Moran, Bower, expressly tell us that Columba
Columba
Saint Columba —also known as Colum Cille , Colm Cille , Calum Cille and Kolban or Kolbjørn —was a Gaelic Irish missionary monk who propagated Christianity among the Picts during the Early Medieval Period...
built monasteries for canons regular in Ireland and Scotland. So, for instance, Ware, in his "Antiquitates Hiberniae", writing of Derry, says: "St. Columba built (this monastery) for Canons Regular in the year 545." This monastery was a filiation of the monastery of SS. Peter and Paul at Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
-- which, according to the same writer, had been founded by "St. Patrick for Canons Regular." Again, tradition places the first landing of the saint on leaving Ireland at Oronsay, and Fordun (Bower) notices the island as "Hornsey, ubi est monasterium nigrorum Canonicorum, quod fundavit S. Columba" (where is the monastery of Black Canons which St. Columba founded). Speaking of the very monastery built by the saint at Hy, the historian Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury
Gervase of Canterbury was an English chronicler.- Life :...
, in his "Mappa Mundi", informs us that the monastery belonged to the Black Canons.
Some writers think that the monasteries established by St. Columba in Scotland were for Culdees. Numerous opinions have been expressed concerning the origin and the institute of the Culdees, some calling them monks, some secular canons and hospitallers, and others going so far as to say that they were Independents, or Dissenters, or even the forefathers of the modern Freemasons. Others are of opinion that the Culdees originally, and some even to the very end, were nothing else but clerics living in common just as those St. Patrick had established in Ireland and St. Columba had introduced into Scotland.
At the time of the Reformation
Scottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
there were in Scotland at least thirty-four houses of canons regular and one of canonesses. These included six Premonstratensian
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
houses, one Gilbertine, and one of the Order of St. Anthony. The others seem to have been chiefly of the Aroasian Congregation, first introduced into Scotland from Nostall Priory, in England. The chief houses were:
- St. Andrews, the Metropolitan of Scotland, founded by Angus, King of the Picts. The church was at first served by Culdees, but in 1144 Bishop Robert, who had been a canon regular at Scone, established here members of his own community. The prior was mitred and could pontificate. In Parliament he had precedence of all abbots and priors.
- SconeStone of SconeThe Stone of Scone , also known as the Stone of Destiny and often referred to in England as The Coronation Stone, is an oblong block of red sandstone, used for centuries in the coronation of the monarchs of Scotland and later the monarchs of England, Great Britain and the United Kingdom...
, founded by King Alexander I of ScotlandAlexander I of ScotlandAlexander I , also called Alaxandair mac Maíl Coluim and nicknamed "The Fierce", was King of the Scots from 1107 to his death.-Life:...
. Here the Scottish kings were crowned. The stone on which the coronation took place was said to be that on which Jacob rested his head; it was at Westminster until 1996, having been removed by Edward IEdward I of EnglandEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. Tradition says that the Culdees were at Scone before Alexander brought canons regular from Nostall Priory in 1115.
- HolyroodHolyrood AbbeyHolyrood Abbey is a ruined abbey of the Canons Regular in Edinburgh, Scotland. The abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I of Scotland. During the 15th century, the abbey guesthouse was developed into a royal residence, and after the Scottish Reformation the Palace of Holyroodhouse was expanded...
, of which King David was the founder, in 1128, for canons regular, in the "vail that lyis to the Eist frae the Castell, quhare now lyis the Cannongait, and which at that time was part of ane gret forest full of hartis, hyndis, toddis and sicklike manner of beistis", as Bellenden, the translator of Bower, expresses it. This famous abbey was burnt down at the instigation of John KnoxJohn KnoxJohn Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
in 1544, but some efforts were made to restore Divine service in the chapel as late as 1688, when Father G. Hay, a Scottish canon regular, of the French congregation, performed there a funeral as he says, "in his habit with surplice and aulmess after the rites of Rome." Next the abbey was the Royal Palace, and we are told that the Scottish kings often went Unto the saintly convent, with good monks to dine and quaff to organ music the pleasant cloister wine.
Many of the houses founded by St. Columba remained in possession of the canons till the Reformation. Oronsay and Crusay were of the number.
Information concerning many of the canonical houses may be found in Fordun's Scoti-Chronicon, written before 1384 (ed. Skene, Edinburgh, 1871–72). As Walter Bower, its continuator and annotator, was a canon regular, and abbot of Inchcolm, he no doubt derived all his materials at firs hand from the archives of the order, and thus many important particulars are related by him concerning the foundations of the houses, their inmates, and particular events.
There are not wanting writers who, on the authority of Jocelin of Soissons
Jocelin of Soissons
Jocelin of Soissons was a French theologian, a philosophical opponent of Abelard. He became bishop of Soissons, and is known also as a composer , with two pieces in the Codex Calixtinus...
, William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, "Gesta Pontificum" and others, are of opinion that the canonical order was established in Britain by St. Patrick, on his return from Rome to Ireland. Be this as it may, the Saxon conquerors of the country extirpated not only the religious establishments, but almost the faith of Christ from the land. The faithful either were obliged to dwell in the fastnesses of Wales or were made slaves. It was in these circumstances that Pope Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I , better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death...
sent to England St. Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
with forty clerics, who according to the Bull of Pope Eugenius IV (quoted by Lingard in his Anglo-Saxon Church, I, iv), by which, in 1446, he restored the Lateran Basilica to the Canons Regular, formed a Canonical Institute.
Speaking of the order founded by the Apostle and reformed by the holy Bishop of Hippo, the pope says: "Blessed Gregory commanded St. Augustine
Augustine of Canterbury
Augustine of Canterbury was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597...
, the Bishop of England, to establish it as a new plantation among the nation entrusted to his care and spread it to the utmost distant parts of the West." And William of Coventry, in his Chronicle, A.D. 620, tells us that "Paulinus with twelve clerics was sent by the Pope to help Augustine." In the North also the disciples of St. Columba were preaching the Gospel and establishing the canonical order among the nation they were converting to Christ.
The Roman and British clergy amalgamated, and were learn from English historians that most if not all the cathedral and large churches were served by regular clerics or Canons Regular till the tenth century, when they were replaced by Benedictine monks by royal authority, and sometimes by means even less lawful. Dr. Lingard clearly states that: 'in many of these religious establishments the inmates had been Canons Regular from the beginning. In many they had originally been monks and had converted themselves into Canon, but all considered themselves bound by their rule to reside within the precincts of their monasteries, to meet daily in the church for the performance of divine service, to take their meals in the same hall, and to sleep in the same dormitory.'
In fact, this same historian is of opinion that St. Augustine and his companions were clerics living in common. Writing of the clergy in Anglo-Saxon times, Dr. Lingard says: 'The chief resource of the Bishop lay in the Cathedral monastery, where the clergy were carefully instructed in their duties and trained in the exercise of their holy profession. They were distinguished by the name of Canons because the rule which they observed had been founded in accordance with the canons enacted in different councils.' and he adds this explanatory note from the Excerptiones of Egbert: Canonen dicimus regulas quas sancti Patres constiturerunt in quibus scriptum est quomodo canonici, id est clerici regulares, vivere debeant. (By the term canons we designate those rules which the holy Fathers have laid down, in which it has been written how canons (canonici), i.e. regular clerics, ought to live).
In the twelfth century many churches served by secular canons, like Plympton
Plympton
Plympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton St Mary or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, Twynham
Twynham
Twynham can refer to:*The town Christchurch was previously called Twynham. This came from its original name of Tweoxneam , but with time and variations of the language became Twynham....
, Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
, Dunnow, Gisburn
Gisburn
Gisburn is a village, civil parish and ward within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It lies northeast of Clitheroe. The parish of Gisburn had a population of 506, and the ward had 1287, recorded in the 2001 census....
, were given to Canons Regular, who, it would seem, were the original owners. This view is confirmed by various historians. In his History of the Archbishops (ed. William Stubbs
William Stubbs
William Stubbs was an English historian and Bishop of Oxford.The son of William Morley Stubbs, a solicitor, he was born at Knaresborough, Yorkshire, and was educated at Ripon Grammar School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he graduated in 1848, obtaining a first-class in classics and a third in...
, Rolls Series
Rolls Series
The Rolls Series, official title The Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain and Ireland during the Middle Ages, is a major collection of British and Irish historical materials and primary sources, published in the second half of the 19th century. Some 255 volumes, representing 99 separate...
, London, 1876), Ralph Diceto tells us that at Dunstan
Dunstan
Dunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church...
's suggestion King Edgar
Edgar of England
Edgar the Peaceful, or Edgar I , also called the Peaceable, was a king of England . Edgar was the younger son of Edmund I of England.-Accession:...
drove the clerics out of most of the churches of England and placed monks in their stead. In Liber de Hyda we find that canons had been introduced at Winchester by King Ethelred
Ethelred the Unready
Æthelred the Unready, or Æthelred II , was king of England . He was son of King Edgar and Queen Ælfthryth. Æthelred was only about 10 when his half-brother Edward was murdered...
, and that Bishop Grimbald, a zealous reformer of the clergy, had established a community of clerics whose duty it was to perform the Divine Office. Speaking of Ælfric
Ælfric
Ælfric of Abingdon , also known as Ælfric of Wessex, was a late 10th century Archbishop of Canterbury, as well as previously holding the offices of abbot of St Albans and Bishop of Ramsbury, all of which are in England...
, a monk who had been elected Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alfred the Great...
, A.D. 995, remarks that when he came to his cathedral he was received by a community of clerics, when he would have preferred monks.
It would seem, then, that writers like Tanner, the modern editors of William Dugdale
William Dugdale
Sir William Dugdale was an English antiquary and herald. As a scholar he was influential in the development of medieval history as an academic subject.-Life:...
's Monasticon, and others, who think that the Canons Regular were introduced into England after the year 1100, or after the coming of William the Conqueror, may have been misled by the fact that it was only after the eleventh century that the canons regular were so styled generally; nevertheless these are the same ecclesiastics, until then commonly called religious or regular clerics. It is also true that, as elsewhere so in England, in the twelfth century there was a great revival in the canonical order on account of various congregations newly found in France, Italy and the Low countries, and it was some of these new canons that came with the Conqueror; but this does not prove that the canonical life was unknown before.
In England alone, from the Conquest to the death of Henry II Plantagenet, no fewer than fifty-four houses were founded where the canons regular were established. Colchester in 1096 was the first, followed ten years later by Holy Trinity in London. In 1100 Ralph Mortimer
Ralph Mortimer
Ralph Mortimer was an English cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman who played for Lancashire. He was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland and died in Milbourne Hall, near Ponteland, Northumberland....
, by consent of Gerard, Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
, founded a canonical house at Wigmore, and in 1110 another house for Austin Canons was built at Haghmond. At Taunton
Taunton
Taunton is the county town of Somerset, England. The town, including its suburbs, had an estimated population of 61,400 in 2001. It is the largest town in the shire county of Somerset....
a colony of secular priests became a monastery of canons regular. Secular canons were also replaced by canons regular at Twynham
Twynham
Twynham can refer to:*The town Christchurch was previously called Twynham. This came from its original name of Tweoxneam , but with time and variations of the language became Twynham....
, Plympton
Plympton
Plympton, or Plympton Maurice or Plympton St Maurice or Plympton St Mary or Plympton Erle, in south-western Devon, England is an ancient stannary town: an important trading centre in the past for locally mined tin, and a former seaport...
, Waltham
Waltham Abbey (abbey)
The Abbey Church of Waltham Abbey has been a place of worship since at least 1030, and is in the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. The Prime Meridian passes through its grounds. Harold Godwinson is said to be buried just outside the present abbey...
and other places. In the period mentioned there were, among others, the foundations of the Austin houses at Dunmow
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
, Thremhall, Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Gisburn
Gisburn
Gisburn is a village, civil parish and ward within the Ribble Valley borough of Lancashire, England. It lies northeast of Clitheroe. The parish of Gisburn had a population of 506, and the ward had 1287, recorded in the 2001 census....
, Newnham
Newnham, Bedford
Newnham is an electoral ward and area within the town of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England.The boundaries of Newnham are approximately Goldington Road to the north, the River Great Ouse to the south and east, with Denmark Street and George Street to the west....
in Bedfordshire, Norton
Norton Priory
Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ancient monument and have been designated by English...
in Cheshire, Stone in Staffordshire, Anglesey
Anglesey
Anglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
and Barnwell
Barnwell Priory
Barnwell Priory was an Augustinian priory at Barnwell in Cambridgeshire, founded as a house of Canons Regular.The priory was home to the Barnwell chronicler, an anonymous chronicler who wrote about the reign of King John.-References:...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, Berden
Berden
Berden is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is located north from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire and is northwest from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Uttlesford and in the parliamentary constituency of Saffron Walden...
in Essex. This was a period of great prosperity for the canonical order in England, but soon evil days came.
There was first the Black Plague, and like every other ecclesiastical institution, the canons regular were fairly decimated, and we may say that they never quite recovered. To remedy the evil Cardinal Wolsey thought it expedient to introduce a general reform of the whole canonical order in England. In the capacity of papal delegate, on 19 March 1519, he issued the Statuta, which were to be observed by all the Austin Canons. These ordinances, as F. A. Gasquet observes, are evidence as to the state of the Augustinian Order at that time in England. The statutes provide for the union of all the Austin Canons; for the assembly of a general chapter every three years; for various matters concerning obedience, poverty, and the general discipline of the cloister. Special regulations are given for the daily recitation of the Divine Office and singing of Masses.
Directions are laid down for the reception and profession of novices, for uniformity in the religious habit, and sending young students to Oxford University. But troubled days soon came over the land, and these statutes, good though they were, could not keep off the evil times. The canonical houses were suppressed, and the religious dispersed, persecuted, little by little disappeared from the land altogether. Yet, in spite of the previous disasters, by Abbot Gasquet's computation ninety-one houses belonging to the canons regular wee suppressed or surrendered at the time of the Reformation between 1538 and 1540, with one thousand and eighty-three inmates—namely, Austin Canons, fifty-nine houses and seven hundred and seventy-three canons; Premonstratensians, nineteen houses and one hundred and fifty-one religious. This number of houses and religious does not include the lesser monasteries with an aggregate of one house and five hundred monks and canon, nor the nuns of the various orders estimated at one thousand five hundred and sixty.
Their best known canonical houses were at: Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
, Waltham
Waltham Abbey (abbey)
The Abbey Church of Waltham Abbey has been a place of worship since at least 1030, and is in the town of Waltham Abbey, Essex, England. The Prime Meridian passes through its grounds. Harold Godwinson is said to be buried just outside the present abbey...
, St. Mary's Overy, Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, St. Bartholomew's Smithfield, Nostall, Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Carlisle, Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
, Hexham, Lanercost, Bodmin, Colchester
Colchester
Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...
, Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, Merton
London Borough of Merton
The London Borough of Merton is a borough in southwest London, England.The borough was formed under the London Government Act in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton and Morden Urban District, all formerly within Surrey...
, Kertmele, Llanthony
Llanthony
Llanthony is a village in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, United Kingdom.- Location :Llanthony is located in the Vale of Ewyas, a deep and long valley with glacial origins within the Black Mountains, Wales, seven miles north of Abergavenny and within the eastern section of the Brecon Beacons...
, Plympton, St. Frideswide's at 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 Osney
Osney
Osney, Osney Island, or Osney Town is a riverside community in the west of the city of Oxford, England. It is located off the Botley Road, just west of the city's main railway station, on an island surrounded by the River Thames, known in Oxford as the Isis. Osney is part of the city council ward...
.
At Walshingham there was a famous shrine
Shrine
A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....
of Our Lady, a model of the Holy House of Nazareth, founded two hundred years before the miraculous removal to Loretto. Erasmus, writing in the sixteenth century, gives a vivid description of the shrine and the canons, its custodians. At Bourne Abbey lived from 1300 to 1340 Robert de Brunne, a canon regular, who had been styled the "Father of the English language." In his monastic seclusion he welded together the diverse dialects, which then divided shire from shire, into the grammatical structure which the language has since retained. Bridlington Priory, where William de Newbridge and several other historians lived, was also sanctified by the life, virtues, and miracles of its holy prior, John de Tweng, the last English saint to be canonized prior to the Reformation. He died in 1379. In 1386 a mandate was issued to collect evidence with a view to canonization.
The body was translated in 1405 de mandato Domini papae, and Boniface IX by a Bull, the original of which was found in the Vatican Archives by J. A. Twemlow, formally canonized him. The holy prior was a very popular saint in the North of England. A rich shrine had been built over his tomb, from which the people begged Henry VIII Tudor
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...
to withhold his hand; but all in vain. Lest the people should be reduced in the offering of their money, the shrine was pulled down and destroyed. Sempringham saw the beginning by St. Gilbert, and the wonderful growth of the only pre-Reformation institute of distinctly English origin.
Here, too, Peter de Langtoft, the historian, lived and wrote his well-known works. Within the walls of Merton Abbey Thomas of Canterbury, when a youth, received his education and made his profession as a canon regular before he was consecrated archbishop. Chic Priory, whence came William de Corbeil, Archbishop of Canterbury, was renowned for the learning of its religious clerics: "clerical litteraturâ insignes." Thurgarton was the home of the spiritual writer Walter Hilton
Walter Hilton
Walter Hilton was an English Augustinian mystic.-Biography:Hilton was born ca. 1340-45; he was first recorded in January 1371 as a bachelor of law attached to the diocesan court of Ely, and again in 1375...
, who, about the year 1400, wrote the Scala perfectionis 'ladder of perfection', usually attributed to some Carthusian monk. St. Frideswide's, founded for canons regular at Castle Tower by Robert d'Oiley, and translated to Osney in 1149, became, as Cardinal Newman tells, "a nursery for secular students, subject to the Chancellor's jurisdiction." At Lilleshall Priory lived John Myrk, the author of Instructions for Parish Priests, a work written in irregular couplets, doubtless that they might be easily committed to memory; it was edited by the Early English Text Society
Early English Text Society
The Early English Text Society is an organization to reprint early English texts, especially those only available in manuscript. Most of its volumes are in Middle English and Old English...
. The following verses, where Myrk gives excellent and explicit directions for behaviour in church, are a fair sample of the author's style:
- That when they do to Church fare,
- Then bid them leave their many words,
- Their idle speech and nice border {jests}
- And put away all vanity
- And say their Pater Noster and their Ave.
- None in the church stand shall,
- Nor lean to pillar not to wall,
- But fair on knees they shall them set,
- Kneeling down upon the flat,
- And pray God with heart meek
- To give them grace and mercey eke.
- Suffer them to make no bere {noise}
- But aye to be in their prayer.
Some twenty-five years ago the canons regular of the Lateran Congregation returned to this Cornish town where before the Reformation their brethren the Austin Canons had a beautiful priory in honour of St. Mary and St. Petrock. The new prior became the residence of the provincial, or visitor, the novitiate-house for England, and the centre from which several Missions—as Truro, St. Ives and Newquay—were served by canons regular.
When the English religious houses were dissolved, many Canons Regular gave up Catholicism. Others retained their faith: Of this number were W. Wold, Prior of Bridlington, the Sub-Prior of Walsingham
Walsingham
Walsingham is a village in the English county of Norfolk. The village is famed for its religious shrines in honour of the Virgin Mary and as a major pilgrimage centre...
, with sixteen canons, and Laurence Vaux
Laurence Vaux
Laurence Vaux was an English canon regular. He is a Catholic martyr.-Life:...
.
The canonical order was in the early 20th century represented in England by Premonstratensians at Crowley, Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Spalding
Spalding, Lincolnshire
Spalding is a market town with a population of 30,000 on the River Welland in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England. Little London is a hamlet directly south of Spalding on the B1172 road....
and Storrington
Storrington
Storrington is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. As of 2006 the village has a population of around 4,600. It has one main shopping street...
; the Canons Regular of the Lateran Congregation at Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
, Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, and Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
, in Cornwall; at Spettisbury and Swanage
Swanage
Swanage is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is situated at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck, approximately 10 km south of Poole and 40 km east of Dorchester. The parish has a population of 10,124 . Nearby are Ballard Down and Old Harry Rocks,...
, in Dorsetshire; at Stroud Green
Stroud Green
Stroud Green may refer to:* Stroud Green, Berkshire* Stroud Green, Essex* Stroud Green, Gloucestershire* Stroud Green, London...
and Eltahm, in London. Besides the occupations of the regular life at home and the public recitation of the Divine Office in choir, they were chiefly employed in serving missions, preaching retreats, supplying for priests who ask their service, and hearing confessions, either as ordinary or extraordinary confessors to convents or other religious communities.
The canonical order must have been introduced into the New World soon after its 'discovery' by Columbus. In fact, tradition tells us that some Canons Regular from Spain were his companions in one or other of his voyages. Certain it is that at the general chapter of the Lateran Congregation held at Ravenna in 1558, at the request of many Spanish canons, Don Francis de Agala, a professed canon regular from Spain, who for some ten years had already laboured in the newly-discovered country, was created vicar-general in America, with powers to gather into communities all the members of the canonical institute who were then dispersed in those parts, and the obligation to report to the authorities of the order. There are canons regular of the Lateran Congregation in the Argentine, and in Canada the Canons of the Immaculate Conception serve different missions. The premonstratensian Canons also are in different places in South America.
Reforms and congregations
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries a great reform and revival took place in the canonical order. A great number of congregations of canons regular sprang into existence, each with its own distinctive constitutions, grounded on the Rule of St. Augustine and the statutes which blessed Peter de HonestisPeter 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 the year 1100, gave to his canons at 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...
, where also he instituted the first sodality
Sodality
In Christian theology, a sodality is a form of the "Universal Church" expressed in specialized, task-oriented form as opposed to the Christian church in its local, diocesan form . In English, the term sodality is most commonly used by groups in the Catholic Church, where they are also referred to...
, called "The Children of Mary." In order to preserve uniformity and regularity among these numerous congregations Pope Benedict XII, in the year 1339, issued his 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....
Ad decorem, which may be rather called a book of constitutions to be observed by all canons regular then existing. By this Bull the order, then extending through Europe and Asia, was divided into twenty-two 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 or "kingdoms", among them being Ireland, England and Scotland, forming each a province. The abbots and visitors were to be convened at a provincial chapter to be held in each province every four years. Visitors were to be elected to make a canonical visitation of every house in their respective provinces. Minute regulations are laid down for the daily recitation or singing of the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours
The 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...
in choir, clothing, professions, studies at the universities, expenses and other details in the clerical life and the general discipline of the canons in the cloister. The Roman Martyrology
Roman Martyrology
The Roman Martyrology is the official martyrology of the Roman Rite of the Roman Catholic Church. It provides an extensive but not exhaustive list of the saints recognized by the Church.-History:...
mentions the existence of more than thirty-three different congregations of canons regular. The historian of the order numbers no fewer than fifty-four. It would be impossible to give here even an account of each in particular, therefore we only mention a few.
Lateran Congregation
By common consent the Lateran Congregation, officially styled Congregatio SS. Salvatoris Lateranensis, stands first in antiquity and importance. As the title implies, this congregation takes its origin from the Roman Basilica of St. John LateranBasilica 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...
, the pope's own cathedral. History, confirmed by the authority of Pontifical Bulls, informs us that Pope Sylvester I established in the basilica built by the Emperor Constantine clerics living in common after the manner of the Primitive Church. In the year 492, Gelasius, a disciple of St. Augustine, introduced in the patriarchal basilica the regular discipline which he had learnt at Hippo.
Popes Gregory the Great, Eugenius II, Sergius III
Pope Sergius III
Pope Sergius III was a pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 29 January 904 to 14 April 911. Because Sergius III was possibly the only pope known to have ordered the murder of another pope and the only pope to have fathered an illegitimate son who later became pope , his reign has been described...
and Alexander II
Pope Alexander II
Pope Alexander II , born Anselmo da Baggio, was Pope from 1061 to 1073.He was born in Milan. As bishop of Lucca he had been an energetic coadjutor with Hildebrand of Sovana in endeavouring to suppress simony, and to enforce the celibacy of the clergy...
, all endeavoured to maintain the observance of the regular life established among the clergy of the basilica. As relaxation had crept in, the last name pope, at the request of St. Peter Damian, called some canons from St. Frigidian at Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, a house of strict observance. The reform spread, till at length the houses that had embrace it were formed into one large congregation. In the eighteenth century the Lateran Congregation numbered forty-five abbeys and seventy-nine other houses in Italy, besided many affiliated convents of canonesses, monasteries, and colleges of canons regular outside of Italy.
The canons regular served the Lateran Basilica from the time they were put in possession till 1391, when secular canons were introduced by Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. Several attempts were made to restore the basilica to its original owners, and finally in 1445 Pope Eugenius IV gave it over to them, an act which was confirmed by Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I
Pope Nicholas I, , or Saint Nicholas the Great, reigned from April 24, 858 until his death. He is remembered as a consolidator of papal authority and power, exerting decisive influence upon the historical development of the papacy and its position among the Christian nations of Western Europe.He...
. But the arrangement did not last long, and eventually the canons regular were definitively displaced, and the basilica made over to secular canons. All that remains now to the canons regular is the nae they derive from the basilica and a few other privileges, such as precedence over all the other religious orders and the faculty of saying all the Offices which are said by the Lateran Canons in all their Church.
There are houses belonging to the Lateran Congregation in Italy, Poland, France, Belgium, England, Spain and America. The congregation is divided into six 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, each presided over by a visitor or 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...
. The abbot general and procurator general reside in Rome at S. Pietro in Vincoli, where is also the directorate of the confraternity called "The Children of Mary." There are novitiate houses, where young men are prepared for the order, in Italy, Belgium, Spain, England and Poland. The proper 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...
of the Lateran Congregation is a white woolen cassock
Cassock
The cassock, an item of clerical clothing, is an ankle-length robe worn by clerics of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church and some ministers and ordained officers of Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Ankle-length garment is the meaning of the...
with a linen rochet
Rochet
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
, which is worn as an essential part of the daily dress. Their work is essentially clerical, the recitation of the Divine Office
Liturgy of the hours
The 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...
in church, the administration of the Sacraments and preaching. In Italy they have charge of parishes in Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Fano, Gubbio and elsewhere.
Canons of the Holy Sepulchre
It is the opinion of Helyot and others that no Canons of the Holy Sepulchre existed before 1114, when some canons regular, who had adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, were brought from the West and introduced into the Holy City by Godfrey of BouillonGodfrey of Bouillon
Godfrey of Bouillon was a medieval Frankish knight who was one of the leaders of the First Crusade from 1096 until his death. He was the Lord of Bouillon, from which he took his byname, from 1076 and the Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1087...
. On the other hand, Suarez, Mauburn, Ferreri, Vanderspeeten and others, upholding the tradition of the canonical order, maintain that Saint James
James the Just
James , first Bishop of Jerusalem, who died in 62 AD, was an important figure in Early Christianity...
, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, established clerics living in common the in the Holy City, where also, after the crusades, flourished the Congregation of the Holy Sepulchre. Driven away by the Moslems, the canons sought refuge in Europe, where they had monasteries, in Italy, France, Spain, Poland and the Low Countries. In these countries, except Italy, they continued to exist until the French Revolution. In Italy they seem to have been suppressed by Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII
Pope Innocent VIII , born Giovanni Battista Cybo , was Pope from 1484 until his death.-Early years:Giovanni Battista Cybo was born at Genoa of Greek extraction...
, who, in 1489, transferred all their property to the Knights of Malta
Knights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
. As regards men, the congregation seems now extinct, but it is still represented by Sepulchrine Canonesses, who have converts in Belgium, Holland, France, Spain and England. According to Dugdale's Monasticon, the canons had two houses in England, one at Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
and the other at Warwick
Warwick
Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
. By 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....
, dated 10 January 1143, to be found in the Bullarium Lateranense, Pope Celestine II
Pope Celestine II
Pope Celestine II , born Guido di Castello, was pope from 1143 to 1144.-Early life:Guido di Castello, possibly the son of a local noble, Niccolo di Castello, was born either in Città di Castello, situated in Paterna Santa Felicita upon the Apennines, or at Macerata in the March of Ancona.Guido had...
confirmed the church and the Canons Regular of the Holy Sepulchre in all the possessions they had received from Godfrey, as well as from his brother and successor, King Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem...
, and other benefactors. Mention is also made in the Bull of several churches in the Holy Land and in Italy belonging to the canons. Jacques de Vitry
Jacques de Vitry
Jacques de Vitry was a theologian chronicler and cardinal from 1229 – 40.He was born in central France and studied at the University of Paris, becoming a regular canon in 1210 at the church of Saint-Nicolas d'Oignies in the Diocese of Liège, a post he maintained until 1216...
, a canon regular of Oignies
Oignies
Oignies is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:Oignies is a former coalmining town, nowadays a light industrial town, northeast of Lens, at the junction of the D46 and the D160 roads...
and Cardinal, Patriarch of Jerusalem
Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem
The Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem is the head bishop of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, ranking fourth of nine Patriarchs in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since 2005, the Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem has been Theophilos III...
, who had lived in Palestine some years, relates that the canons served, amongst other churches, that of the Holy Sepulchre and those on Mount Sion
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top there is “Hermon Hotel”, in the buffer zone between Syria and Israeli-occupied...
and on Mount Olivet. The patriarch was also Abbot of the Holy Sepulchre, and was elected by the canons regular.
Victorine Canons and the Gallican Congregation
In the year 1109 the scholar William de Champeaux, formerly Archdeacon of Paris and afterwards a canon regular, opened, at the request of his disciples, in his monastery of St. Victor near the city, a school which drew students from many parts. As the French writer Étienne PasquierÉtienne Pasquier
Étienne Pasquier , French lawyer and man of letters, was born at Paris, on 7 June 1529 by his own account, according to others a year earlier. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549....
says, "Les lettres y furent toujours logées a bonnes enseignes" (there, letters were always entertained at good inns). So great was the reputation of the monastery built by William that houses were soon established everywhere after the model of St. Victor's, which was regarded as their mother-house. At the death of Gilduin, the immediate successor of William, who had been made Bishop of Châlons, the Congregation already counted forty-four houses.
From this congregation, in 1149, sprang another, that of the Sainte-Geneviève Abbey
Sainte-Geneviève Abbey
The Abbey of St Genevieve was a French monastery in Paris, suppressed at the time of the French Revolution.-History:...
, which in its turn became very numerous and, reformed as the Gallican Congregation, in the sixteenth century, by a holy man called Charles Faure, had, at the outbreak of the Revolution, no fewer than one hundred abbeys and monasteries in France. Both these congregations became extinct, as far as men are concerned, but the ancient congregation of St. Victor is still represented by a very old community of canonesses at Ronsbrugge, near Ypres in Flanders (Belgium).
The Norbertines
The Premonstratensian Order was founded at PrémontréPrémontré
Prémontré is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-Population:-Sights:The remains of Prémontré Abbey, the mother house of the Premonstratensian Order, are located in Prémontré.-References:*...
, near Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
, in Picardy
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
(northern France), by St. Norbert
Norbert of Xanten
Saint Norbert of Xanten was a Christian saint and founder of the Norbertine or Premonstratensian order of canons regular.- Life and work :...
in the year 1120, and approved by Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II
Pope Honorius II , born Lamberto Scannabecchi, was pope from December 21, 1124, to February 13, 1130. Although from a humble background, his obvious intellect and outstanding abilities saw him promoted through the ecclesiastical hierarchy...
in 1126. According to the spirit of its founder, this congregtion unites the active with the contemplative life, the institute embracing in its scope the sanctification of its members and the administration of the sacraments. It grew large even during the lifetime of its founder, and now has charge of many parishes and schools, especially in the Habsburg provinces of Austria and Hungary. The Premonstratensians wear a white habit with white cincture. They are governed by an abbot general, vicars and visitors.
The Crosiers
The origin of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy CrossCanons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross
The Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, commonly called Crosiers, are a Roman Catholic religious order.-History:According to their own tradition, the Crosiers were founded by five men attached to the household of the prince-bishop of Liege, Radulf von Zähringen, who accompanied the...
appears to be uncertain, although all admit its great antiquity. It has been divided into four chief branches: the Italian, the Bohemian, the Belgian and the Spanish. Of this last very little is known. The branch once flourishing in Italy, after several attempts at reformation, was finally suppressed by 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...
in 1656. In Bohemia there are still some houses of Crosier Canons, as they are called, who, however, seem to be different from the well known Belgian Crosiers, who trace their origin to the time of Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
and recognize for their Father Blessed Theodore de Celles, who founded their first house at Huy, near Liège. These Belgian Croisier Canons have a great affinity with the Dominicans. They follow the Rule of St. Augustine, and their constitutions are mainly those compiled for the Dominican Order by St. Raymond of Penafort. Besides the usual duties of canons in the church, they are engaged in preaching, administering the sacraments, and teaching. Formerly they had houses in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, England, Ireland and Scotland. Till around 1900 they served missions in North America, since they had five monasteries in Belgium, of which St. Agatha is considered the mother-house. To these Croisier Canons belongs the privilege, granted to them by Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
and confirmed by 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...
, of blessing beads with an indulgence
Indulgence
In Catholic theology, an indulgence is the full or partial remission of temporal punishment due for sins which have already been forgiven. The indulgence is granted by the Catholic Church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution...
of 500 days. Their habit was formerly black, but is now a white soutane with a black scapular and a cross, white and red on the breast. In choir they wear in summer the rochet
Rochet
A rochet is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican Bishop in choir dress. It is unknown in the Eastern Churches. The rochet is similar to a surplice, except that the sleeves are narrower...
with a black almuce
Almuce
An almuce was a fur hood-like shoulder cape worn as a choir vestment in the Middle Ages, especially in England. It is still worn by certain Canons Regular, such as the white almutium worn on the arm by Premonstratensian canons. It also survives in the tippet and hood worn by some Anglican...
.
The Gilbertines
To St. Gilbert of Sempringham is due the honor of founding the only religious order of distinctly English origin. Having completed his studies in England and in France, he returned to the diocese of LincolnDiocese of Lincoln
The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. The present diocese covers the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire.- History :...
, where he began to labor with great zeal for the salvation of souls, becoming a canon regular in the monastery of Bridlington
Bridlington
Bridlington is a seaside resort, minor sea fishing port and civil parish on the Holderness Coast of the North Sea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It has a static population of over 33,000, which rises considerably during the tourist season...
. But finding that the discipline of the regular life was being not strictly observed in that community, he conceived, in 1148, the idea of introducing a reform in those regions. After much prayer, thought, and taking advice from holy men, he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to establish a new congregation, composed of both men and women, who should live under the same roof, though of course separated. This idea he put into execution, giving the Rule of St. Benedict to the women and 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:...
to the men, establishing them as canons regular, with special and carefully elaborated constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
s for both. The Gilbertine Congregation spread especially in the North of England, and as already stated, at the time of the general Dissolution of the 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...
, it had twenty houses and one hundred and fifty-one religious. At the temporary University of Stamford, Sempringham Hall, founded by Robert Lutrell in 1292, was built especially for the theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
students of this Congregation.
Congregation of SS. Augustine, Bernard, and Nicholas
The canons regular, usually called monks, whom visitors find serving at the Hospice on the Great St. Bernard, belong to the Congregation of St. Augustine, St. Bernard and St. Nicholas, as it is officially called. They were established by Bernard of MenthonBernard of Menthon
Saint Bernard of Menthon , Born in 923, probably in the Château de Menthon near Annecy, in Savoy; died at Novara, 1008. He was descended from a rich, noble family and received a thorough education. He refused an honorable marriage proposed by his father and decided to devote himself to the service...
, a canon regular of Aosta
Aosta
Aosta is the principal city of the bilingual Aosta Valley in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of Turin. It is situated near the Italian entrance of the Mont Blanc Tunnel, at the confluence of the Buthier and the Dora Baltea, and at the junction of the Great and Little St. Bernard routes...
(Italy), about the year 969, according to some, or later, according to others. The religious institute in such a place was only meant by the founder for the convenience of pilgrims and travellers who cross the Alps at a point always full of dangers. The hospice, the canons, their work are too well known to need more than a short mention here. Besides lay brothers and servants, thee are always at the hospice about fifteen canons, who come from Martigny, their mother-house, where also resides the superior general of the congregation. Some canons have charge of the hospice on the Simpion Pass, and a certain number of parishes in the Canton Valais are served by canons of the same congregation.
The Windesheim Congregation
The origin of the Windesheim Congregation is due to Gerard Groot, a zealous preacher and reformer of the fourteenth century, at Deventer in the Low Countries. Touched by his preaching and example, many poor clerical students gathered around him and, under his direction, "putting together whatever they earned week by week, began to live in common." Such was the beginning of the institute known as that of the "Brothers and Sisters of the Common Life." This institution spread rapidly, and in short time nearly every town in Holland and the adjacent countries contained one or more houses of "The New Devotion" as it was then called. But difficulties were not wanting. The members of "The New Devotion" were not bound together by any vows, and the institute had received no formal approval from the ecclesiastical authorities. Groot foresaw that the only safeguard for the continuance of the new institute was to affiliate it in some way to some great religious order already approved by the Church, to the authority of which the devout brethren and sisters might look for guidance and protection. Having heard of the famous Blessed John Ruysbrock, prior of a house of canons regular at Groendael near Brussels, he went to visit and consult him. Deeply edified by what he saw and heard there, Gerard Groot resolved to place this new institute under the spiritual guidance of the canons regular. The execution of tis resolve was left by Gerard Groot, at his death, to his beloved disciple, Florentius Radwyn. A beginning was soon made, and the foundation of the first house laid at Windersheim, near ZwolleZwolle
Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...
. This became the mother-house of the famous congregation, which, only sixty years after the death of Groot, possessed in Belgium alone more than eighty well-organized monsteries, some of which, according to the chronicler John Buschius, who had visited them all, contained as many as a hundred, or even two hundred, inmates. The congregation continued in its primitive fervour until the devastations of the Reformers drove it from its native soil, and it was at last utterly destroyed during 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...
. To this double institute the Church owes many pious and learned men—as Raymond Jordan, called Idiota, John of Ruysbroeck, Mauburn, Garetius, Latomus and Erasmus. Some, like St. John Ostervick, canonized by Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
, shed their blood rather than deny their Faith. Chief among these learned and holy men stands Thomas a Kempis
Thomas à Kempis
Thomas à Kempis was a late Medieval Catholic monk and the probable author of The Imitation of Christ, which is one of the best known Christian books on devotion. His name means, "Thomas of Kempen", his home town and in German he is known as Thomas von Kempen...
, when still a youth joined the institute, and knew the saintly Floretius and the first founders of the congregation.
The Irish Congregation of St. Patrick
Although the canonical order possessed so many houses in Ireland before the dissolution by Henry VIIIHenry 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...
, on account of the persecution, little by little it appears to have languished, and by 1620 to have been nearly extinct; it somewhat revived, however, for canons regular were once more to be found in the country not long after this. It is not improbable that at the outbreak of the persecution, like many members of other religious orders, some of the Irish canons may have retired to foreign monasteries and maintained a quasi-independent existence, and have been joined by others of their compatriots who were desirous of entering the canonical institute. In 1645 Dom Thaddeus O'Conel was butchered at Sligo by the Scottish Puritans together with the Archbishop of Tuam, Malachy O'Quechly. At the commencement of 1646 the canons were sufficiently numerous to be formed by Innocent X into a separate congregation of St. Patrick, which the pope declared to inherit all the rights, privileges and possessions of the old Irish canons.
In the year 1698 the Irish Congregation, by a Bull of Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII
Pope Innocent XII , born Antonio Pignatelli, was Pope from 1691 to 1700.-Biography:He was born in Spinazzola to one of the most aristocratic families of the Kingdom of Naples, which included many Viceroys, and ministers to the crown, and was educated at the Jesuit college in Rome.In his twentieth...
, was affiliated and aggregated to the Lateran Congregation. From the moment the union was made the two congregations formed but one, and the members of each enjoyed all the rights and privileges of the other. The constitutions of the Lateran Congregation were adopted with some little modification by the Irish. In 1703 Dom Milerius Burke, Abbot of St. Thomas, Dublin, was appointed by the abbot general, Clappini, with the approval of Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
, vicar-general in the three kingdoms. In 1735 the Irish canons were claiming before the Congregation of Propaganda their right to several churches, parishes, and houses. The cause was settled in their favour, but there were many difficulties, and they could get possession of only a few. In the "Spicilegium Ossoriense" (III, 148) we find that Henry O'Kelly, a canon regular, obtained from Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
letters in virtue of which he not only called himself Abbot of St. Thomas, Dublin, but also claimed the parochial rights over a great part of the city, without any dependence upon the metropolitan. The last canon of the Irish Congregation died towards the beginning of the nineteenth century, but as the Irish Congregation has been united with the Lateran Congregation, all its rights and privileges still survive in the last-named.
Canons of the Immaculate Conception
After the French Revolution in 1789 and the subsequent persecution of the Church all of the houses of the Canons Regular in France died out. In 1871 a diocesan priest from the Jura, Adrien Gréa, Vicar-General of St. Claude in France, founded a new house of Canons Regular in France, this local congregation eventually developed into the Congregation of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate ConceptionCanons 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...
. The laws of separation of Church and State in France in 1904 made it difficult for most of the 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...
to stay in France. A new home was found for the congregation who moved to Italy, where it increased its base. Before their expulsion from France they served the ancient Abbey of St. Anthony in the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
, The early period of this congregation saw missions established in Canada and Peru, where there are still houses today. The Canons Regular have houses in Brasil, Canada, England, France, Italy, Peru and the United States. Before their expulsion from France they served the ancient Abbey of St. Anthony in the Dauphiné
Dauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
. Their habit is a white cassock, with leather girdel, linen rochet, black cloak and hood, and black biretta.
Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular
The Austrian Congregation of Canons Regular was formed in 1907, composed of the various ancient monasteries, abbeys, and collegiate churches of canons regular in Austria: St. Florian, Klosterneuburg, Herzogenburg, Reichersberg, Vorau and Neustift (now in Italy). The Abbot General, who is head of the Austrian Congregation is at this time Rt. Rev Fr Bernhard Backovsky, Lord Provost of Klosterneuburg Monastery.Extinct congregations
Extinct congregations include those of St. Rufus, founded in 1039, and once flourishing in DauphinéDauphiné
The Dauphiné or Dauphiné Viennois is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of :Isère, :Drôme, and :Hautes-Alpes....
; of Aroasia (Diocese of Arras, in France), founded in 1097; Marbach (1100); of the Holy Redeemer of 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,...
, also called the Renana (1136), now united to the Lateran Congregation; of the Holy Spirit in Sassia
Sassia
Cymatona is a genus of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Ranellidae, the tritons.-Species:Species within the genus Sassia include:* Sassia apenninica remensa...
(1198); of St. George in Alga, at Venice (1404); of Our Saviour in Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
, reformed in 1628 by St. Peter Fourier.
Canonesses regular
There are canonessesCanonesses
A canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic rule of Saint Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and rules are common to both...
regular, as well as canons regular; the Apostolic
Apostolic Age
The Apostolic Age of the history of Christianity is traditionally the period of the Twelve Apostles, dating from the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Great Commission in Jerusalem until the death of John the Apostle in Anatolia...
origin is common to both. As Suarez says, with regard to origin and antiquity the same is to be said of orders of women both in general and in particular as of orders of men. The one generally began with the other. St. Basil in his rules addresses both men and women. And St. Augustine founded his first monastery for women in Africa at Tagaste. Most, if not all, of the congregations which go to form the canonical order had, or still have, a correlative congregation for women. In Ireland St. Patrick instituted canons regular, and St. Bridget was the first of numberless canonesses. The monasteries of the Gilbertine Congregation were nearly always double, for men and women.
In the tenth and eleventh centuries many of them became canonicae saeclulares and though living in the same house, no longer cherished the spirit of religious poverty or kept a common table.
On the other hand many communities of canonesses willingly took the name and the rule of life laid down for the congregations of regular canons. There still exist in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Holland, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Africa, and America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
nuns and convents belonging to the Lateran or to some other congregation of canons regular. The contemplative life is represented by such convents as Newton Abbot in England, Sta. Pudenziana at Rome, Sta. Maria di Passione at Genoa, Hernani in Spain, St. Trudo at Bruges. The Hospitalarians were till lately well represented in France with convents of canonesses at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, Laon
Laon
Laon is the capital city of the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-History:The hilly district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance...
, Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, and elsewhere.
Occupied in the education of children, there are besides some of the ancient convents of canonesses of various congregations, the canonesses of the Congregation of Notre Dame (in full: Congrégation de Notre-Dame de chanoinesses de Saint Augustin), instituted in 1597 at Mattaincourt
Mattaincourt
Mattaincourt is a commune in the Vosges department in Lorraine in northeastern France.Inhabitants are called Mattaincurtiens.-Geography:Mattaincourt lies on the southern part of the Lorraine Plateau, in a wooded area of gentle hills known as the Vôge. It is some to the east-northeast of Vittel and...
, in Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
, by St. Peter Fourier
Peter Fourier
Saint Peter Fourier, C.R.S.A., was a French canon regular who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, who had served as a pastor in Mattaincourt , and who also helped to found a religious congregation of canonesses dedicated to the care of poor children...
and the blessed Alix Le Clerc. This congregation, whose object is the gratuitous education of poor girls, spread rapidly in France and Italy. There are now convents of Notre Dame in France, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Africa. In France alone, until the persecution of 1907, they had some thirty flourishing communities and as many schools for externs and boarders. Driven away from France, some have taken refuge in England, like those of the famous convent of Les Oiseaux, Paris, who are now at Westgate, and those of Versailles who have settled at Hull. With some modifications the work was soon introduced into the New World in a remarkable way. The canonesses of the convent at Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
had for some time earnestly desired to carry on their institute in Canada. Circumstances, however, prevented their going, but at their request Marguerite Bourgeoys
Marguerite Bourgeoys
Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys was the founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame.- Biography :...
, the president, of the confraternity attached to their convent, gladly crossed the ocean. In 1657 she opened a school at Montreal, in which, in accordance with the rules laid down by Peter Fourier, the poor were taught gratuitously. The school was a great success. Margaret returned to France to ask for helpers, and found them among her sister, the Children of Mary of Troyes. Returning to Canada with four fellow-workers, and soon followed by others she opened a school for boarders as well as a day school. In 1676 these pious women were formed into the "Congregation of Notre Dame." Margaret died in 1700 and has since been declared venerable. The work she had transferred to Canada is still flourishing. At her death there were ten houses in the Dominion; there are now more than a hundred spread over the whole of North America under a superior general, who resides at the mother-house, Montreal.
In 1809 Bishop George Michael Wittman founded, in Bavaria, the Poor Sisters of the Schools of Notre Dame, and institute similar to that founded by St. Peter Fourier
Peter Fourier
Saint Peter Fourier, C.R.S.A., was a French canon regular who is honored as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, who had served as a pastor in Mattaincourt , and who also helped to found a religious congregation of canonesses dedicated to the care of poor children...
. This association is now widespread in Europe and in America, and has done excellent work in the field of education.
There are English canonesses at Bruges, and at Neuilly, near Paris. In England there is a convent of the Holy Sepulchre at New Hall, with a flourishing school, originally at Liège; also a filiation of that at Bruges, at Hayward's heath, with a large school; at Newton Abbot a numerous community, with a colony at Hoddesdon, devoted to the contemplative life and the Perpetual Adoration. This last convent is, as it were, a link with the pre-Reformation canonesses, through Sister Elizabeth Woodford, who was professed at Barnharm, Priory, Bucks, 8 December 1519. When the convent was suppressed, in 1539, she was received for some time into the household of Saint Thomas More. Later on she went to the Low Countries and was received into the convent of canonesses regular at St. Ursula's, Louvain, of the Windersheim Congregation. So many English ladies, daughters and sisters of martyrs, like Ann Clitheroe, Margaret Clement
Margaret Clement
Margaret Clement or Clements , nee Giggs was one of the most learned ladies of the Tudor era and the adopted daughter of Sir Thomas More....
, Eleanor and Margaret Garnet, followed her that, in 1609, they formed an English community, St. Monica's, Louvain. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, this community of English canonesses returned to England, first to Spettisbury, afterwards to their present home at Newton Abbot. The chronicles of this ancient convent are being published, and two very interesting volumes have already appeared.
See also
- Clerks RegularClerks RegularThe term Clerks Regular designates a number of Catholic priests who are members of a religious order of priests, but in the strictest sense of the word are not Canons Regular.-Canonical Status:...
- 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...
- Order of the Canons Regular of Premontre; Norbertines founded by St. Norbert (1120)
- 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...
- CanonessesCanonessesA canoness is a member of a religious community of women living a simple life. Many communities observe the monastic rule of Saint Augustine. The name corresponds to the male equivalent, a canon. The origin and rules are common to both...
- Canonesses Regular of the Holy SepulchreCanonesses Regular of the Holy SepulchreThe Canonesses Regular of the Holy Sepulchre are a Catholic female religious order founded in the 14th century. They were the female branch of the ancient military Order of that name, and they follow the Rule of St...