Sylvestrine Congregation | |
 Emblem of the Sylvestrine Congregation of the Benedictine Order | |
| Abbreviation | O.S.B. Silv. |
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| Formation | c.AD 1231; 794 years ago (1231) |
| Founder | Sylvester Gozzolini |
| Type | Catholic religious order |
| Headquarters | Italy |
| Website | silvestrini |
TheSylvestrines are acongregation ofmonks of theOrder of St Benedict who form theSylvestrine Congregation. The Sylvestrines use the post-nominal initialsO.S.B. Silv.. The congregation was founded in 1231 bySylvester Gozzolini. They are members of theBenedictine Confederation. The congregation is similar to others of eremitical origin, in that their houses are not raised to the status of anabbey, which would entangle the monasteries more strongly in the affairs of the world. The congregation, though, is led by anabbot general, the onlyabbot it has, who supervises all the houses of the congregation.
Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267) was born atOsimo nearAncona,Italy. As a young man, he entered a community ofAugustiniancanons regular who servedOsimo Cathedral,[1] and eventually wasprofessed in that Order and receivedHoly Orders. Around 1227, he left the community to lead an austere,eremitical life. Disciples flocked to him, however, and in 1231 he built ahermitage by the mountain ofMontefano in theMarch of Ancona (near the town ofFabriano).[2] The congregation was approved in 1247 byPope Innocent IV as theOrdo S. Benedicti de Montefano.[3]
The community that Sylvester founded followed theRule of St. Benedict, but, as regards poverty in external matters, was far stricter than the general Benedictines of the time. At Sylvester's death in 1267, there were eleven Sylvestrine monasteries.[4] At their peak, there were 56 monasteries in the congregation, mostly inUmbria andTuscany, as well as in the March of Ancona.[2] The Church ofSan Marco in Florence belonged to the Sylvestrines, but in 1437, through the efforts ofCosimo de' Medici, they were displaced in favor of the Dominicans and moved to the smallerSan Giorgio alla Costa.[5][6]
Like all religious communities in Europe, the Sylvestrines suffered throughout the 19th century from the upheavals of theFrench Revolutionary Army and the laterunification of Italy. Their principal house was the Monastery ofSanto Stefano del Cacco in Rome, dedicated toSt. Stephen theProtomartyr, which was founded in 1563 to serve as themotherhouse of the congregation. Notable Sylvestrine include the founder, Sylvester Gozzolini, Bl. Giovanni del Bastonne, and the Bl. Giuseppe and Ugo di Serra San Quirico.[4]
For most of its history, the Congregation was confined to Italy. TheCeylon Mission was begun in 1845,[7] their first foundation outside Europe. The Sylvestrines provided many of theclergy for that missionarydiocese well into the 20th century.
Additionally, they have monasteries in theUnited States, the first being established inAtchison, Kansas, where two monks arrived in 1910 and served the spiritual needs of the many workers in thecoal industry there. As that industry faded and the local population began to move away, they looked elsewhere to build a permanent home. They were welcomed into theArchdiocese of Detroit in 1928, where they built their first monastery in the country in 1938, St Benedict of Oxford Monastery, which serves as the orders headquarters in the United States.[8] There is a daughter house Holy Face Monastery inClifton, New Jersey.[9]
Aconventual priory was founded in 1962 inAustralia atArcadia,Sydney, Australia, by an Italian monk serving in Sri Lanka. Now, there are also monasteries inIndia. In the late 20th century, a foundation was set up in thePhilippines[10] and, more recently, in theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.
The Sylvestrine monks operated as a completely autonomous congregation for most of their history, until they joined the Benedictine Confederation in 1973. This placed the congregation under the general supervision of the abbot primate of the Benedictine Order and joined them to the life of the entire Order throughout the world. As of 2020, there are three monasteries in Italy (Montefano, Bassano, and Giulianova).
On 28 May 2019, Father Antony Puthenpurackal OSB of Saint Joseph’s Conventual Priory, Makkiyad, India becameabbot general of the congregation.[11]
Thehabit is dark blue, as compared to the standard black worn by most other Benedictines.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Silvestrines".Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.Authority control databases: National |
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