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(Generally calledAugustinians and not to be confounded with theAugustinian Canons).
Areligious order which in the thirteenth century combined several monasticsocieties into one, under this name. The order has done much to extend the influence of theChurch, to propagate the Faith, and to advance learning.
As is well known,St. Augustine of Hippo, first with some friends and afterwards, asbishop, with hisclergy, led a monastic community life. Vows were notobligatory, but the possession of privateproperty was prohibited. Their manner of life led others to imitate them. Instructions for their guidance were found in several writings ofSt. Augustine, especially in "De opere monachorum" (P.L., XL, 527), mentioned in the ancientcodices regularum of the eighth or ninth century as "TheRule of St. Augustine". Epistola ccxi, otherwise cix (P.L., XXXIII, 958), contains the early "Augustinian Rule for Nuns"; epistolae ccclv and ccclvi (P.L., XXXIX, 1570) "De moribus clericorum". The instructions herein contained formed the basis of the rule which, in accordance with thedecree of the Lateran Synod, in 1059, was adopted by canons desiring to practise a common apostolic life (Holstenius, "Codex regularum", II, Rome, 1661, 120). Thence the title "Canons Regular ofSt. Augustine". Later, many monasticsocieties and brotherhoods, especially inItaly, adopted the Augustinian Rule, eithervoluntarily or by command of thepope, without, however, giving up certain peculiarities of life and dress introduced by the founder, or handed down by custom. These differences led to their being confounded with other orders (e.g., theFriars Minor) and gave rise to quarrels. To remedy these evils and to ensure harmony and unity amongst the various religious congregations,Pope Alexander IV sought to unite them into one order. For this purpose he commanded that two delegates be sent toRome from each of thehermitmonasteries, to discuss, under the presidency of Cardinal Richard of Santi Angeli, the question of union. The first meeting of the delegates took place on the first of March, 1256, and resulted in a union.Lanfranc Septala ofMilan, Prior of the Bonites, was appointed the first prior-general of the new order. A uniform black habit was adopted, and the staves formerly carried by the Bonites to distinguish them fromFriars Minor were dispensed with. TheBull "Licet ecclesiae catholicae", issued on 4 May, 1256 (Bullarium Taurinense, 3rd ed., 635 sq.), ratified these proceedings and may be regarded as the foundation-charter of the "Ordo Eremitarum S. Augustini"; and furthermore, thepope commanded that allhermitmonasteries which had sent no delegates, should conform to the newly drawn up Constitutions.
TheBull "Licet ecclesiae catholicae" mentions thehermitconvents which had been invited to take part in the proceedings atRome, in 1256, which led to the union. "Quaedam [domus] S. Guillelmi, quaedam S. Augustini ordinum, nonnullae autem fratris Joannis Boni, aliquae vero de Fabali, aliae vero de Britinis." - According to this statement, the original branches of thehermits were: (1) TheWilliamites, founded bySt. William of Maleval shortly before his death in 1157. From this congregation sprang two others, the principal houses being at Stabulum Rodis, in the valley of Maleval, and at Fabali on Monte Fabali. The mode of life, originally very severe, was mitigated byPope Gregory IX, under whom the majority of the Williamitemonasteries adopted theRule of St. Benedict. When these were required by theBull "Licet ecclesiae catholicae" to join the new order, they raised objections and obtained a prohibition to exchange theBenedictine Rule for the milder one of the Augustinians. (See Guil. De Waha, "Explanatio vitae S. Guillelmi Magni" etc., 1693; "Acta Sanct. Boll.", Feb., II, 450 sqq.; "Kirchenlex.", 2nd ed., XII, 1609 sqq.) (2) Several unspecified houses of theOrder of St. Augustine, established chiefly inItaly, and forming separate congregations. To these belong theHermits of theHoly Trinity inTuscany, who had already been united into an Augustinian congregation byPope Innocent IV, in 1243, with Cardinal Richard for a protector, and withindulgences granted to those who visited their churches (in 1244). (3) The Bonites, so called from their founder, Blessed John Buoni, a member of the Buonuominifamily, born about 1168 inMantua. He lived ahermit's life atCesena, and died in his native city in 1249 (Lodi, "Vita e miracoli del b. Giov. Buoni",Mantua, 1591; "Acta SS. Boll.", Oct., IX, 693 sq.). In the year 1256 the Bonites possessed elevenmonasteries and gave the first general to the Augustinian Order (see above). (4) The Brittinians (Brictinians), so called from their oldest foundation, that of St. Blasius de Brittinis, nearFano, in the district ofAncona. Many congregations, such as the Brothers of Penance of Christ (Saccati, or "Sack-bearers"), the foundations of Durandus ofHuesca (Osca), and those of the "Catholic Poor", united with the Bonites.
The Hermits of St. Augustine spread rapidly, partly because they did not radiate from a single parentmonastery, and partly because, after violent conflicts in the previously existing congregations, the active life was finally adopted by the greater number of communities, following the example of theFriars Minor and theDominicans. To the Brittinians alone, in 1260, was granted permission to continue following the contemplative life. A few years after the reorganization of the Augustinian Order,Hermitmonasteries sprang up inGermany,France, andSpain.Germany soon possessed forty, many of them large and important, such as those atMainz,Würzburg, Worms,Nuremberg,Speyer,Strasburg,Ratisbon, all built between 1260 and 1270. As early as the year 1299, the German province was divided into four sub-provinces: the Rhenish-Swabian, the Cologne, theBavarian, and the Saxon. At the period of its greatest prosperity the order possessed 42 provinces and 2 vicariates numbering 2000monasteries and about 30,000 members. (Cf. Aug. Lubin, "Orbis Augustinianus sive conventuum O. Erem. S. A. chorographica et topographica descriptio", Paris, 1659, 1671, 1672.)
Since the sixteenth century the order, owing to many causes, particularly to theReformation, lost numbers ofmonasteries. During theFrench Revolution the greater part of the 157monasteries were destroyed, as well as all themonasteries of the Discalced Augustinian Hermits. The secularization of thereligious houses inGermany,Austria, andItaly brought about great losses. In 1835, out of a total of 153 inSpain, 105 were suppressed. The Augustinianmonasteries in Mexico were suppressed in 1860; inRussia, in 1864; in the Kingdom ofHanover, in 1875. ThePhilippine Islands, however, suffered the heaviest losses, during the disturbances of 1896. Hence the Augustinian Order of today has only a tenth of themonasteries which it possessed at the time of its greatest prosperity.
Without counting the Discalced Augustinians, the order comprises 19 provinces, 2 commissariates, 2 congregations, and 60 largemonasteries (with 6 or more fathers), in all, including residences and mission stations, 275 foundations, with 2050 members (priests,clericalnovices, andlay brothers). These provinces, according to the "Catalogus Fratrum O. Erem. S. Augustini" (Rome, 1908) are:--
Theconvents of St. Thomas, atAlt Brünn,Moravia, and of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Philadelphia,U.S.A. areimmediately subject to the general of the Augustinian Order.
The chief house of the order is the International College of St. Monica atRome, Via S. Uffizio No. 1. It is also the residence of the general of the order (prior generalis) and of thecuria generalis. Anothermonastery of the Augustinian Hermits inRome is that of S. Augustinus de Urbe, established in 1483, near thechurch of St. Augustine, in which the remains of St. Monica, the mother ofSt. Augustine, were deposited when they were brought fromOstia in the year 1430. This, formerly the chiefmonastery of the order, is now occupied by the Italian Ministry of Marine, and the Augustinian Fathers who serve the church retain only a small portion of their formerproperty. Another Augustinianconvent inRome is S. Maria de Populo de Urbe.
In 1331Pope John XXII had appointed the Augustinian Hermits guardians of thetomb ofSt. Augustine in the Church of S. Pietro in Ciel d'Oro at Pavia. They were driven thence in 1700, and fled toMilan. Theirmonastery being destroyed in 1799, and the churchdesecrated, theremains ofSt. Augustine were taken back to Pavia and placed in itscathedral. In recent times the church of S. Pietro was restored, and on 7 October, 1900, the body of thesaint was removed from thecathedral and replaced in San Pietro--an event commemorated in a poem byPope Leo XIII. The Augustinians are again in possession of their old church of S. Pietro.
In the fourteenth century, owing to various causes, such as the mitigation of the rule, either by permission of thepope, or through a lessening of fervour, but chiefly in consequence of the Plague and theGreat Western Schism, discipline became relaxed in the Augustinianmonasteries; hence reformers appeared who were anxious to restore it. These reformers were themselves Augustinians and instituted several reformed congregations, each having its ownvicar-general (vicarius-generalis), but all under the control of the general of the order. The most important of these congregations of the "Regular Observants" were those of Illiceto, in the district ofSiena, established in 1385, having 12, and subsequently 8,convents; of St. John ad Carbonariam (founded c. 1390), having 14convents, of which 4 still exist; ofPerugia (1491), having 11; the Lombardic Congregation (1430), 56; the Congregation of the Spanish Observance (1430), which since 1505 has comprised all theCastilianmonasteries; of Monte Ortono near Padua (1436), having 6convents; of the Blessed Virgin atGenoa, also called Our Lady of Consolation (c. 1470), 25; of Apulia (c. 1490), 11; the German, or Saxon, Congregation (1493) (see next paragraph); the Congregation of Zampani in Calabria (1507), 40; the Dalmatian Congregation (1510), 6; the Congregation of the Colorites, or of Monte Colorito, Calabria (1600), 11; of Centorbio inSicily (1590), 18 (at present 2, which form the Congregation of S. Maria de Nemore Siciliae); of the "Little Augustinians" ofBourges,France (c. 1593), 20; of the Spanish, Italian, and French congregations of Discalced, or Barefooted, Augustinians (see below), and the Congregation del Bosco inSicily established in the year 1818 and having 3convents.
Among these reformed congregations, besides those of the Barefooted Augustinians, the most important was the German (Saxon) Congregation. As inItaly,Spain, andFrance, reforms were begun as early as the fifteenth century in the four German provinces existing since 1299. Johannes Zachariae, an Augustinianmonk of Eschwege, Provincial of the Order from 1419-1427, and professor oftheology at the University of Erfurt, began a reform in 1492. Andreas Proles,prior of the Himmelpfortenmonastery, near Wernigerode, strove to introduce the reforms of Father Heinrich Zolter in as many Augustinianmonasteries as possible. Proles, aided by Father Simon Lindner ofNuremberg and otherzealous Augustinians, worked indefatigably till his death, in 1503, to reform the Saxonmonasteries, even calling in the assistance of the secular ruler of the country. As the result of his efforts, the German, or Saxon, Reformed Congregation, recognized in 1493, comprised nearly all the importantconvents of the Augustinian Hermits inGermany. Johann von Staupitz his successor, as vicar of the congregation, followed in his footsteps.Staupitz had been prior atTübingen, then atMunich, and had taken a prominent part in founding theUniversity of Wittenberg in 1502, where he became a professor oftheology and the first dean of that faculty. He continued to reform the order with thezeal of Proles, as well as in his spirit and with his methods. He collected the "Constitutiones fratrum eremitarum S. Aug. ad apostolicorum privilegiorum formam pro Reformatione Alemanniae", which were approved in a chapter held atNuremberg in 1504. A printed copy of these is still to be seen in theuniversitylibrary of Jena. Supported by the general of the order,Aegidius of Viterbo, he obtained apapal brief (15 March, 1506), granting independence under their ownvicar-general to the reformed German congregations and furthermore, 15 December, 1507, apapal Bull commanding the union of the Saxon province with the German Congregation of the Regular Observants. All the Augustinianconvents of NorthernGermany were, in accordance with thisdecree, to become parts of the regular observance. But when, in 1510,Staupitz commanded all thehermits of the Saxon province to accept the regular observance on pain of being punished as rebels, and to obey him as well as the general of the order, and, on 30 September, published thepapal Bull atWittenberg, sevenconvents refused to obey, among them that of Erfurt, of whichMartin Luther was a member. In fact,Luther seems to have gone toRome on this occasion as a representative of the rebelliousmonks.
In consequence of this appeal toRome, the consolidation did not take place.Staupitz also continued to favourLuther even after this. They had become acquainted at Erfurt, during a visitation, andStaupitz was responsible forLuther's summons toWittenberg in 1508; nay, even after 1517 he entertained friendly sentiments forLuther, looking upon his proceedings as being directed only against abuses. From 1519 on he gradually turned away fromLuther.Staupitz resigned his office ofvicar-general of the German congregations in 1520. Father Wenzel Link, preacher atNuremberg, former professor and dean of thetheological faculty atWittenberg, who was elected his successor, cast his lot withLuther, whose views were endorsed at a chapter of the Saxon province held in January, 1522, atWittenberg. In 1523 Link resigned his office, became aLutheran preacher at Altenberg, where he introduced theReformation and married, and went in 1528 as preacher toNuremberg, where he died in 1547. The example ofLuther and Link was followed by many Augustinians of the Saxon province, so that theirconvents were more and more deserted, and that of Erfurt ceased to exist in 1525. The German houses that remained faithful united with the Lombardic Congregation. There were, however, many Augustinians inGermany who by their writings and their sermons opposed theReformation. Among themBartholomäus Arnoldi of Usingen (d. 1532 atWürzburg), for thirty years professor at Erfurt and one ofLuther's teachers, Johannes Hoffmeister (d. 1547), Wolfgang Cappelmair (d. 1531), and Konrad Treger (d. 1542).
More fortunate than that of the German (Saxon) province was the reform of the order begun inSpain in the sixteenth century, which extended thence toItaly andFrance. The originator of this reform was Father Thomas of Andrada, afterwards calledThomas of Jesus. Born atLisbon, in 1529, he entered the Augustinian Order in his fifteenth year. Although aided in his efforts at reform by the Cardinal Infante Henry ofPortugal, and his teacher, Louis of Montoya, his plans were impeded at first by the hesitation of his brethren, then by his captivity among theMoors (1578), on the occasion of thecrusade of the youthful King Sebastian ofPortugal, and lastly by his death inprison which took place on 17 April, 1582. The celebrated poet and scholar Fray Luis Ponce de León (d. 1591), of the Augustinianmonastery at Salamanca, took up the work ofThomas of Andrada. Appointed professor oftheology at theUniversity of Salamanca in 1561, he undertook the revision of the constitutions of his order and in 1588 Father Díaz, with the support of Philip II, established at Talavera the firstmonastery of the Spanish Regular Observance. In a short time many newmonasteries of Discalced Augustinians sprang up inSpain and were followed by others in the Spanish colonies. In 1606 Philip III sent some Discalced Augustinians to thePhilippine Islands where, as early as 1565,Fray Andrés de Urdaneta, the well-known navigator and cosmographer (cf. "La Ciudad de Dios", 1902; "Die katholischen Missionen", 1880, pp. 4 sqq.), had founded the first mission station on the island ofCebú. In a few years, many mission stations of the Discalced Augustinians sprang up in the principal places on the islands and developed a very successful missionary activity. In 1622Pope Gregory XV permitted the erection of a separate congregation for the Discalced, with its ownvicar-general. This congregation comprised four provinces: three inSpain and the Philippine province, to which was later added that ofPeru. When the Discalced Augustinians inSpain were eitherput to death orobliged to flee, during the revolution of 1835, they continued to flourish in thePhilippines and in South America.
InItaly, Father Andrés Díaz introduced the reformed congregations in 1592, the first house being that of Our Lady of the Olives, atNaples, which was soon followed by others atRome and elsewhere. As early as 1624Pope Urban VIII permitted the division of the Italian congregations of Barefooted Augustinians into four provinces (later, nine). In 1626 a house of this congregation was founded at Prague and another atVienna, in 1631, of which the celebratedAbraham a Sancta Clara was a member in the eighteenth century. InFrance, Fathers François Amet and Matthew of St. Frances, of Villar-Benoit, completed the reform of the order in 1596. The French Congregation of Discalced Augustinians comprised three provinces, of which all the houses were destroyed during theFrench Revolution. As the onlyconvent of Calced Augustinian Hermits, St. Monica, atNantes, is at present untenanted, there is now not a single Augustinianconvent inFrance. The Italian Congregation of Discalced Augustinians inItaly possess seven houses, six inItaly and one inAustria (Schlusselburg, with aparish in theDiocese of Budweiss). The chief house of this congregation is that ofSt. Nicholas of Tolentino inRome (Via del Corso 45). Including the scattered members of the Spanish congregation in thePhilippine Islands and South America, the Discalced Augustinians still number about 600 members. They are independent of the Augustinian general and are divided into two congregations, under two vicars-general.
The Augustinian Hermits, while following the rule known as that ofSt. Augustine, are also subject to the Constitutions drawn up by Bl. Augustinus Novellus (d. 1309), prior general of the order from 1298 to 1300, and by Bl. Clement ofOsimo. The Rule and Constitutions were approved at the general chapter held at Florence in 1287 and atRatisbon in 1290. A revision was made atRome in 1895. The Constitutions have frequently been printed: atRome, in 1581, and, with the commentary ofGirolamo Seripando, atVenice, in 1549, and atRome, in 1553. The newly revised Constitutions were published atRome in 1895, with additions in 1901 and 1907.
The government of the order is as follows: At the head is the prior general (at present, Tomás Rodríguez, aSpaniard), elected every six years by the general chapter. The prior general is aided by four assistants and a secretary, also elected by the general chapter. These form theCuria Generalitia. Each province is governed by a provincial, each commissariate by a commissary general, each of the two congregations by avicar-general, and everymonastery by a prior (though themonastery of Alt-Brunn, inMoravia, is under anabbot) and every college by arector. The members of the order are divided intopriests andlay brothers. The Augustinians, like mostreligious orders, have acardinal protector (at present, Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro). The choir and outdoor dress of themonks is of black woollen material, with long, wide sleeves, a black leather girdle, and a long pointed cowl reaching to the girdle. The indoor dress consists of a black habit withscapular. In manymonasteries white was formerly the colour of the house garment, also worn in public, in places where there were noDominicans. Shoes and (out of doors) a black hat complete the costume.
The Discalced Augustinians have their own constitutions, differing from those of the other Augustinians. Theirfasts are more rigid, and their other ascetic exercises stricter. They wear sandals, not shoes (and are therefore not strictlydiscalced). They never sing a high Mass. As an apparent survival of thehermit life, the Discalced Augustinians practise strict silence and have in every province a house of recollection situated in some retired place, to whichmonks striving after greater perfection can retire in order to practise severepenance, living only on water, bread, fruits, olive oil, and wine.
Privileges were granted to the order almost from its beginning.Alexander IV freed the order from thejurisdiction of thebishops;Innocent VIII, in 1490, granted to the churches of the orderindulgences such as can only be gained by making the Stations atRome;Pius V placed the Augustinians among themendicant orders and ranked them next to theCarmelites. Since the end of the thirteenth century thesacristan of thepapal palace has always been an Augustinian. This privilege was ratified byPope Alexander VI and granted to the order forever by aBull issued in 1497. The present holder of the office is Guglielmo Pifferi,titularBishop of Porphyra,rector of the Vaticanparish (of which thechapel of St. Paul is theparish church). To his office also belongs theduty of preserving in his oratory aconsecrated Host which must be renewed weekly and kept in readiness in case of thepope's illness, when it is the privilege of thepapalsacristan to administer the lastsacraments to His Holiness. Thesacristan must always accompany thepope when he travels, and during aconclave it is he who celebrates Mass and administers thesacraments. He lives in the Vatican with a sub-sacristan and threelay brothers of the order (cf.Rocca, "Chronhistoria de Apostolico Sacrario", Rome, 1605). The Augustinian Hermits always fill one of the chairs of the Sapienza University, and one of the consultorships in the Congregation of Rites.
The work of the Augustinians includes teaching, scientific study, thecure of souls, and missions. The history ofeducation makes frequent mention of Augustinians who distinguished themselves particularly as professors ofphilosophy andtheology at the greatuniversities of Salamanca,Coimbra, Alcalá,Padua,Pisa,Naples,Oxford, Paris,Vienna,Prague,Würzburg, Erfurt, Heidelberg,Wittenberg, etc. Others taught successfully in theschools of the order. The order also controlled a number of secondaryschools, colleges, etc. In 1685 theBishop ofWürzburg, Johann Gottfried II, of Guttenberg, confided to the care of the Augustinians theparish and the gymnasium of Munnerstadt in Lower Franconia (Bavaria), a charge which they still retain. Connected with themonastery of St. Michael in that place is amonasticschool, while theseminary directed by the Augustinians forms anotherconvent, that of St. Joseph. From 1698 to 1805 there existed an Augustinian gymnasium at Bedburg in the district of Cologne. The order also possesses altogether fifteen colleges, academies, andseminaries inItaly,Spain, and America. The chief institutions of this kind inSpain are that at Valladolid and that in theEscorial. As a pedagogical writer, we may mention the general of the order Aegidius of Colonna, also called Aegidius Romanus, who diedArchbishop ofBourges in 1316. Aegidius was the preceptor of the French king,Philip IV, the Fair, at whose request he wrote the work "De regimine Principum". (An extract from this book "on the care ofparents for theeducation of their children" will be found in the "Bibliothek der katholischen Pädagogik", Freiburg, 1904.) Jacques Barthélemy de Buillon, a French Augustinian exiled by theRevolution, fled toMunich and began theeducation of deaf and dumb children. Aegidius of Colonna was a disciple ofSt. Thomas Aquinas, and founded theschool oftheology known as the Augustinian, which was divided into an earlier and a later. Among the representatives of the earlier Augustinianschool (or Aegidians), we may mention besides Aegidius himself (Doctor fundatissimus)Thomas of Strasburg (d. 1357), andGregory of Rimini (d. 1358), both generals of the order, and Augustine Gibbon, professor atWürzburg (d. 1676). The later Augustinianschool oftheology is represented byCardinal Henry Noris (d. 1704), Fred. Nicholas Gavardi (d. 1715), Fulgentius Bellelli (d. 1742), Petrus Manso (d. after 1729), Joannes Laurentius Berti (d. 1766), and Michelangelo Marcelli (d. 1804). The following were notabletheologians: James ofViterbo (Giacomo di Capoccio),Archbishop ofBenevento andNaples (d. 1308), calledDoctor speculativus; Alexander a S. Elpideo (also called Fassitelli or A. de Marchina) (d. 1326),Bishop of Melfi; Augustinus Triumphus (d. 1328); Bartholomew ofUrbino (also called de Carusis) (d. 1350),Bishop ofUrbino;Henry of Friemar (d. 1354); Blessed Herman of Schildesche (Schildis, near Bielefeld) (d. 1357), calledDoctor Germanus andMagnus legista; Giacomo Caraccioli (d. 1357); Simon Baringuedus (d. after 1373); Johann Klenkok (Klenke) (d. 1374), author of the "Decadicon", an attack upon the "Sachsenspiegel"; Johannes Zachariae (d. 1428), known for his controversy withJohn Hus at theCouncil of Constance and for his "Oratio de necessitate reformationis"; Paulus (Nicolettus) de Venetiis (d. 1429); Giovanni Dati (d. 1471); Ambrose of Cora (Corianus, Coriolanus) (d. 1485), general of the order after 1476; Thomas Pencket (d. 1487);Aegidius of Viterbo (d. 1532); Cosmas Damian Hortulanus (Hortola) (d. 1568); Caspar Casal (d. 1587),Bishop ofCoimbra; PedroAragon (d. 1595); Giovanni Battista Arrighi (d. 1607);Gregorio Nuñez Coronel (d. 1620); Aegidius a Praesentatione Fonseca (d. 1626); Luigi Alberti (d. 1628); Basilius Pontius (d. 1629); Ludovicus Angelicus Aprosius (d. 1681); Nikolaus Gircken (d. 1717). Giovanni Michele Cavalieri (d. 1757) was a rubricist of note.Father Angelo Rocca,papalsacristan andtitularBishop ofTagaste (d. 1620), known for his liturgical and archaeological researches, was the founder of the Angelica Library (Bibliotheca Angelica), which was called after him and is now the publiclibrary of the Augustinians inRome.
Many Augustinians have written ascetic works and sermons. In the department of historical research the following are worthy of mention:Onofrio Panvini (d. 1568);Joachim Brulius (d. after 1652), who wrote a history of the colonization andChristianizing ofPeru (Antwerp, 1615), also a history ofChina; Enrique Florez (d. 1773), called "the first historian ofSpain", author of "Espana Sagrada"; and, lastly, Manuel Risco (d. 1801), author of a history of printing inSpain.
To the missionaries of the order we owe many valuable contributions in linguistics. Father Melchor de Vargas composed, in 1576, a cathechism in the Mexican Otomi language; Father Diego Basalenque (d. 1651) and Miguel de Guevara compiled works in the languages of the savage Matlaltzinkas of Mexico; Father Manuel Perez translated the Roman Cathechism intoAztec in 1723. Others have made researches in the languages of thePhilippine Islands, such as Father Diego Bergano and, in more recent times, José Sequi (d. 1844), a prominent missionary of the order, whobaptized 30,000persons. Many wrote grammars and compiled dictionaries. Father Herrera wrote a poetical life ofJesus in the Tagalog language in 1639. Fathers Martin de Hereda and Hieronymus penetrated into the interior ofChina in 1577, to study Chinese literature with the intention of bringing it intoEurope. Father Antonius Aug. Georgius (d. 1797) composed the "Alphabetum Tibetanum" for the use of missionaries. Father Agostino Ciasca (d. 1902), titularArchbishop ofLarissa andcardinal, a prominent member of the order in recent times, established a special faculty for Oriental languages at the Roman Seminary, published an Arabic translation ofTatian's "Diatessaron" and wrote "Bibliorum Fragmenta Copto-Sahidica". Father Dionysius ofBorgo San Sepolcro (d. 1342),Bishop ofMonopoli in LowerItaly, is the author of a commentary on the "Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri IX" of Valerius Maximus, and was also much esteemed for his talents as poet,philosopher, and orator. The missionaries of the order have also given us valuable descriptive works on foreign countries and peoples. In this class of writing Cipriano Navarro's important work on "The Inhabitants of thePhilippines" and a monumental work in six volumes entitled "La Flora de Filipinas" (Madrid, 1877--), are valuable contributions to literature and learning. Manuel Blanco, Ignacio Mercado, Antonio Llanos, Andrés Naves, and Celestino Fernandez are also worthy of mention. Fathers Angelo Perez and Cecilio Guemes published in 1905 a work in four volumes entitled "La Imprentade Manila".
A number of mathematicians, astronomers, and musicians are also found among the members of the order, but it was the great scientistJohann Gregor Mendel,abbot of themonastery of St. Thomas at Alt-Brunn in Moravia (d. 1884) who shed glory on the Augustinian Order in recent times. He was the discoverer of the Mendelianlaws of heredity and hybridization (see underEVOLUTION;andGREGOR MENDEL). The value set upon learning andscience by the Augustinianmonks isproved by the care given to theirlibraries and by the establishment of their own printing-press in theirconvent atNuremberg, in 1479, as well as by the numerous learned men produced by the order and still contributing valuable additions toknowledge. Father Tomás Cámaro y Castro (d. 1904),Bishop of Salamanca, founded a scientific periodical, "La Ciudad de Dios", formerly entitled "Revista Agustiniana", and published by the Augustinians atMadrid since 1881. InSpain the order possesses besides several meteorological stations, the observatory of theEscorial. Among the Augustinian writers of the present time should be mentioned: Zacarías Martínez Nuñez, a celebrated Spanish orator and master of naturalscience; Honorato del Val, author of a great work ondogma; Aurelio Palmieri, one of the best authorities on the Russian language, literature, andchurch history.
The Augustinian Order has devoted itself from its beginning, with greatzeal to thecure of souls. Only those engaged in teaching and inmates of the houses of recollection, among the Discalced, are exempt from theobligation to thisduty, to follow which the order, though retaining its nameHermits, exchanged the contemplative life for the active. Seeing the good done by theFriars Minor and theDominicans, they wished to share in the harvest, undertaking to preach and instruct the people. Augustinians became the confessors and advisers ofpopes, princes, and rulers. Many becamebishops, severalcardinals, exercising these offices for the good of theChurch and thehonour of their order. At present the order has acardinal, Sebastiano Martinelli (formerlyApostolic delegate for theUnited States), severalbishops--Guglielmo Pifferi (see above); Stephen Reville,Bishop ofSandhurst in Australia; Arsenio Campo y Monasterio,Bishop ofNueva Cáceres in thePhilippine Islands; Giovanni Camilleri,Bishop ofGozzo; José López de Mendoza y Garcia,Bishop ofPampeluna,Spain; Giuseppe Capecci,Bishop ofAlessandria inItaly; Francisco Xavier Valdés y Noriega,Bishop of Salamanca; William A. Jones,Bishop ofPorto Rico; the Vicars Luis Perez of Northern Hu-nan (China) and Dominic Murray, Cooktown, Australia; thePrefect Apostolic (Paulino Díaz Alonso) of San León de Amazonas--and, finally, two mitredabbots.
The order has produced manysaints, for example, Sts.Nicholas of Tolentino (d. 1305), John of Sahagún (a Sancto Facundo) (d. 1479), andThomas of Villanova (d. 1555). Stefano Bellesini (d. 1840), the Augustinianparishpriest of Genazzano, in the Roman province, wasbeatified byPius X, 27 December, 1904. The process for thebeatification of seven Augustinians, among them thepapalsacristan Bartolommeo Menochio (d. 1827), is under consideration.
As to the devotional practices specially connected with the Augustinian Order, and which it has striven to propagate, we may mention the veneration of the Blessed Virgin under the title of "Mother of Good Counsel", whosemiraculous picture is to be seen in the Augustinian church at Genazzano in the Roman province. This devotion has spread to other churches and countries, and confraternities have been formed to cultivate it. Several periodicals dedicated to thehonour of Our Lady of Good Counsel are published inItaly,Spain, andGermany by the Augustinians (cf. Meschler on the history of themiraculous picture of Genazzano in "Stimmen aus Maria-Laach", LXVII, 482 sqq.). Besides this devotion the order fosters the Archconfraternity of Our Lady of Consolation, a so-called girdle confraternity, the members of which wear a blessed girdle of black leather inhonour of Sts.Augustine,Monica, andNicholas of Tolentino, recite daily thirteenOur Fathers andHail Marys and theSalve Regina, fast strictly on the eve of the feast ofSt. Augustine, and receiveHoly Communion on the feasts of the three above-namedsaints. This confraternity was founded byPope Eugene IV at S. Giacomo, Bologna, in 1439, made an archconfraternity byGregory XIII, in 1575, aggregated to the Augustinian Order, and favoured withindulgences. The Augustinians, with theapprobation ofPope Leo XIII, also encourage the devotion of theScapular of Our Lady of Good Counsel and the propagation of theThird Order ofSt. Augustine for thelaity, as well as the veneration ofSt. Augustine and his mother St. Monica, in order to instill the Augustinian spirit ofprayer and self-sacrifice into their parishioners.
The Augustinians hold an honourable place in the history of foreign missions. Before the middle of the fourteenth century, Father Nikolaus Teschel (d. 1371), auxiliaryBishop ofRatisbon, where he died, with some brethren preached the Gospel inAfrica. In 1533, after the subjugation of Mexico byCortez, some Augustinians, sent bySt. Thomas of Villanova, accomplished great missionary work in that country. Monasteries sprang up in the principal places and became the centers ofChristianity, art, and civilization. The Patio (Cloister) of the formermonastery ofSt. Augustine, now the post office, atQuerétaro, is one of the most beautiful examples of stone-carving in America. The Augustinianmonasteries in Mexico are today either deserted or occupied by a few fathers only; some even only by one. The Provincia Michoacanensis (see above, Present Condition) at present has about 55 members, while the Provincia Mexicana has 31, most of whom arepriests. Augustinian missionaries extended their labours to South America (Colombia,Venezuela,Peru) with great success. Political events in these countries prevented the order from prospering and hindered the success of its undertakings, so that in course oftime themonasteries became deserted. Late events in thePhilippine Islands, however, have permitted the Augustinians to return to their former churches andmonasteries and even to found new ones.
In theRepublic of Colombia, 26 members of the Philippine province are employed, including 6 at the residence ofSanta Fe de Bogota, 8 in the college at Facatativa, and 12 at other stations. InPeru 49 members of the same province are employed: 14priests and 2lay brothers belonging to theconvent atLima; 12priests to the college in the same city; 6 in each of the twoseminaries atCuzco andAyacucho. In the Prefecture Apostolic of San León de Amazonas, at the mission stations of Peba, Río Tigre, and Leticia in the territory of the Iquito Indians there are 9priests. In June, 1904, Father Bernardo Calle, thelay brother, Miguel Vilajoli, and more than 70Christians, weremurdered at the recently erected mission station, Huabico, in Upper Maranon and the station itself was destroyed. The Augustinian settlements inBrazil also belong to the Philippine province. In the procuration house at S. Paulo (Rua Apeninos 6) and in the college at Brotas there are 4 Augustinians each; in thediocesanseminary at S. José de Manaos, 6; and in the other settlements, 27 priests--in all, 42 members of the order, including onelay brother. InArgentina, there are 25priests and twolay brothers in the six colleges andschools of the order. InEcuador, which forms a province by itself, there are 21 members of the order; 9priests and 7lay brothers in themonastery atQuito; 3priests in theconvent at Latagun and 2 in that atGuayaquil. The province ofChile has 56 members, including 18lay brothers; 11 atSantiago, 4 atLa Serena, 5 atConcepción, 22 at Talca, 8 at San Fernando, 4 at Melipilla, and 2 in the residence at Picazo. The province of theUnited States of America is very large, as the Augustinians driven out of manyEuropean countries in 1848 sought refuge in that republic. This province now numbers 200 members. The largestconvent is at Villanova, Pa.; it is also thenovitiate for North America, and among the 117 religious occupying theconvent 21 arepriests (see above, Present Condition). The otherconvents contain 60 members, of whom 5 arelay brothers. To the province of theUnited States belongs also St. Augustine's College atHavana,Cuba, where there are 5priests and 3lay brothers.
The greatest missionary activity of the Augustinian Order has been displayed in thePhilippine Islands, and the first missionaries to visit these islands were Augustinians. When Magalhaes discovered thePhilippines (16 March, 1521) and took possession of them in the name of the King ofSpain, he was accompanied by thechaplain of the fleet, who preached the Gospel to the inhabitants,baptizing Kings Colambu and Siagu and 800 natives of Mindanao and Cebú, onLow Sunday, 7 April, 1521. The good seed, however, was soon almost destroyed; Magalhaes was killed in a fight with natives on the little island of Mactan on 27 April and the seed sown by the first Spanish missionaries all but perished; nor were those missionaries brought from Mexico in 1543 by Ruy López Villalobos more successful, for they wereobliged to return toEurope by way ofGoa, having gained very little hold on the islanders. Under the Adelantado Legaspi who in 1565 established the sovereignty ofSpain in thePhilippines and selected Manila as the capital in 1571,Father Andrés de Urdaneta and 4 other Augustinians landed atCebú in 1565, and at once began a very successful apostolate. The first houses of the Augustinians were established atCebú, in 1565, and atManila, in 1571. In 1575, under the leadership of Father Alfonso Gutierez, twenty-four Spanish Augustinians landed in the islands and, with theprovincials Diego de Herrera and Martin de Rado, worked very successfully, at first as wandering preachers. TheFranciscans first appeared in thePhilippines in 1577 and were warmly welcomed by the Augustinians. Soon they were joined byDominicans andJesuits. Sent by Philip III, the first Barefooted Augustinians landed in 1606. All these orders shared in the labours and difficulties of the missions. Protected bySpain, they prospered, and their missionary efforts became more and more successful. In 1773 theJesuits, however, wereobliged to give up their missions in consequence of thesuppression of the Society.
Thereligious orders have suffered muchpersecution in thePhilippines in recent times, especially the Augustinians. In 1897 the Calced Augustinians, numbering 319 out of 644 religious then in the Philippine province, had charge of 225parishes, with 2,377,743souls; the Discalced (Recollects), numbering about 220, with 233parishes and 1,175,156souls; the Augustinians of the Philippine province numbered in all 522, counting those in theconvents atManila, Cavite, San Sebastian, and Cebú, those at the large model farm at Imus, and those inSpain at the colleges of Monteagudo, Marcilla, and San Millan de la Cogulla. Besides the numerousparishes served by the Calced Augustinians, they possessed severaleducational institutions: a superior and intermediateschool at Vigan (Villa Fernandina) with 209 students, anorphanage and tradeschool at Tambohn nearManila, with 145orphans, etc. In consequence of the disturbances, theschools and missions were deserted; six fathers were killed and about 200imprisoned and sometimes harshly treated. Those who escaped unmolested fled to the principal house atManila, toMacao, to Han-kou, to South America, or to Mexico. Up to the beginning of 1900, 46 Calced and 120 Discalced Augustinians had beenimprisoned. Upon their release, they returned to the fewmonasteries still left them in the islands or set out forSpain,Colombia,Peru,Brazil,Argentina andChina. The province of theUnited States sent some members to supply the vacancies in thePhilippines. Themonastery of St. Paul, atManila, now has 24priests and 6lay brothers; that atCebú, 5 members of the order, that at Iloilo, on the island of Panay, 11priests and 2lay brothers, while in the 10 residences there are 20 fathers; so that at the present time there are only 68 Calced Augustinians in the islands. In all, the Provincia Ss. Nominis Jesu Insularum Philippinarum, includingtheological students and the comparatively small number oflay brothers, has 600 members: 359 inSpain, 185 of whom are priests; 68 in thePhilippines; 29 inChina; 26 in Colombia; 49 inPeru; 42 inBrazil; 27 inArgentina.
The Augustinian missions in thePhilippines have provided missionaries for the East since their first establishment. In 1603 some of them penetrated intoJapan, where several weremartyred, and in 1653 others enteredChina, where, in 1701, the order had six missionary stations. At present the order possesses the mission of Northern Hu-nan,China, where there are 24 members, 2 of whom are natives; 6 in the district of Yo-chou; 6 in the district of Ch'ang-te; 9 in the district of Li-chu; three other religious are also labouring in other districts-all under thevicar Apostolic, Mgr. Perez. The mission comprises about 3000baptizedChristians and 3500catechumens in a population of 11 millions ofheathens. In 1891 there were only 219Christians and 11catechumens, as well as 29schools, with 420 children and 750orphans. There are, moreover, twopriests at the mission house at Han-kou and two at the procuration house at Shang-hai (Yang-tsze-poo Road, 10). The missionary history ofPersia also mentions the Augustinians. Towards the close of the sixteenth century, Alexio de Menezes, Count of Cantanheda (d. 1617), a member of the order, appointedArchbishop ofGoa in 1595, and ofBraga in 1612,Primate of the East Indies, and several times Viceroy ofIndia, sent several Augustinians as missionaries toPersia while he himself laboured for the reunion of theThomas Christians, especially at the Synod of Diamper, in 1599, and for the conversion of theMohammedans and theheathens of Malabar. (Govea, "Jornada do Arcebispo de Goa Dom Alexio de Menezes",Coimbra, 1606; also, "Histoire Orient. de grans progres de l'église Romaine en la reduction des anciens chrestiens dit de St. Thomas" translated from the Spanish of Franc. Munoz by J.B. de Glen,Brussels, 1609; Joa. a S. Facundo Raulin, "Historia ecclesiae malabaricae", Rome, 1745.)
The Augustinians also established missions in Oceanica and Australia. Here the Spanish Discalced Augustinians took over the missions founded by Spanish and GermanJesuits in the Ladrones, which now number 7 stations, with about 10,000souls, on Guam and about 2500 on each of the German islands of Saipan, Rota, and Tinian. The mission on the German islands was separated from theDiocese of Cebú on 1 October, 1906, and made aprefecture Apostolic on 18 June, 1907, with Saipan as its seat of administration, and the mission is now in charge of the GermanCapuchins. In Australia the Calced Augustinians are established in theecclesiastical Province ofMelbourne and in the Vicariate Apostolic of Cooktown, Queensland, where there are at present twelvepriests of theIrish province under Monsignor James D. Murray. Threemonasteries, each with twopriests, in other parts ofAustralia also belong to this province. The order has furnished some prominentbishops toAustralia, among them, James Alipius Gould. TheIrish Augustinian college of St. Patrick atRome, built in 1884 by Father Patrick Glynn, O.S.A., is the training college for the Augustinian missions. The presentrector is Reginald Maurice McGrath.
These regard as their first foundation themonastery ofnuns for whichSt. Augustine wrote the rules of life in his Epistola ccxi (alias cix) in 423. It iscertain that this epistle was called theRule of St. Augustine fornuns at an earlydate, and has been followed as the rule of life in manyfemalemonasteries since the eleventh century. Thesemonasteries were not consolidated in 1256, like thereligious communities of Augustinianmonks. Eachconvent was independent and was not subject to the general of the order. This led to differences in rule, dress, and mode of life. Only since the fifteenth century have certain Augustinian Hermits reformed a number of Augustiniannunneries, become their spiritual directors, and induced them to adopt the Constitution of their order. Henceforth, therefore, we meet withfemale members of the Order of Hermits of St. Augustine inItaly,France,Spain,Belgium, and later inGermany, where, however, many were suppressed during theReformation, or by the secularizing law of 1803. In the other countries manynunneries were closed in consequence of theRevolution. The still existing houses, except Cascia, Renteria (Diocese of Vittoria), Eibar (Diocese of Vittoria), and Cracow, are now under thejurisdiction of thebishop of thediocese. Manyconvents are celebrated for thesaints whom they produced, such as Montefalco in CentralItaly, the home of Blessed Clara of the Cross (Clara of Montefalco, d. 1308), and Cascia, nearPerugia, whereSt. Rita died in 1457. In the suppressedconvent of Agnetenberg near Dulmen, inWestphalia, livedAnne Catherine Emmerich celebrated for her visions.
Mention should also be made of themonastery of the Augustinians called delle Vergini, atVenice, founded in 1177 byAlexander III after his reconciliation withFrederick Barbarossa, whose daughter Julia, with twelve girls of noble birth, entered themonastery and became firstabbess. Doge Sebastiano Zani, who had endowed the institution, was appointed patron, with the privilege of approving the election of theabbess before the granting of thepapal confirmation. On the French occupation in the eighteenth century the religious went to America, where they devoted themselves to the work of teaching and the care of the sick. Later they establishedmonasteries inItaly and in 1817 inParis. Towards the end of the sixteenth century communities offemale Discalced Augustinians appeared inSpain. The firstconvent, that of the Visitation, was founded atMadrid, in 1589, by Prudencia Grillo, a lady of noble birth, and received its Constitution from Father Alfonso of Orozco. Juan de Ribera,Archbishop ofValencia (d. 1611), founded a second Discalced Augustinian congregation at Alcoy, in 1597. It soon had houses in different parts ofSpain, and in 1663 was established atLisbon by Queen Louise ofPortugal. In addition to theRule of St. Augustine these religious observed the exercises of the ReformedCarmelites ofSt. Teresa. In theconvent at Cybar, Mariana Manzanedo of St. Joseph instituted a reform which led to the establishment of a third, that of thefemale Augustinian Recollects. Thestatutes, drawn up by Father Antinólez, and later confirmed byPaul V, bound the sisters to the strictest interpretation of the rules of poverty and obedience, and a rigorous penitential discipline. All three reforms spread inSpain andPortugal, but not in other countries. A congregation of Augustiniannuns under the title "Sisters of St. Ignatius" was introduced into thePhilippines and South America by the Discalced Augustinian Hermits. They workedzealously in aid of the missions,schools, andorphanages in the island, and founded the colleges of Our Lady of Consolation and of St. Anne atManila, and houses at Neuva Segovia,Cebú, and Mandaloya on the Pasig, where they have done much for theeducation of girls.
Panvini, Augustiniani Ordinis Chronicon per annorum seriem digestum a S.P. Augustino ad a. 1510; Roman, Cronica de la Orden de los Eremitanos de Padre San Agustin (Salamanca, 1569); Pamphilus, Chronicon O. Erem. S. A. et eius viri vel sanctitate vel rebus gestis illustres (Rome, 1581); Empoli, Bullarium O. Erem. S.A. ab Innocentio III usque ad Urbanum VI, cum Catalogo Priorum, Capitularium, Procuratorum, Generalium, etc. (Rome, 1628); Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani (Bologna, 1659-86); de Herrera, Alphabetum Augustinianum in quo domicilia et monasteria, viri faeminaeque illustres Eremitici Ordinis recensentur (Madrid, 1664); Kolde, Die deutsche Augustiner-Kongregation und Johann von Staupitz (Gotha, 1875); Paulus in Historisches Jahrbuch, XII, 68 sqq.; XXII, 110 sqq.; XXIV, 72 sqq.; and Historisch-politische Blatter, CXLII, 738 sqq.; Crusenius, Monasticon Augustinianum (Munich, 1623), continued by Tirso, 1903; Heylot, Histoire des Ordes, II-IV, especially III; Privilegia Erem S. Aug. sive Mare Magnum (Pesaro, 1615); Maiocchi and Casacca, edd., Codex diplomaticus O. Erem S. Augustini Papiae (3 vols., Pavia, 1907); Heimbucher, Die Orden und Kongregationen der katholischen Kirche, II (2nd ed., Paderborn, 1907), 177 sqq., where other books of reference are indicated; Bauer, s.v. Augustiner in Kirchenlex., I, 1655 sqq.; Analecta Augustiniana (periodical, Rome, 1907--); Revista Augustiniana, later, La Ciudad de Dios (Madrid, 1881--).
On the Discalced Augustinians.-- Andrés de San Nicolas, Historia de los Agustinos descalzos (Madrid, 1664); Sacra Eremus Augustiniana sive de Institutione fratrum Eremitarum excalceatorum O. S. Aug. (Cambrai, 1658); Pierre de Ste-Helene, Abrege de l'histoire des Augustins dechausses (Rouen, 1672); Andrada, Virorum illustrium ... exegesis summaria (Prague, 1674); Constitutiones de la Cong. de descalzos Agustinos (Madrid 1590); Constitutiones congregationis Italiae (Rome, 1623-32); Constitutiones Congregationis Gallicanae (Lyons, 1653); Andrés de S. Nicolas, Proventus messis Dom. FF. Excalceatorum O. Erem S. Aug. congr. Hispaniae (Rome, 1656).
On the Hagiology of the Order.-- Staibanus de Taranta, Tempio Eremitano dei Santi e Beati dell' ordine Agostiniano (Naples, 1608); Torelli, Ristretto (Bologna, 1647); Joa. Navii Eremus Augustiniana (Louvain, 1658); Maigretius, Martyrologium Augustinianum (Antwerp, 1625); Hormannseder, Heiliges Augustinerjahr (Vienna, 1733); De Wouter, Saintes de l'ordre de St-Augustin (Tournai).
On Augustinian Writers.-- Elsius, Encomiasticon Augustinianum (Brussels, 1654); Curtius, Virorum illustrium ... elogia (Antwerp, 1636, 1658); Gratianus, Anastasis Augustiniana (Antwerp, 1613), continued by Loy (Antwerp, 1636); Arpe, Pantheon Augustinianum (Genoa, 1709); Ossinger, Bibliotheca Augustiniana historica, critica et chronologica (Ingolstadt and Munich, 1776); Moral, Catalogo de escritores Agustinos Espanoles, Portugueses y Americanos in La Ciudad de Dios, XXXIV sqq.
On Augustinian Missions.-- Calancha, Cronica moralizada de la orden de San Agustin en el Peru (Barcelona, 1638); Baldani, Vita del fra Diego Ortiz, protomartire nel regno di Peru, martirizzato l'a. 1571 (Genoa, 1645); Brulius, Historiae Peruanae O. Erem. S. Aug. (Antwerp, 1651--); The Philippine Islands 1493-1898 (Cleveland, 1903--); Gaspar de S. Agustin, Conquista de las islas Filipinas (Madrid, 1698), continued by Díaz (Valladolid, 1890); Mozo, Noticia de los triumphos ... de la Orden de San Ag. en las misiones en las islas Filipinas y en imperio de la China (Madrid, 1763); Memoria acerca de las Misiones de los PP. Agustinos Calzados (Madrid, 1892); Los Frailes Filipinos (Madrid, 1898); Documentos Interesantes acerca de la secularizacion y amovilidad de los Curas Regulares de Filipinas (Madrid, 1897); Francisco del Carmen, Catalogo de los religiosos Agustinos Recoletos de la Provincia de San Nicolas de Tolentino de Filipinas desde 1606 hasta nuestros dias (Madrid, 1906).
APA citation.Heimbucher, M.(1910).Hermits of St. Augustine. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07281a.htm
MLA citation.Heimbucher, Max."Hermits of St. Augustine."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 7.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1910.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07281a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Rosa Maria Wiemann.Dedicated to St. Augustine and to all Augustinians.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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