 |
|
| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
(CLERICS REGULAR)
Areligious order of men, founded by Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene, Paolo Consiglieri, Bonifacio da Colle, and Giovanni Pietro Carafa, afterwardsPope Paul IV. Carafa wasBishop ofChieti (Theate), a city of the Abruzzi in SouthernItaly, from which the congregation adopted its specific name, to distinguish it from other congregations (Jesuits,Barnabites,Somaschi, Caracciolini, etc.) modelled upon it. Gaetanoconsecrated his order to the Cross, which he adopted as its emblem, and the foundation took place on the feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross, 3 May, 1524. It was approved on 24 June, 1524, byClement VII in theBrief "Exponi Nobis". On 14 Sept., feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, St. Gaetano and his companions made solemn profession before thepapal altar of St. Peter's,Rome, in the presence of Mgr. Giovanni Battista Bonziano,Bishop ofCaserta, specialpapal delegate. The chief object of the order was to recall theclergy to an edifying life and thelaity to the practice ofvirtue. St. Gaetano and his companionszealously endeavoured to combat theerrors ofMartin Luther, which, having gained a foothold inSwitzerland,Germany,England, andFrance, then threatenedItaly. They foundedoratories (among them the celebratedDivino Amore) andhospitals, devoted themselves to preaching the Gospel, and reforming laxmorals. Through their good exampleclergy andlaity were induced to better living.
Notwithstanding their severe rule of life and strictvow of poverty, the congregation rapidly developed, and soon numbered among its members illustrious names of the Italian aristocracy (Vezzosi, "Illustri scrittori Teatini", Rome, 1780). They founded many beautiful churches, among them that of S.Andrea della Valle inRome, a gift of Costanza Piccolomini D'Aragona, Duchess ofAmalfi. This church is a masterpiece of Carlo Maderna, and contains severalpaintings byDomenichino. The Theatines were invited toTurin,Genoa,Venice,Milan,Padua,Piacenza,Parma,Modena, Florence;Naples,Palermo,Messina,Lecce, etc., by the authorities of these places. They also attained a great development in foreign countries. InFrance, through the efforts ofCardinal Mazarin, they built the Church of St. Anne la Royale opposite the Louvre in 1644. InSpain, under Philip II, the Theatine Cardinal Paolo Burali d'Arezzo, afterwardsbeatified, filled various embassies at the command of the viceroy ofNaples. InPortugal John IV, in 1648, gave the Theatines a splendid house and college for theeducation of noble youth. InEngland, underHenry VIII,Goldwell,Bishop ofSt. Asaph, entered the order of Theatines (seeTHOMAS GOLDWELL).
The Theatines were the first to foundpapal missions in foreign lands, as in: Golconda, Ava, Pegu, Mingrelia, the Islands of Sunda, Borneo, Sumatra, the history of which was written by the Theatine Bartolomeo Ferro (Missioni Teatine nelle Indie Orientali); Georgia,Arabia,Armenia, in which latter country Father Galano, author of the history of theArmenian Church, negotiated and concluded the reconciliation and union of that Church with theRoman Catholic;Persia and in many other places, as is shown by Theatinemanuscriptsdating from 1530 till the end of the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth century the order began to decline, and in 1860, through the well-known suppression ofreligious orders, it was reduced to a shadow of its former greatness. In accordance with the spirit of its rule, it had never acquired possessions and is the only order which feels the consequences of thelaw of suppression.
Father Francesco di Paola Ragonesi, general of the order and the last surviving representative of its ancient traditions, restored the Church of S. Andrea della Valle to its former splendour, by his care andzeal aided by the munificence of Comm. Filippo Giove Romano. The Theatines maintain a flourishing mission atDurango inColorado, U.S.A.Pius X, in a Motu Proprio of 15 December, 1909, decreed the union of the ancient Congregation of the Regular Theatine Clergy with the youthful SpanishCongregation of the Holy Family at Barcelona. Besides the twosaints, Gaetano, invoked for the interposition of Providence, and AndreaAvellino, against sudden death, the order furnished onepope,Paul IV (Giovanni Pietro Carafa), 250bishops,archbishops, andpapal legates, and thecardinals: Blessed Giovanni Marinoni, Blessed Paolo Burali d'Arezzo, Blessed Giuseppe Maria Tomasi, Giovanni Bernardino Scotti, Francesco and Domenico Pignatelli, Giuseppe Capece-Zurlo, Francesco Maria Banditi, and Ferdinando Pignatelli, the last named createdcardinal byGregory XVI.Father Anton Francesco Vezzosi (whomClement XIII wished to makecardinal, but chose instead Fr. Ganganelli of theConventuals who succeeded him in thepapacy asClement XIV) treats of the illustrious men of the order in his work "I scrittori de' chierici regolari detti Teatini", Rome, 1780. The last famous Theatine was thephilosopher,littérateur, and great sacred orator,Father Gioacchino Ventura dei baroni di Raulica, aSicilian. He preached and wrote in both Italian and French. His most celebrated work is his funeral oration on the death of Daniel O'Connell. He was the friend of the most illustrious men of his day, among them theAbbé de Lamennais whom he sought to save for theCatholicChurch. He died atVersailles in 1860.
Theatine Nuns, a religious congregation ofwomen — oblates andhermitesses — existing inNaples andSicily, founded under the name of Sisters of the immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, by Venerable Ursula Benincasa. This illustriouswoman, who, according to Padre Silos ("Istorie Theatine",Palermo, 1666, XII, p. 657), united in herself the spirit of Gertrude, ofCatherine of Siena, of Brigid, and of Paula, was born atNaples, 7 August, 1547. Herparents were Girolamo Benincasa and Vincenza Genuina. Herfamily came originally fromSiena, inTuscany, and had given to the arts, to thesciences, and to theChurch both men andwomen of great distinction. Venerable Ursula herself displayed great talent; while still a young girl, she comprehended the most recondite meanings of Latin books and of theHoly Scripture. Her inclination to the monastic life was strongly pronounced from her earliest years. Many of her biographies (that of Maggio; Flaminio da Latera, "Compendio della storia degli ordini regolari" s.v. "Theatine dell'immacolata Concezione"; Bonanni in "Catalogo delle Vergine dedicate a Dio") state that when ten years old she attempted to enter themonastery of S. Maria di Gerusalemme, which flourished atNaples under the rule ofSt. Clare, and after variouspilgrimages and trials she founded the Congregation of the Theatine Oblate Sisters. Her sisters, among them Christina who became the first superioress, and some of her nieces formed the community. Little by little, otherpiouswomen joined them, to the number of sixty.
The date of this formation is fixed by some as 1581, according to others (including so weighty an authority as Padre Bonanni, S.J.) as 1583. The latterdate is the better substantiated, for in 1581 Ven. Ursula merely determined the spot on which she intended a church to be erected; it was in fact built near Castel S. Elmo, with the help of theSpanishpriest Gregorio Navarro,Abbot of Francavilla, whom she had told of a vision in which theBlessed Virgin had commanded her to build a church inhonour of the Most Holy Conception of Mary. At this period, having created much popular excitement by her visions, herecstasies, and the loftiness of her teaching, and having attracted enthusiastic admiration and envenomedcalumny, she was accused of being possessed by a devil and was therefore summoned toRome.Baronius and Tarugi,Oratorians and illustriouscardinals, received her and took her to have audience ofGregory XIII atFrascati, 3 May, 1582. By thepope's authority she was placed under thespiritual direction ofSt. Philip Neri, who subjected her to the most severe trials; he was constantly astonished by herpiety andhumility. In 1583 the foundation proper took place, under the protection of theBlessed Virgin,St. Joseph,St. Michael the Archangel, and St. Peter.
The rules of the Congregation of the Oblates are those of the active life of St. Martha, with simplevows. They include recitation of the Office of the Blessed Virgin and theDivine Office daily; one hour ofprayer in common at morning, besides the recitation of the Veni Creator and the De Profundis at None; one hour of adoration before theBlessed Sacrament, exposed in the church every Friday, with singing of appropriatehymns. In addition to the ordinaryfasts prescribed by theChurch, the Oblates fast on the vigils of the feasts ofCorpus Christi, the Purification, and the Immaculate Conception, and they are exhorted to wear the hairshirt on Fridays. The daily recitation of one-third of theRosary is also prescribed. They are recommended to labour with their hands, to practise the common life, poverty and the other virtues. The habit is that of the Theatineclerics: a white tunic under a black garment with wide sleeves and girdle of wool; on the head a white veil without wimple, the place of which is supplied by the collar of the outer garment, like that of the Theatineclerics (Baronius and Bonanni).
The Theatine Hermitesses (Romite Teatine) were founded in 1617. As Venerable Ursula wished to completely withdraw from the world she took thirty-three companions, in memory of the thirty-three years of Christ upon earth, and retired to a hermitage. The rules of the Hermitesses are much like those of the Oblates as regards works ofpiety; but the former religious follow the contemplative life ofSt. Magdalene. In addition to their solemnvows, their constitution imposes on them great austerities. They are bound to perpetual abstinence from flesh meat except in case of illness, to fast on the vigils of feasts of the Blessed Virgin and with still greater rigour on the vigils of the Immaculate Conception, theAscension, andCorpus Christi. They also fast every Saturday and on the last two days of Carnival, besides the ordinaryfasts of the church. They are bound to keep theBlessed Sacrament exposed for five hours every Friday, with continual adoration by five religious, and to practise penance regularly. The age of reception to the hermitage is twenty, and thenovitiate lasts two years. On admission to solemn profession, a religious may converse with her nearest relatives for one day, but must not expect to see them again. Their enclosure is of the strictest, and they hold no communication with anyone except those charged with supplying them with food, which is given to them through a turnstile. Their habit is of white cloth with a leather girdle, light bluescapular and mantle, black veil and wimple like othernuns (Bonanni, op. cit.). The building of the Hermitage was begun on 10 June, 1633, and completed in 1667. The rules of the Hermitesses and those of the Oblates were approved byGregory XVI in 1623.
The Theatine Sisters, more particularly the Oblates, were under the government andspiritual direction of the Fathers of theNaples Oratory, by the request of the Abbot Navarro mentioned above, until 1633. In this year the Theatine Order, under pressing and insistent solicitation of important personages, among themPope Urban VIII, undertook this charge, under the generalship of Padre Matteo Santomagno, who was the depositary of Ven. Ursula's last wishes and desires. Oblates and Hermitesses practised fervent and incessantprayer to avert frommankind the terrible chastisements which Ven. Ursula byDivine Providence foresaw in herecstasy. The life of the Oblates is active, that of the Hermitesses contemplative. These institutes — like many others which have not lived in touch with the world throughschools,hospitals and the like — continued to live and prosper while the days were lessevil than now, and their members were regarded with wonder as victims expiating withprayer thesins of humanity; but through the spoliation ofmonasteries they have now almost disappeared and are reduced to a shadow of their former greatness. Venerable Ursula's rule and thepious practice of the BlueScapular, which she introduced, are still observed.
Constitutiones Clericorum Regularium (Rome, 1604, 1610); Regole per le vergine Romite Theatine dell'Immacolata Concettione (Naples, 1680); Acta SS., Aug. II, 282 sqq.; CARACCIOLI, De vita Pauli IV (Cologne, 1612); TUFFO, Storia dei chierici regolari (Rome, 1610); PEPE, Vita di S. Gaetano (Rome, 1657); SILOS, Historia clericorum regolarium (Palermo, 1666); MORELLI, San Gaetano (Verona, 1843); TRACY, Saint Cajetan (Paris, 1774); FIORI, B. Paolo Giustiniani (Rome, 1729); CANCELLIERI, Campane descritte (Rome, 1806); CURRIER, Hist. of Religious Orders (New York, 1896), 357-9; DUMORTIER, St. Gaëtan de Thienne (Paris, 1882); FERRO, Storia delle missioni dei chierici Teatini (Rome, 1704); HEIMBUCHER, Die Orden und Kongregationen, III (Ratisbon, 1908), 258-69; HÉLYOT, Dict. des ordres religieux, III (Paris, 1850), 648-73; LA CLAVIÈRE, St. Gaëtan (Paris, 1901), tr. ELY (London, 1902); LÜBEN, Der hl. Cajetan von Tiene (Ratisbon, 1893); RASTOUL, Le R. P. Ventura (Paris, 1906), Vita della Ven. Suor Orsola, scritta da un Padre Teatino (Rome, 1796); BAGOTTA, Vita della Venerabile Orsola Benincasa ; BONI, La chiesa di S. Andrea della Valle (Rome, 1907); RAGONESI, Della vita di S. Andrea Avellino (Rome, 1908); DE MAULDE, San Gaetano e la Riforma Cattolica (Rome, 1480-1547), tr. SALVADORI (Rome, 1911).
APA citation.Ragonesi, F.(1912).Theatines. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14557a.htm
MLA citation.Ragonesi, Franciscus."Theatines."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 14.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1912.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14557a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Gerald Rossi.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. July 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.
Contact information. The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmasterat newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.