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| Abbreviation | OSH |
|---|---|
| Formation | Late 14th century |
| Type | Catholic enclosed religious order |
| Headquarters | Orden de San Jerónimo Monasterio de Santa María del Parral Subida al Parral, 2 40003 - Segovia, Spain |
| Website | www.monjesjeronimos.es |
TheHieronymites orJeronymites (or Jeronimites), also formally known as theOrder of Saint Jerome (Latin:Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviatedOSH), is aCatholiccloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations ofhermitmonks living according to theRule of Saint Augustine, though the role principle of their lives is that of the 5th-century hermit andbiblical scholarJerome.
The principal group with this name was founded in theIberian Peninsula around the 14th century. Theirreligious habit is a whitetunic with a brown, hoodedscapular and a brownmantle. Forliturgical services, they wear a browncowl.
Established nearToledo, Spain, the order developed from a spontaneous interest of a number oferemitical communities in both Spain and Portugal imitating the life ofJerome andPaula of Rome. This way of life soon became widespread in Spain. Two of these hermits, Pedro Fernández y Pecha and Fernando Yáñez y de Figueroa, decided it would be more advantageous to live a more regular way of life in a community, under an authorizedmonastic rule.[1]
Under their leadership, the Monastery of Saint Bartholomew was then founded inLupiana, with Fernández y Pecha acting as the firstprior. On 18 October 1373,Pope Gregory XI issued apapal bull recognizing them as areligious order, under theRule of Saint Augustine. The constitutions included the teachings of theirpatron saint. By 1415 there numbered 25 houses following this spirit; in that year, they were united by the Pope and given the status of an exempt order, free fromepiscopal jurisdiction.[2]
From its outset, the order enjoyed great favor from theking of Spain, and soon possessed some of the most famous monasteries in theIberian Peninsula: including theRoyal Monastery of Saint Mary of Guadalupe inExtremadura,Spain; theRoyal Monastery of Saint Mary of Bethlehem inLisbon, Portugal; and the magnificent monastery built byPhilip II of Spain atEl Escorial, where the kings of Spain were buried.[3][4]
Though their way of life was very austere, the Hieronymites also devoted themselves to study and to active ministry, possessing great influence at the courts both ofSpain and ofPortugal. In the 16th century they were a major supporter of the efforts of the Portuguese mysticJohn of God, who established thenursing order in Granada bearing his name. Missionaries to both Spanish and Portuguese America played a considerable part spreadingChristianity in the New World.
Hieronymitenuns were founded in 1375 by Maria Garcias, and became numerous throughout the Iberian peninsula.[3]
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The members of the order (monks and nuns) adopted as their religious habit a white tunic with a brown scapular (similar to theScapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel used by theCarmelites) and a hood, over which is worn a brown mantle or cowl of the same color.[4]
The islands of theAntilles in theCaribbean were entrusted to them forpastoral care byCardinalFrancisco Jiménez de Cisneros, who sent a small party of three monks toHispaniola. They were originally sent to deal with the issue of accusations against the Spanishcolonists of atrocities against the native population. These charges had been most vocally leveled by the notedpriestBartolomé de las Casas, who was asecular priest at the time. They appear to have been ineffectual in preventing the abuses which de la Casas had charged.
The leader of the monks,Luis de Figueroa, was later named the thirdbishop of Santo Domingo in 1523, which at the time also included the islands of Cuba andPuerto Rico. He died in 1526, before he could beconsecrated as abishop.[5] Another member of the order, Juan de Arzolaras (or Alzóloras), served as theArchbishop of Santo Domingo (1566–1568), before being transferred to serve as theBishop of the Canary Islands.
The men's branch of the order declined during the 18th century and was completelysuppressed in 1835 by theSpanish government.[3] At that time, there were 48 monasteries with about a thousand monks. The fate of the monastery buildings was varied. Most of them fell into ruins, others were given to other religious orders, still others became breweries, barns, or holiday homes.
According tocanon law, only theHoly See may suppress a religious order, and the Holy See possesses the right to restore that order should it see fit, for up to a century.[6]In 1925, the Hieronymite nuns (who were not affected by the suppression) petitioned the Holy See for a restoration of the men's branch. This was granted, with a new community of monks being established at theMonastery of Saint Mary of Parral inSegovia. However, the troubles of theRepublic of 1931 and of the subsequentSpanish Civil War of 1936-1939 prevented any real progress until the general government of the order was constituted in 1969.
As of 2012 one community of monks exists, that of Saint Mary of Parral, and 18 monasteries of nuns (17 in Spain and one in India). The Hieronymite Order is a monastic one, now purely contemplative. Through solitude and silence, assiduous prayer, and healthy penance, the order attempts to bring its monks into closer union with God. The Hieronymite is conscious that the more intensely he dedicates himself to the monastic life, the more fruitful becomes the life of the Church as a whole. Hieronymites believe that their prayer can have a profound impact on the world outside the monastery.
This is the environment in which the life of the Hieronymite monk is developed, with the morning usually spent in manual work—the normal means of support for monks—while afternoons are dedicated tocontemplation,prayer and study. Throughout the course of the day, the monks also gather for the singing of theLiturgy of the Hours as well as the celebration of theEucharist. The Hieronymite strives to allow these moments of prayer to flow through his way of life, so that his goal is to express his life in complete charity towards all people.
Hieronymites believe this inwardly-directed manner of life is an exquisite and effective form of apostolic outreach. They believe that in the middle of a restless world, there are those who are called by God to spend some time living in monastic solitude. For this reason, Hieronymite monasteries readily welcome visitors who are guaranteed silence and prayerful support.[2]
As of 2010, there were 11 monks in the order, of whom four were priests. This is down from a high of 21 monks in 1990.[7]
Alongside the Hieronymite monks, there are the Hieronymite nuns. They began inToledo, Spain, when María García (†1426) and Mayor Gómez headed a group of women who began living lives of simplicity and prayer. Finally, they joined in a common life in order to consecrate their lives to God in prayer and penance. As a result of their community, in 1374, Fernández y Pecha, the prior of the original community of monks, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria de La Sisla near that city. He then looked after the women, guiding them and outlining for them a way of life similar to that of the monks.
This first foundation was the origin of the Monastery of Saint Paul of the "beatas de San Jerónimo", as they began to be called. Their continued observance of their rules and sanctity led to their spread in various places throughout the Iberian Peninsula and inNew Spain. In 1585 in Mexico City, the convent of San Jerónimo y Santa Paula was founded.[8] Seventeenth-century Hieronymite SorJuana Inés de la Cruz was that convent's most famous member, known in her own era as "the Tenth Muse."
Male communities (cloistered monks)[edit]
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Female communities (cloistered nuns)[edit]
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Saints
Blesseds
Servants of God
Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Butler, Edward Cuthbert (1911). "Hieronymites". InChisholm, Hugh (ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 454. This work in turn cites:
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