Florac is a former commune of the Lozère department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Florac-Trois-Rivières .
98-503: Raymond of Anduze held the barony of Florac and is recorded as using the castle there in the 13th century. In 1363 local-born Pope Urban V lent the town 300 florins for the construction of ramparts. Such defences were not at all unusual and offered desirable security and protection for the townspeople. These medieval city walls finally came down in 1629 after the Edict of Alès which, despite allowing some concessions for Huguenots, insisted on
196-577: A superior general or motherhouse with universal jurisdiction but elect an Abbot Primate to represent themselves to the Vatican and to the world. Benedictine nuns are given the title Dame in preference to Sister . The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Benedict of Nursia c. 529, was the first of the dozen monasteries he founded. He later founded the Abbey of Monte Cassino . There
294-530: A "Superior General". Each Benedictine congregation is autonomous and governed by an abbot or abbess. The autonomous houses are characterised by their chosen charism or specific dedication to a particular devotion. For example, In 1313 Bernardo Tolomei established the Order of Our Lady of Mount Olivet . The community adopted the Rule of Saint Benedict and received canonical approval in 1344. The Olivetans are part of
392-684: A chaotic state for some time, due to the ambitions of the Visconti of Milan, led by Archbishop Giovanni Visconti. He had conquered much of Lombardy, seized the Papal city of Bologna, and was invading the borders of Florentine territory. In order to keep a hold on the territory for the Catholic Church, the Pope had hit on the scheme of making Archbishop Visconti his vicar of Bologna for the present. He drew up an agreement on 27 April 1352, which absolved
490-541: A close relationship until her death. Despite being called an order, the Benedictines do not operate under a single hierarchy but are instead organized as a collection of autonomous monasteries and convents, some known as abbeys . The order is represented internationally by the Benedictine Confederation , an organization set up in 1893 to represent the order's shared interests. They do not have
588-545: A commendatory abbot, a lay person, appointed by a noble to oversee and to protect the assets of the monastery. Often, however, this resulted in the appropriation of the assets of monasteries at the expense of the community which they were intended to support. Saint Blaise Abbey in the Black Forest of Baden-Württemberg is believed to have been founded around the latter part of the tenth century. Between 1070 and 1073 there seem to have been contacts between St. Blaise and
686-567: A few different places, namely the sacristy , which contained books for the choir and other liturgical books, the rectory , which housed books for public reading such as sermons and lives of the saints, and the library , which contained the largest collection of books and was typically in the cloister. The first record of a monastic library in England is in Canterbury . To assist with Augustine of Canterbury 's English mission , Pope Gregory
784-582: A hasty peace that was highly favorable to Bernabò. In May 1365 the Emperor Charles visited Avignon, where he appeared with the Pope in full imperial regalia. He then proceeded to Arles, which was one of his domains, where he was crowned King by the Archbishop, Pierre de Cros , OSB. Urban V's greatest desire was that of a crusade against the Turks. In 1363, King John II of France and Peter I,
882-515: A hunting lodge, was officially returned to the Benedictines four hundred years later, in 1928. During the next few years, so-called Prinknash Park was used as a home until it was returned to the order. St. Lawrence's Abbey in Ampleforth, Yorkshire was founded in 1802. In 1955, Ampleforth set up a daughter house, a priory at St. Louis, Missouri which became independent in 1973 and became Saint Louis Abbey in its own right in 1989. As of 2015,
980-592: A life of exploitation, others dedicated to the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament such as the one established by Catherine de Bar (1614–1698). In 1688 Dame Mechtilde de Bar assisted Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien , queen consort of Poland, to establish a Benedictine foundation in Warsaw . Abbeys were among the institutions of the Catholic Church swept away during
1078-490: A monastic manner of life, drawing on the Vulgate 's use of conversatio as indicating "citizenship" or "local customs", see Philippians 3:20. The Rule enjoins monks and nuns "to live in this place as a religious, in obedience to its rule and to the abbot or abbess." Benedictine abbots and abbesses have jurisdiction over their abbey and thus canonical authority over the monks or nuns who are resident. This authority includes
SECTION 10
#17327721379701176-401: A reference to ritual purification , which is inspired by Benedict's encouragement of bathing . Benedictine monks have played a role in the development and promotion of spas . Benedictine monasticism differs from other Christian religious orders in that as congregations sometimes with several houses, some of them in other countries, they are not bound into a unified religious order headed by
1274-620: A template for explaining child deaths. According to historian Joe Hillaby, the blood libel of Harold was crucially important because for the first time an unexplained child death occurring near the Easter festival was arbitrarily linked to Jews in the vicinity by local Christian churchmen: "they established a pattern quickly taken up elsewhere. Within three years the first ritual murder charge was made in France." The forty-eighth Rule of Saint Benedict prescribes extensive and habitual "holy reading" for
1372-428: Is Ora et Labora "pray and work". Although Benedictines do not take a vow of silence, hours of strict silence are set, and at other times silence is maintained as much as is practically possible. Social conversations tend to be limited to communal recreation times. Such details, like other aspects of the daily routine of a Benedictine house are left to the discretion of the superior, and are set out in its customary ,
1470-531: Is a doorway to the vestry behind altar, and simple geometric transom glass. Against the West end wall (North side) is a very fine statue of Christ. There are two fonts: one is neoclassical black and grey marble; the second looks more like polished limestone and is standing incongruously on what looks like the base to a no-longer-existing column, very probably belonging to the former structure. A good deal of military action has taken place in and around Florac. Before 1629
1568-555: Is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. When Monte Cassino was sacked by the Lombards about the year 580, the monks fled to Rome, and it seems probable that this constituted an important factor in the diffusion of a knowledge of Benedictine monasticism. Copies of Benedict's Rule survived; around 594 Pope Gregory I spoke favorably of it. The rule
1666-423: Is regularly used today for services and classical music concerts. A neo-classical temple, the deliberately imposing west facade has a high Roman Doric portico, with unfluted columns, unrendered stone and an unadorned entablature and pediment, contrasting with the modest wooden doors, stained a very dark brown. There is a plaque commemorating local-born Guillaume de Grimoard who rose to pope as Urban V (1363–70). At
1764-531: Is subsequently found in some monasteries in southern Gaul along with other rules used by abbots. Gregory of Tours says that at Ainay Abbey , in the sixth century, the monks "followed the rules of Basil, Cassian, Caesarius, and other fathers, taking and using whatever seemed proper to the conditions of time and place", and doubtless the same liberty was taken with the Benedictine Rule when it reached them. In Gaul and Switzerland, it gradually supplemented
1862-580: The Benedictine Confederation . Although Benedictines are traditionally Catholic, there are also other communities that follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. For example, of an estimated 2,400 celibate Anglican religious (1,080 men and 1,320 women) in the Anglican Communion as a whole, some have adopted the Rule of Benedict. Likewise, such communities can be found in Eastern Orthodox Church , and Lutheran Church . Members of
1960-483: The Benedictine Rule . Rule 38 states that 'these brothers' meals should usually be accompanied by reading, and that they were to eat and drink in silence while one read out loud. Benedictine monks were not allowed worldly possessions, thus necessitating the preservation and collection of sacred texts in monastic libraries for communal use. For the sake of convenience, the books in the monastery were housed in
2058-1182: The English Reformation . A stone's throw from Marble Arch , the Tyburn Convent is now the Mother House of the Congregation. Benedictines are thought to have arrived in the Kingdom of Poland in the 11th-century. One of the earliest foundations is Tyniec Abbey on a promontory by the Vistula river. The Tyniec monks led the translation of the Bible into Polish vernacular. Other surviving Benedictine houses can be found in Stary Kraków Village , Biskupów , Lubiń . Older foundations are in Mogilno , Trzemeszno , Łęczyca , Łysa Góra and in Opactwo , among others. In
SECTION 20
#17327721379702156-773: The French Revolution . Monasteries and convents were again allowed to form in the 19th century under the Bourbon Restoration . Later that century, under the Third French Republic , laws were enacted preventing religious teaching. The original intent was to allow secular schools. Thus in 1880 and 1882, Benedictine teaching monks were effectively exiled; this was not completed until 1901. In 1898 Marie-Adèle Garnier, in religion, Mother Marie de Saint-Pierre, founded in Montmartre ( Mount of
2254-601: The Malatesta of Rimini and the Ordelaffi family of Forlì . In 1360 Abbot Guillaume was sent to assist him by dealing with Archbishop Visconti's nephew and successor, Bernabò Visconti . Their confrontation was so hostile and threatening that the Abbot left immediately and reported back to Pope Innocent the treachery of his vassal. The Pope sent him back to Italy immediately, but happily the utter defeat of Visconti's army which
2352-759: The Middle Ages the city of Płock , also on the Vistula, had a successful monastery, which played a significant role in the local economy. In the 18th-century benedictine convents were opened for women, notably in Warsaw's New Town. A 15th-century Benedictine foundation can be found in Senieji Trakai , a village in Eastern Lithuania . Kloster Rheinau was a Benedictine monastery in Rheinau in
2450-676: The Order of Saint Benedict ( Latin : Ordo Sancti Benedicti , abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict . Initiated in 529 they are the oldest of all the religious orders in the Latin Church . The male religious are also sometimes called the Black Monks , especially in English speaking countries, after
2548-783: The Vatican and to the world. The headquarters of the Benedictine Confederation and the Abbot Primate is the Primatial Abbey of Sant'Anselmo built by Pope Leo XIII in Rome . The Rule of Saint Benedict is also used by a number of religious orders that began as reforms of the Benedictine tradition such as the Cistercians and Trappists . These groups are separate congregations and not members of
2646-460: The 27th of the same month. A few days later he fell severely ill. Feeling his death approaching, he asked that he might be moved from the Papal Palace to the nearby residence of his brother, Angelic de Grimoard , whom he had made a cardinal, that he might be close to those he loved. He died there on 19 December 1370. He had been pope for eight years, one month, and nineteen days. His body
2744-750: The Archbishop of Sens, Guillaume de Melun, made heavy demands on the hospitality of the monks of Saint-Germain in Auxerre, and when the bishops attempted to impose new exactions, which were resisted by Grimoard, the Archbishop physically abused the Prior. Grimoard nonetheless would not submit. Prior Grimoard became Procurator-General for the Order of St. Benedict at the Papal Curia. The Bishop of Clermont, Pierre de Aigrefeuille (1349–1357), appointed Grimoard to be his vicar general, which meant in effect that he ruled
2842-519: The Basilica of St. Peter which needed to be sorted out. In August 1361, he was elected the abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. Despite the appointment, he continued to teach as a professor, at least for the next academic year. Cardinal Gil Álvarez Carrillo de Albornoz had been sent to Italy in 1353, to bring under control the notorious Giovanni di Vico of Viterbo, as well as
2940-746: The Benedictine Confederation. Other specialisms, such as Gregorian chant as at Solesmes in France, or Perpetual Adoration of the Holy Sacrament have been adopted by different houses, as at the Warsaw Convent, or the Adorers of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre at Tyburn Convent in London. Other houses have dedicated themselves to books, reading, writing and printing them as at Stanbrook Abbey in England. Others still are associated with
3038-565: The Canton of Zürich, Switzerland, founded in about 778. The abbey of Our Lady of the Angels was founded in 1120. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations. Through the influence of Wilfrid , Benedict Biscop , and Dunstan , the Benedictine Rule spread rapidly, and in the North it was adopted in most of the monasteries that had been founded by
Florac - Misplaced Pages Continue
3136-707: The Catholic Saint-Martin's bears the date 1833. The Protestant church is at the end of the Esplanade, beneath Place de Souvenir (Remembrance Square). The first Protestant church on this site was destroyed after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). The present church was built by public subscription over a number of years after 1825, reaching completion in 1832. In 2011 there was a major restoration project under local architect Francois Coulomb, with
3234-458: The Celtic missionaries from Iona. Many of the episcopal sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines, and no fewer than nine of the old cathedrals were served by the black monks of the priories attached to them. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak and homeless. The monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of
3332-790: The Cluniac Abbey of Fruttuaria in Italy, which led to St. Blaise following the Fruttuarian reforms. The Empress Agnes was a patron of Fruttuaria, and retired there in 1065 before moving to Rome. The Empress was instrumental in introducing Fruttuaria's Benedictine customs, as practiced at Cluny, to Saint Blaise Abbey in Baden-Württemberg . Other houses either reformed by, or founded as priories of, St. Blasien were Muri Abbey (1082), Ochsenhausen Abbey (1093), Göttweig Abbey (1094), Stein am Rhein Abbey (before 1123) and Prüm Abbey (1132). It also had significant influence on
3430-560: The Dean of the Cathedral of Aquileia, were presented with written instructions by Pope Clement to go to northern Italy as apostolic nuncios to deal with the situation. Guillaume was to receive the city of Bologna from the Visconti, who were illegal occupiers, and hand it over to Giovanni Visconti as the papal vicar, and to threaten with ecclesiastical censures any parties who did not adhere to the treaty. This he did on 2 October 1352. Guillaume
3528-762: The English Congregation consists of three abbeys of nuns and ten abbeys of monks. Members of the congregation are found in England, Wales, the United States of America, Peru and Zimbabwe. In England there are also houses of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation : Farnborough, Prinknash, and Chilworth: the Solesmes Congregation , Quarr and St Cecilia's on the Isle of Wight, as well as a diocesan monastery following
3626-692: The Feast of Saint Maurice , in the Apostolic Palace in Avignon. Twenty of the twenty-one cardinals were in attendance. Only Cardinal Albornoz remained at his post in Italy. Of the twenty cardinals eighteen were French in origin, six of them Limousin. Ten of the twenty-one cardinals were papal relatives. The influence of the Limousin cardinals was somewhat diminished since their homeland had recently become subject to English occupation, which frightened
3724-690: The Great gave him nine books which included the Gregorian Bible in two volumes, the Psalter of Augustine, two copies of the Gospels , two martyrologies , an Exposition of the Gospels and Epistles, and a Psalter . Theodore of Tarsus brought Greek books to Canterbury more than seventy years later, when he founded a school for the study of Greek. The first Benedictine to live in the United States
3822-467: The King of Cyprus , came to Avignon, and it was decided that there should be a war against the Turks. It was Urban and Peter who were most eager for the crusade; the French were exhausted by recent losses in the Hundred Years' War, and some of their leaders were still being held prisoner in England. The Pope held a special ceremony on Holy Saturday, 1363, and bestowed the crusader's cross on the two kings, and on Cardinal Hélie de Talleyrand as well. John II
3920-454: The Martyr ), Paris a Benedictine house. However, the Waldeck-Rousseau 's Law of Associations , passed in 1901, placed severe restrictions on religious bodies which were obliged to leave France. Garnier and her community relocated to another place associated with executions, this time it was in London , near the site of Tyburn tree where 105 Catholic martyrs—including Saint Oliver Plunkett and Saint Edmund Campion had been executed during
4018-468: The Papacy was the reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches. He came as close as some of his predecessors and successors, but did not succeed. Guillaume de Grimoard was born in 1310 in the Castle of Grizac in the French region of Languedoc (today part of the commune of Le Pont-de-Montvert , department of Lozère ), the second son of Guillaume de Grimoard, Lord of Bellegarde, and of Amphélise de Montferrand. He had two brothers, Étienne and Angel
Florac - Misplaced Pages Continue
4116-453: The Rule of Saint Benedict: The Community of Our Lady of Glastonbury. Since the Oxford Movement , there has also been a modest flourishing of Benedictine monasticism in the Anglican Church and Protestant Churches. Anglican Benedictine Abbots are invited guests of the Benedictine Abbot Primate in Rome at Abbatial gatherings at Sant'Anselmo. In 1168 local Benedictine monks instigated the anti-semitic blood libel of Harold of Gloucester as
4214-412: The University of Paris. In Montpellier , he restored the school of medicine and founded the College of Saint Benedict , whose church, decorated with numerous works of art, later became the cathedral of the city. He founded a collegiate church in Quézac , and a church and library in Ispagnac . On a hilltop near Bédouès , the parish in which the Château de Grisac is situated, he built a church where
4312-496: The University of Toulouse, where he studied law for four years. He earned a doctorate in Canon Law on 31 October 1342. He became a noted canonist , teaching at Montpellier, Paris and Avignon . He was appointed Prior of Nôtre-Dame du Pré (de Priorato) in the diocese of Auxerre by Pope Clement VI, which he held until his promotion to Saint-Germain en Auxerre in 1352. He began both disciplinary and financial reforms. His new bishop, Jean d'Auxois (1353–1359), however, in concert with
4410-438: The Visconti of all their transgressions and signed away much of northern Italy. The Pope even made the first payment on the subsidy which he was going to provide them. The Visconti, on their part, had no intention of observing the terms of the pact, one of which was the return of the Legation of Bologna to the Papacy, despite the fine words and promises they made in Avignon. On 26 July, Abbot Grimoard and Msgr. Azzo Manzi da Reggio,
4508-409: The abbeys of Alpirsbach (1099), Ettenheimm ünster (1124) and Sulzburg ( c. 1125 ), and the priories of Weitenau (now part of Steinen , c. 1100 ), Bürgel (before 1130) and Sitzenkirch ( c. 1130 ). Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire , Loiret was founded in about 640. It is one of the most celebrated Benedictine monasteries of Western Europe, and possesses
4606-469: The bodies of his parents were buried, and, we are informed by a papal bull of December 1363, he instituted a college of six canon-priests, along with a deacon and a subdeacon. Urban V issued a preliminary consent for the establishment of the University of Kraków , which by September 1364 had gained full papal consent. He provided books and the best professors to more than 1,000 students of all classes. Around Rome , he also planted vineyards . He imposed
4704-405: The brethren. Three primary types of reading were done by the monks in medieval times. Monks would read privately during their personal time, as well as publicly during services and at mealtimes. In addition to these three mentioned in the Rule, monks would also read in the infirmary. Monasteries were thriving centers of education, with monks and nuns actively encouraged to learn and pray according to
4802-415: The cardinals to Abbot Guillaume Grimoard. On 28 September, they elected Grimoard as the new Pope. He was not initially informed of the result; instead, he was requested to return immediately to Avignon to "consult" with the Conclave. The cardinals feared the reaction of the Romans to the election of another French pope, and so kept the results of the election secret until Grimoard's arrival a month later, at
4900-434: The church's estate. In March 1363 Bernabò was declared a heretic. However, Pope Urban found it necessary to purchase peace in March of the following year, sending the newly created Cardinal Androin de la Roche , former Abbot of Cluny, as apostolic legate to Italy to arrange the business. Then, through the mediation of Emperor Charles IV , Urban lifted his excommunication against Bernabò, obtaining Bologna only after he signed
4998-416: The code adopted by a particular Benedictine house by adapting the Rule to local conditions. According to the norms of the 1983 Code of Canon Law , a Benedictine abbey is a " religious institute " and its members therefore participate in consecrated life which Canon 588 §1 explains is intrinsically "neither clerical nor lay." Males in consecrated life, however, may be ordained. Benedictines' rules contain
SECTION 50
#17327721379705096-420: The colour of their habits . Not all Benedictines wear black, however, with some like the Olivetans wearing white. They were founded by Benedict of Nursia , a 6th-century Italian monk who laid the foundations of Benedictine monasticism through the formulation of his Rule. Benedict's sister, Scholastica , possibly his twin, also became a religious from an early age, but chose to live as a hermit . They retained
5194-478: The crusade or its aftermath. Amadeus of Savoy and Louis of Hungary also put together a crusade in Urban's reign in 1366. Initially they were successful, and Amadeus even captured Gallipoli . But despite initial successes, each was forced to withdraw. Continued troubles in Italy, as well as pleas from figures such as Petrarch and Bridget of Sweden , caused Urban V to set out for Rome , only to find that his Vicar, Cardinal Albornoz, had just died. He conducted
5292-461: The daughter of the first Christian King of Kent . Currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns. Five of the most notable English abbeys are the Basilica of St Gregory the Great at Downside, commonly known as Downside Abbey , The Abbey of St Edmund, King and Martyr commonly known as Douai Abbey in Upper Woolhampton, Reading, Berkshire, Ealing Abbey in Ealing, West London, and Worth Abbey . Prinknash Abbey , used by Henry VIII as
5390-451: The death of Cardinal de Talleyrand, collected whatever soldiers he could, and in 1365 launched a successful attack on Alexandria (11 October 1365). Additional support was not forthcoming, however, and seeing that the enemy vastly outnumbered the crusaders, he ordered the sacking and burning of the city, and then withdrew. He continued to harass the coasts of Syria and Egypt until he was assassinated in 1369. Urban, however, played no part in
5488-400: The destruction of Florac's medieval Catholic church in 1561 and some time after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, Florac's first Protestant church was also razed. Today there are two fairly large churches on the respective sites of the older structures. The Protestant church has a historical information plaque bearing the date 1832, while higher up the hill towards Causse Méjean
5586-460: The diocese on behalf of the bishop. When Bishop Pierre was transferred to Uzès (1357–1366), Guillaume Grimond became Vicar General of Uzès. Guillaume was named abbot of the monastery of Saint-Germain en Auxerre on 13 February 1352 by Pope Clement VI. In 1359 the town and abbey were captured by the English and subjected to heavy imposts. In the summer of 1352 Pope Clement VI summoned Abbot Guillaume for an assignment. Northern Italy had been in
5684-401: The discipline of the Benedictine Rule and to wear his monastic habit . Urban V worked against absenteeism, pluralism and simony, while seeking to improve clerical training and examination. It must be kept in mind, however, that, with the training of a monk, reform was a matter of return to ideal values and principles through discipline, not a matter of striking out with new solutions. With
5782-448: The end of October. The Romans had been clamoring for some time for a Roman, or at least Italian, pope, and it was feared they would interfere with Guillaume's travel had they known of his election. Upon his arrival, Grimoard accepted his election and took the pontifical name of Urban V. When asked the reason for the selection of his new name, Grimoard was alleged to have said: "All the popes who have borne this name were saints". Grimoard
5880-410: The front of the drive is an iron cross dated 1841. Both north and south facades are extremely plain. The stained glass windows are protected by iron grills and reinforced glass which is frosting. There is a tower at the East end. The dark interior means the stained glass stands out. Otherwise, it is comparatively plain, with are stone walls, very likely to be reused stone from an earlier structure. There
5978-453: The future cardinal, and a sister Delphine. In 1327, Guillaume Grimoard became a Benedictine monk in the small Priory of Chirac , near his home, which was a dependency of the ancient Abbey of St. Victor near Marseille . He was sent to St. Victor for his novitiate . After his profession of monastic vows, he was ordained a priest in his own monastery in Chirac in 1334. He studied literature and law at Montpellier, and then he moved to
SECTION 60
#17327721379706076-426: The ice. The Pope, however, announced that he would excommunicate anyone who attempted to do so, fearing that people might accidentally fall in and be drowned. Near Carcassonne, a man froze to death while travelling on his horse, though the horse was able to make it back to its accustomed stable with the dead man on its back. Many of the poor, women, and children died of the cold. As pope, Urban V continued to follow
6174-459: The interior is light. Firstly, the walls and columns are panelled in whitewashed pine, giving a slightly New England flavour. Mostly, though, the effect of the determined simplicity is pre-Christian Roman. The only explicitly Christian decoration is the legend "Dieu est amour" painted at the 'West' end. There is a sense of civic virtue and pride in the colonnaded balconies which are a deliberate invocation of public space in Roman architecture. The space
6272-414: The much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually entirely displaced the earlier codes. By the ninth century, however, the Benedictine had become the standard form of monastic life throughout the whole of Western Europe, excepting Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, where the Celtic observance still prevailed for another century or two. Largely through
6370-412: The ninth or tenth century speaks of six hours a day as the usual task of a scribe, which would absorb almost all the time available for active work in the day of a medieval monk. In the Middle Ages monasteries were often founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910. The abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of Saint Benedict. The abbot of Cluny
6468-410: The offer. Villani is the only source that reports this version of events. This story, moreover, contradicts the report of Jean de Froissart, who claims that a stalemate developed between Talleyrand and Guy de Boulogne, such that members of neither party could get the required two-thirds of the votes. It was apparently one of the Limousin Cardinals, Guillaume d'Aigrefeuille, who directed the attention of
6566-419: The orders of the antipope Clement VII . The Western Schism caused the process to stop, but it was revived centuries later, and led to the beatification of Urban V on 10 March 1870 by Pope Pius IX . His feast day is celebrated on 19 December, the day of his death. This was decided upon by a General Chapter of the Benedictine Order held in 1414. Order of Saint Benedict The Benedictines , officially
6664-516: The penalty of excommunication on anyone who molested the Jews or attempted forcible conversion and baptism. The great feature of Urban V's reign was the effort to return the papacy to Rome and to suppress its powerful rivals for the temporal sovereignty there. He began by sending his brother, Cardinal Angelicus Grimoard, as legate in northern Italy. In 1362 Urban ordered a crusade to be preached throughout Italy against Bernabò Visconti, Giangaleazzo Visconti and their kindred, accused as robbers of
6762-418: The places where they were founded or their founders centuries ago, hence Cassinese , Subiaco , Camaldolese or Sylvestrines . All Benedictine houses became federated in the Benedictine Confederation brought into existence by Pope Leo XIII 's Apostolic Brief " Summum semper " on 12 July 1893. Pope Leo also established the office of Abbot Primate as the abbot elected to represent this Confederation at
6860-454: The power to assign duties, to decide which books may or may not be read, to regulate comings and goings, and to punish and to excommunicate , in the sense of an enforced isolation from the monastic community. A tight communal timetable – the horarium – is meant to ensure that the time given by God is not wasted but used in God's service, whether for prayer, work, meals, spiritual reading or sleep. The order's motto
6958-452: The pulling down of fortifications at perceived 'strongholds'. Florac was visited by a young Robert Louis Stevenson and features as a chapter in his droll Victorian bestseller Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes (1879). The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail (GR 70) , a popular long-distance path following Stevenson's approximate route, runs through the town. The nearby Mont Lozère is a ski resort. The French Wars of Religion resulted in
7056-586: The reign of Urban V and also that of Gregory XI, until 1371. In addition to the management of the papal household, the office made Aubert the temporal vicar for the Pope in the diocese of Avignon and the administrator of the Comtat-Venaissin. In 1363–1364 the winter was so cold, especially in January, February and March, that the Rhone froze over to the extent that people and vehicles could travel across
7154-510: The relics of St. Benedict. Like many Benedictine abbeys it was located on the banks of a river, here the Loire . Ainey Abbey is a ninth century foundation on the Lyon peninsula. In the twelfth century on the current site there was a romanesque monastery , subsequently rebuilt. The seventeenth century saw a number of Benedictine foundations for women, some dedicated to the indigent to save them from
7252-769: The remains of the Cardinal to Assisi, where they were buried in the Basilica of Saint Francis. The Pope reached the City of Rome on 16 October 1367, the first pope in sixty years to set foot in his own diocese. He was greeted by the clergy and people with joy, and despite the satisfaction of being attended by the Emperor Charles IV in St. Peter's , and of placing the crown upon the head of the Empress Elizabeth (1 November 1368), it soon became clear that by changing
7350-436: The result that the interior today provides a stunning example of the ideals of the first builders. The exterior is simple neo-classical. The stone is covered in the plain dun render common to other buildings on the esplanade. There is a small bell house on top. The overall shape is neatly echoed in a modest portico of two Roman Tuscan columns, an entablature bearing the name and a simple unadorned pediment. The dominant note of
7448-460: The same community), and to adopt a "conversion of habits", in Latin, conversatio morum and obedience to the community's superior. The "Benedictine vows" are equivalent to the evangelical counsels accepted by all candidates entering a religious order . The interpretation of conversatio morum understood as "conversion of the habits of life" has generally been replaced by notions such as adoption of
7546-485: The same lineage. For instance the American-Cassinese congregation included the 22 monasteries descended from Boniface Wimmer. A sense of community has been the defining characteristic of the order since the beginning. To that end, section 17 in chapter 58 of the Rule of Saint Benedict specifies the solemn vows candidates joining a Benedictine community are required to make: a vow of stability, to remain in
7644-621: The seat of his government he had not increased its power. In Rome he was nonetheless able to receive the homage of King Peter I of Cyprus , Queen Joan I of Naples , and the confession of faith by the Byzantine Emperor John V Palaeologus . Bridget of Sweden, who was living in Rome and attempting to get approval for a new religious order, the Bridgettines , had actually appeared before the Pope at Montefiascone in 1370 as he
7742-588: The sick. During the English Reformation , all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, forcing those who wished to continue in the monastic life to flee into exile on the Continent. During the 19th century English members of these communities were able to return to England. St. Mildred's Priory , on the Isle of Thanet , Kent , was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by
7840-492: The situation, and on 31 March 1367 he abolished the diocese of Cassino and restored the monastery to the complete control of its Abbot. In September 1362, Grimoard was apostolic nuncio in Italy when Pope Innocent VI died. Exactly where he was when the news reached him summoning him to Avignon is unknown. Naples is just a guess; other possibilities are Florence and Lombardy. Pope Innocent VI died on 12 September 1362. The Conclave to elect his successor opened on 22 September,
7938-584: The thirteen cardinals who were subjects of the King of France. Both Cardinals Hélie de Talleyrand and Guy de Boulogne considered themselves to be electable. Matteo Villani, the Florentine chronicler, says that fifteen cardinals were prepared to elect, or actually elected, Hugues Roger, OSB, a Limousin and the brother of Pope Clement VI, who was Chamberlain of the College of Cardinals. Cardinal Hugues declined
8036-980: The time of his death in 1887, Wimmer had sent Benedictine monks to Kansas, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Illinois, and Colorado. Wimmer also asked for Benedictine sisters to be sent to America by St. Walburg Convent in Eichstätt , Bavaria. In 1852, Sister Benedicta Riepp and two other sisters founded St. Marys, Pennsylvania . Soon they would send sisters to Michigan, New Jersey, and Minnesota. By 1854, Swiss monks began to arrive and founded St. Meinrad Abbey in Indiana, and they soon spread to Arkansas and Louisiana. They were soon followed by Swiss sisters. There are now over 100 Benedictine houses across America. Most Benedictine houses are part of one of four large Congregations: American-Cassinese, Swiss-American, St. Scholastica, and St. Benedict. The congregations mostly are made up of monasteries that share
8134-518: The town retained a defensive wall, and the castle was used by the Barons of Anduze in the 13th century. Florac is twinned with: Pope Urban V Pope Urban V ( Latin : Urbanus V ; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard , was the head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict . He
8232-607: The training of a lawyer, reform was a matter of codifying and enforcing established decisions and precedents. Pope Urban V introduced considerable reforms in the administration of justice and liberally patronized learning. He founded a university in Hungary . He granted the University of Pavia the status of Studium Generale (14 April 1363). In Toulouse , he granted the Theology Faculty the same rights as possessed by
8330-408: The twelfth century, which saw the rise of the mendicant Franciscans and nomadic Dominicans . Benedictines by contrast, took a vow of "stability", which professed loyalty to a particular foundation in a particular location. Not being bound by location, the mendicants were better able to respond to an increasingly "urban" environment. This decline was further exacerbated by the practice of appointing
8428-471: The work of Benedict of Aniane , it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire. Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium. As a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole, active work. An anonymous writer of
8526-825: Was Pierre-Joseph Didier. He came to the United States in 1790 from Paris and served in the Ohio and St. Louis areas until his death. The first actual Benedictine monastery founded was Saint Vincent Archabbey , located in Latrobe, Pennsylvania . It was founded in 1832 by Boniface Wimmer , a German monk, who sought to serve German immigrants in America. In 1856, Wimmer started to lay the foundations for St. John's Abbey in Minnesota. In 1876, Herman Wolfe, of Saint Vincent Archabbey established Belmont Abbey in North Carolina. By
8624-526: Was allotted 8 gold florins a day for his expenses, his associate Anzo only 4 florins. While he was in Milan he was also able to get the Archbishop to renew the treaty that was expiring with the King and Queen of Sicily. In 1354 Abbot Grimoard was sent to Italy again, this time to Rome, where there was business that needed to be transacted for the Apostolic Camera. There were also serious disorders in
8722-476: Was appointed Rector and Captain General of the expedition. Cardinal de Talleyrand was appointed apostolic legate for the expedition, but he died on 17 January 1364, before the expedition could set out. Assembling the army proved an impossible task, and King John returned to prison in England. He died in London on 8 April 1364. King Peter of Cyprus, disappointed by King John's return to captivity in England and
8820-934: Was besieging Bologna by Cardinal Albornoz eased the situation considerably. Nonetheless, immediately after he was elected pope, Grimoard excommunicated Bernabò Visconti. He returned to France, and retired to his castle of Auriol, where he was found on 10 June 1362. The reason for his retirement to Auriol is not far to seek. The plague was raging in southern France again in 1361 and 1362. Cardinal Pierre des Près died on 16 May 1361; Cardinal Petrus de Foresta, died on 7 June 1361; Cardinal Guillaume Farinier, died on 17 June 1361; Cardinal Guillaume Court, O.Cist., died on 12 June 1361; Cardinal Petrus Bertrandi, died on 13 July 1361; Cardinal Jean de Caraman, died on 1 August 1361; Cardinal Bernard de la Tour, died on 7 August 1361; Cardinal Francesco degli Atti, died on 25 August 1361; and Cardinal Pierre de Cros died in September 1361. In addition it
8918-429: Was estimated that some 6000 persons and more than 100 bishops died in 1361. Cardinal Nicolas Roselli (1357–1362) of Tarragona died at Majorca on 28 March 1362, though not of the plague. King Louis I of Naples died on 25 May 1362. This set off a power struggle, with Queen Joanna I attempting to get back the power she had lost to her husband, as well as a contest to see who her next husband would be. Abbot Guillaume
9016-503: Was initially placed in the Chapel of John XXII in the Cathedral of S. Marie de Domps in Avignon. On 31 May 1371 his remains were transferred to the monastery of Saint-Victor in Marseille, where he had built a splendid tomb for himself. Pope Gregory XI opened the cause of beatification of his predecessor. Urban V's claimed miracles and his virtues were documented. But the cause stopped in 1379 in Rome. It stopped in Avignon in 1390, under
9114-514: Was not even a bishop at the time of his election, and had to be consecrated before he could be crowned. This was done on 6 November by Cardinal Andouin Aubert , the Bishop of Ostia, a nephew of Grimoard's predecessor, Innocent VI. The Bishop of Ostia had the traditional right to consecrate a pope a bishop. At the conclusion of the consecration Mass, Urban V was crowned. There is no record of who it
9212-527: Was preparing to return to France, and, in the presence of Cardinal Pierre Roger de Beaufort , the future pope, predicted the death of the Pope if he should leave Rome. Unable any longer to resist the urgency of the French cardinals, and despite several cities of the Papal States still being in revolt, Urban V boarded a ship at Corneto heading for France on 5 September 1370, arriving back at Avignon on
9310-463: Was summoned to Avignon, where he was on 27 June, and sent to Naples to provide the advice and guidance as to the desires of the feudal overlord of Naples, Pope Innocent VI. During his trip to the south, he visited the great Benedictine abbey of Monte Cassino , where he was saddened to see the state into which it had fallen, both physically and organizationally, both from earthquakes and episcopal neglect. As soon as he became Pope he undertook to repair
9408-428: Was the only Avignon pope to be beatified . Even after his election as pontiff, he continued to follow the Benedictine Rule, living simply and modestly. His habits did not always gain him supporters who were used to lives of affluence. Urban V pressed for reform throughout his pontificate and also oversaw the restoration and construction of churches and monasteries. One of the goals he set himself upon his election to
9506-462: Was the superior of all the daughter houses, through appointed priors. One of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald , who founded the Camaldolese community. The Cistercians branched off from the Benedictines in 1098; they are often called the "White monks". The dominance of the Benedictine monastic way of life began to decline towards the end of
9604-546: Was who placed the crown on his head. The right to do so belonged to the cardinal protodeacon, who was Cardinal Guillaume de la Jugié, a nephew of Pope Clement VI. Urban V was the sixth pope in the Avignon Papacy . Urban V kept on another papal nephew, Arnaud Aubert, the nephew of Pope Innocent VI. He had been given the very important position of papal chamberlain, the head of the church's financial department, by his uncle in 1361. He continued in that office throughout
#969030