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35-655: The Solesmes Congregation is an association of monasteries within the Benedictine Confederation headed by the Abbey of Solesmes . The congregation was founded in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI as the French Benedictine Congregation , with the then newly reopened Solesmes Abbey , founded by Dom Prosper Guéranger , O.S.B. , who wished to re-establish France's ancient and rich presence of monastic life, which had been wiped out by

70-468: A priest , he was advised to seek exclaustration (a temporary leave of absence for discernment). Instead, he accepted assignment to a parish which had been entrusted to the pastoral care of the Congregation, but only on condition of being accompanied by a few of his brother monks. Furthermore, his stipulation was that they be allowed to follow an exact observance of the monastic life as laid down in

105-429: A prior , who was to be elected triennially , rather than for life. This step drew the criticism of excessive centralization of monastic life, but the new congregation thrived, and received final papal approval in 1872, only five years after its inauguration. Yet Casaretto's vision was not to survive intact. Within a few years of his death, a committee of Cardinals called an extraordinary General Chapter in 1880. In

140-755: A complete split would be best. For this he convened an extraordinary Diet , which declared such a break, and established the monasteries of the Province as the Cassinese Congregation of the Primitive Observance . One new feature of this congregation, breaking with monastic tradition, was the establishment of a single abbot for the congregation, titled the Abbot General, with the Superior of each monastery being titled simply

175-632: A thousand years while the Congregations to which they belong are more recent. This balance between autonomy and belonging is one of the distinguishing features of the Benedictine Confederation, and brings with it both strengths and weaknesses. One immediate consequence is that there is often great diversity of observance even between houses of the same Congregation: in liturgy, timetable, pastoral involvement and habit. The present Confederation of Congregations of Monasteries of

210-599: The Abbey of Santa Giustina , founded in Padua in 1408 by Dom Ludovico Barbo . The Benedictines suffered badly in the anti-clerical atmosphere at the time of Napoleon and the modern Congregations were mostly founded in the 19th century when monasticism was revived. The majority are essentially national groupings, although the Subiaco Congregation (originally the Cassinese Congregation of

245-766: The Abbot Primate , who serves a four-year term as the Confederation's representative and administrative head, although without direct jurisdiction over the individual Congregations. The Confederation has its headquarters at Sant'Anselmo, which is the seat of the Abbot Primate and hosts the quadrennial Congress of Abbots. Sant'Anselmo is also home to the Benedictine Pontifical Athenaeum , the Collegio Sant'Anselmo , and

280-481: The Benedictine Confederation . It developed from the Subiaco Congregation , which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietro Casaretto , O.S.B., as a reform of the way of life of monasteries of the Cassinese Congregation , formed in 1408, toward a stricter contemplative observance, and received final approval in 1872 by Pope Pius IX . After discussions between the two congregations at

315-597: The Catholic Church . The Spanish Civil War , followed soon after by World War II, saw a change in fortunes of the Congregation. Widespread destruction and dispersal of religious communities did not spare the monks. The entire community of "El Pueyo" was murdered during this conflict. Growth was able to resume after these conflicts, especially in the French province, which made new foundations in Asia and Africa. In 1959,

350-609: The French Revolution . The first foundation of the new congregation in 1853 was Ligugé Abbey , founded by St. Martin of Tours in 361. In course of time other daughterhouses were founded from Solesmes: in 1880 the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain, Glanfeuil in 1892, and Fontenelle in 1893. These four were old monasteries restored. The congregation's first monastery of women was St. Cecilia's Abbey, Solesmes , founded in 1866 by Guéranger and Cécile Bruyère . Some of

385-490: The Philippines by the end of the 19th century. The congregation was flourishing however, at the start of the 20th century, with the number of monks growing from about 1,000 in 1920 to over 1,400 by 1937. New foundations were taking place, but this growth also came through the affiliation of the formerly Anglican monastery of Prinknash Abbey which chose to affiliate itself with this Congregation, after its conversion to

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420-525: The Rule of St. Benedict . To be revived in this was the practice of perpetual abstinence from meat and the celebration of Matins at 2:00 a.m. This was seen as an act of defiance in some quarters, but Casaretto had won the confidence of Pope Pius IX and the King of Piedmont . His vision was fulfilled with the establishment of a small monastic community in 1843. The new foundation received approbation within

455-714: The Second Vatican Council . Most Benedictine houses are loosely affiliated in 19 national or supra-national congregations. Each of these congregations elects its own abbot president. These presidents meet annually in the Synod of Presidents. Additionally, there is a meeting every four years of the Congress of Abbots, which is made up of all abbots and conventual priors, both of monasteries that are members of congregations, as well as of those unaffiliated with any particular congregation. The Congress of Abbots elects

490-572: The " Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm " ( Italian : Pontificio Ateneo Sant’Anselmo ), the Church of Sant'Anselmo ( Italian : Chiesa Sant'Anselmo ), and serves as the curial headquarters of the Confederation ( Italian : Badia Sant'Anselmo ). The ecclesiastical residential College of Sant'Anselmo is juridically considered the successor of the homonymous college of the Cassinese Benedictine Congregation which

525-470: The "Church of Sant'Anselmo". Communities of Benedictine nuns and Religious Sisters are joined in 61 congregations and federations that are associated with the Confederation, although they do not have full membership. In November 2001 after a consultation process with all monasteries of Benedictine women around the world, it was decided to use the name Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum (CIB) to designate all communities of Benedictine women recognized by

560-660: The Abbot Primate as such and listed in the Catalogus Monasteriorum O.S.B . The first attempt to group Benedictine monasteries into national Congregations was at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215. Only the English Benedictine Congregation survives from this early attempt at centralization, and in historical reality even this Congregation is a 17th-century foundation although it was given juridical continuity with

595-538: The Benedictine confederation and its subdivisions, independence and autonomy among communities are uniquely valued; too highly for Pope Pius XI , who complained that the largely nominal confederation was "an order without order". The basic unit has always been the individual abbey, rather than the Congregation. This explains why some houses (e.g. Monte Cassino, Subiaco, Saint Paul-outside-the-Walls (Rome), Montserrat and Pannonhalma) have unbroken histories of more than

630-671: The Confederation only in the mid-20th century). The number of houses, monks, and priests is that found in the 2019 edition of the Annuario Pontificio . Sant'Anselmo on the Aventine ( Italian : Sant'Anselmo all'Aventino ) is complex located on the Aventine Hill in Rome 's Ripa rione and overseen by the Confederation. The complex comprises the " College of Sant'Anselmo " ( Italian : Collegio Sant'Anselmo ),

665-589: The Congregation in 1846 with the visit of the Abbot of their mother community. That same year, it also found support from the Vatican with its approval of 18 articles Casaretto had submitted to serve as shaping the character of the foundation. Additionally, he founded a small seminary nearby to prepare monks for serving overseas. This was a step away from the purely European focus of the Cassinese congregation. Over

700-588: The General Chapter of the Congregation chose to re-take its original name of Subiaco. As of 2021 , the Congregation consists of 64 monasteries, with another 45 women's houses affiliated or "aggregated". There are 1,250 members located in 24 countries. The congregation was formed with the aim of rediscovering the ancient simplicity of the monastic life, which had become obscured over the centuries. As such, its houses tend to be focused more on an enclosed contemplative life rather than pastoral involvement with

735-674: The Order of Saint Benedict, officially, the "Benedictine Confederation" of monks, consists of the following congregations in the order given in the Catalogus Monasteriorum OSB (dates are those of the foundation of the congregations – Primacy of honour is given to the Cassinese Congregation, though the English Congregation is the oldest, because Monte Cassino was the original Abbey of St. Benedict himself. The older Camaldolese and Sylvestrine congregations joined

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770-650: The Pontifical Institute of Liturgy. It grants certificates and diplomas in various subjects, as well as Bachelor, Licentiate, and Doctoral degrees. Originally the university exclusively served only Benedictines , but now is open to external students. The present Rector of the Athenaeum is Rev. Bernhard A. Eckerstorfer, O.S.B. The church which was consecrated on November 11, 1900, and is constructed of three naves, divided by granite columns , and includes one main altar and two side altars. A large section on

805-608: The Primitive Observance) has from the first been truly international because of its interest in foreign mission. Since the time of the Reformation , there have been independent Benedictine communities in the Protestant (especially Anglican ) traditions which maintain official friendly relations with the Benedictine Confederation, although they are not formally linked with it or its congregations. Throughout

840-635: The college is Rev. Mauritius Wilde , O.S.B. The Anselmianum , also known as the Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm ( Italian : Pontificio Ateneo Sant'Anselmo ; Latin : Pontificium Athenaeum Anselmianum ), is the pontifical university in Rome associated with the Benedictines . The institution includes faculties of Philosophy, Theology (Sacramental Theology, Monastic Studies), the Institute of Historical Theology, as well as

875-400: The congregation) Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own autonomy, established by Pope Leo XIII in his brief "Summum semper" (12 July 1893), subsequently approved by his successors. Pope Pius XII explicitly ordered this union to be regulated by a "Lex Propria", which was later revised after

910-610: The course of this, they cancelled the congregational nature of the monastic religious vows and re-established both the lifetime office of Abbot as the Superior of each monastery and the practice of the monk's vowing stability in a single community. Following decades saw the consolidation and expansion of the Congregation. Growing hostility by the governments of Italy and France saw temporary suppression of various abbeys. This led them to establish new foundations in Bengal , New Zealand and

945-523: The east and west ends near the apse includes the traditional stalls for the monastic choir. The church serves as a place of worship for the Benedictine residential college community and the students of the Athenaeum. It is also known, especially to the Romans, for the performances of Gregorian chant offered by the monks during the Sunday liturgical celebrations of Vespers . Since 1962, the church has also been

980-722: The larger community through the operations of schools or parishes. Compared to the other member congregations of the Benedictine Confederation (apart from the Ottilien Congregation ), the Subiaco Confederation is one of the most internationally diverse, due to the widespread missionary activity of its abbeys. The residence of the Abbot President of the congregation is at the Abbey of St. Ambrose ( Italian : Sant'Ambrogio della Massima ) in Rome. It

1015-483: The medieval English Congregation by the papal bull "Plantata" of 1633. Primacy of honor is given to the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation , since this Congregation includes the Abbey of Monte Cassino , where St Benedict wrote his Rule and was buried (although Fleury Abbey also claims to house the remains of the founder). Founded in 1872, the Congregation has its origin in the Congregation of

1050-457: The monasteries of the congregation, especially in France, use the pre-conciliar Latin liturgy , and most of them focus on Gregorian chant . One of its abbeys, Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey , became internationally famous when an album its monks recorded in 1973, Chant , became a huge hit when re-released in 1994, peaking at #3 on the U.S. album charts . (with dates of establishment within

1085-481: The next few years, three other Cassinese monasteries joined Casaretto's experiment. At this point, the Cassinese Congregation formed these communities into a new Province of Subiaco , granting these communities a degree of autonomy. By 1867, monasteries in Belgium, England and France had also joined this new Province. That was the year that Casaretto had decided that conditions in the mother Congregation were such that

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1120-480: The start of the 21st century, approval was given by Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 for the incorporation of the Cassinese Congregation into its offshoot, the Subiaco Congregation. The expanded congregation was given this new name. Father Casaretto (1810–1878) from the age of seventeen was a monk of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte which was a member of the ancient Cassinese Congregation of Benedictine monasteries. Due to his poor health later, after his ordination as

1155-471: The starting point of the penitential procession presided over by the Pope on Ash Wednesday , and which ends at the basilica of Santa Sabina where the first stationary mass of Lent is celebrated. The present Rector of the church is Rev. Doroteo Toić, O.S.B. Subiaco Cassinese Congregation The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within

1190-518: Was founded by the sister of St. Ambrose in the 4th century as a monastery of nuns. On Thursday, September 22, 2016, capitulars of the General Chapter meeting in Rome, elected as the new Abbot President, Abbot Guillermo Arboleda Tamayo. He is the first Abbot President of the Congregation from the Americas. He was born in 1956, ordained priest in 1980, and professed as a monk of Santa María de la Epifanía (Guatapé) in 1986. He previously served as Abbot of

1225-576: Was founded in 1687. The present college was reestablished in 1887 and moved to the newly constructed "Sant'Anselmo" on the Aventine Hill in 1896. Today the residential college houses an average of one hundred Benedictine monks from about forty countries, as well as other religious, diocesan priests, and lay people. As a house of formation, it offers a monastic environment for those who study at the onsite Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm or at other Roman pontifical universities. The present Rector of

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