The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within 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 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.
28-471: 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 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
56-585: 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 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
84-499: A major reform of the Cassinese Congregation. The abbey was again suppressed in 1866. The monks were not able to return to resume their lives until 1874. During World War II, the grounds were crowded with evacuees. The church sustained considerable damage from bombing. The abbey is also known for housing one of Europe's richest collection of ex-votos (votive tables that date back more than five centuries) During
112-681: A priory at Kumily in Kerala (India). Further monasteries were established in North and South America after World War I , and more recently several new foundations have been made in Uganda, Togo, Cuba, Egypt. Until 2012, the Archabbot of St. Ottilien was the ex officio president of the congregation. Since 2012 the president is elected by the General Chapter. Women religious have formed part of
140-660: A visit in 1986, Pope John Paul II followed this custom and left one of his own. The abbey is also known for a workshop for antique book restoration that continues to operate today. Ottilien Congregation The Ottilien Congregation , officially known as the Benedictine Congregation of Sankt Ottilien and as the Missionary Benedictines , is a congregation of religious houses within the Benedictine Confederation ,
168-537: Is currently made up of: As to membership, the most recent Catalogus Monasteriorum published by the Benedictine Confederation (2015) notes the following (the figures cited do not include novices, oblates, or temporary professed): Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte The Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte (St. Mary of the Mountain) is a Benedictine monastery in Cesena , Italy. This imposing building stands on
196-411: Is supposed that the columns were brought from Jerusalem by Barbarossa. In 1356, however, the ruler of Forlì, Francesco II Ordelaffi , seized the monastery and used it as a barracks for his troops. The monks fled for over a year. Upon their return, they found the abbey in ruins. The reconstruction lasted for over a century. Between 1536 and 1548, the abbey church assumed its present-day appearance on
224-629: The Colle Spaziano ( Spaziano Hill ). The abbey was founded about the year 1001 and completed by 1026, in connection with a small church which housed the remains of St. Mauro , a Benedictine monk who had been the Bishop of Cesena in the first half of the 10th century, and who had the custom of climbing the hill on which the abbey stands in order to pray. His vita was written by the Camaldolese monk and cardinal , Peter Damian . The abbey
252-742: The Oberpfalz , but the site was too remote, and in 1887 the community moved to what is now St. Ottilien Archabbey in Oberbayern . In the same year the first missionary monks left for the Apostolic Prefecture of South Zanzibar in German East Africa , a territory which now comprises several dioceses in Tanzania , which the monks serve from the abbeys of Peramiho, Ndanda and Hanga and several smaller houses. Similarly
280-699: 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 was founded by the sister of St. Ambrose in the 4th century as a monastery of nuns. On Thursday, September 22, 2016, capitulars of
308-575: 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 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
SECTION 10
#1732765638422336-584: The Congregation's Zululand mission (begun in 1921) is now an independent monastery serving the diocese it once helped to create. In 1908 an Asian mission field was added, comprising two abbeys in North Korea and China, which after the end of World War II were re-constituted as Waegwan Abbey in South Korea . There is also a priory at Digos on Mindanao Island in the Philippines , and
364-571: 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 the Abbey of Santa Maria de la Asunción (Envigado) and Administrator of Santa María de la Epifanía (Guatapé) . The congregation
392-542: The Missionary Benedictine enterprise from the beginning, based at first at St. Ottilien but shortly after at their own house nearby. They have developed independently and today form the Congregation of Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing . As a Congregation founded with the purpose of evangelizing German East Africa, it is no great surprise that the vast majority of early monks were Germans. As
420-725: 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 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
448-474: The affiliation of the formerly Anglican monastery of Prinknash Abbey which chose to affiliate itself with this Congregation, after its conversion to 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"
476-587: The aim of which is to combine the Benedictine way of life with activity in the mission field. The congregation was founded in 1884, incorporating the houses founded on the vision of Andreas Amrhein , a monk of Beuron Archabbey , who, finding it impossible to realise the vision of the Benedictine mission within Beuron, left to begin an independent community. He set up a house in 1884 at Reichenbach in
504-619: The basis of a design by Domenico Gravini of Brisighella , who used an original design by Bramante . As the centre of the artistic life of Cesena, the Basilica del Monte also benefited from the work of major artists in the region: Scipione Sacco , and Girolamo Longhi. Important works are also attributable to Francesco Morandi , known as the Terribilia , to whom built the dome (decorated by Francesco Masini between 1568 and 1571) and original stone staircase, and to Alessandro Corsi who in 1588
532-484: 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 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
560-566: 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 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
588-554: 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 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
SECTION 20
#1732765638422616-516: Was a native of the city. The pope re-established the abbey in 1819 and made it a part of the Congregation of Santa Giustina, part of a reform movement of monastic life which was headquartered in the Abbey of Santa Giustina in Padua . One notable member of the community in this period was a young man who was received into the Order in 1827 under the name of Pietro Casaretto . He was later to institute
644-558: Was confirmed in 1059 by a papal bull of Pope Nicholas II . The abbey benefited greatly when it received the Emperor Frederic Barbarossa as a guest in 1177. The emperor gave the abbey his protection and bestowed a large grant of land to the community. In 1317, Robert of Anjou donated two columns lying on the grounds of the monastery to the monastery of Santa Chiara he and his wife were building in Naples. It
672-482: 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 the larger community through the operations of schools or parishes. Compared to the other member congregations of the Benedictine Confederation (apart from
700-551: 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, 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
728-472: Was not to survive intact. Within a few years of his death, a committee of Cardinals called an extraordinary General Chapter in 1880. In 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
756-649: Was suppressed in 1796 during the occupation of Italy by the French Revolutionary Army , under Napoleon Bonaparte . The monks were expelled and the contents of the abbey were sold off. The basilica was transferred to the care of the Conventual Franciscans until they too were suppressed in 1810, at which time it was administered by secular clergy . After the restoration of Italian rule, the abbey grounds were returned in 1814 by their current owner, Count Semprini, to Pope Pius VII , who
784-504: Was the creator of the monumental well of the Great Cloister. The church also houses a wooden choir completed in 1575 by Giuseppe d’Alberto di Scalva. In August 1758, Barnabas Chiaramonti, later Pope Pius VII was professed as a novice at the monastery. The earthquake of 1768 destroyed the dome of the basilica. The dome was reconstructed by Pietro Carlo Borboni and decorated by Giuseppe Milani between 1773 and 1774. The abbey
#421578