Casamari Abbey

Coordinates: 41°40′16″N 13°29′13″E / 41.671°N 13.487°E / 41.671; 13.487
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Façade of the abbey church.
The choir of the abbey church

Casamari Abbey is a

Cistercian abbey in the Province of Frosinone, Lazio, Italy, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) east-south-east of Veroli
.

The abbey, mostly from 1203-1217, is a fine and very well preserved example of early

Abbey of Fossanova.[1]
It was declared a National Monument in 1874.

The abbey has a plan similar to the French contemporary ones, the entrance being a gate with a double arch. The interior has a garden whose central part is occupied by a cloister, of quadrangular shape, with four galleries having a semi-cylindrical ceiling.

The

chapter room has nine spans and four pilaster, and is used for meetings. The church can be accessed from the cloister. It has a basilica plan with a nave and two aisles; the façade has a large external portico, while behind the altar is the choir, added in 1954 and made by Vincenzo Domenico De Donatis from Sora (1886-1969) and his sons. The windows of the church are fitted with sheets of alabaster
rather than glass panels.

History

It marks the site of Cereatae, the birthplace of

Caius Marius, afterwards known, as inscriptions attest, as Cereatae Marianae, having been separated perhaps by the triumvirs from the territory of Arpinum. In the early Imperial times it was an independent community.[1]

Benedictine

A

Benedictine monastery with the same name. Initially a small community with a simple church dedicated to Saints John and Paul, the buildings were expanded in the mid-11th century by its then-Abbot Giovanni. That it became a sphere of influence for the region at that time is shown by the large number of donations it was receiving and its acquisition of many chapels in the area whose revenues contributed to the maintenance of the abbey.[2]

Cistercian

Nave of the abbey church

The 12th century, however, saw a period of long decline for the abbey. Due to the severe financial crises which arose in the shift to a capital-based economy, the region underwent great instability. In the religious realm, the Church was suffering from the contending rule of

Citeaux.[2]

Under the Cistercians the abbey and its church were completely rebuilt between 1203 and 1217, in accordance with their own standards.[3]

chapterhouse

In 1417 the abbey suffered major damage due to an assault by the army of Queen

papacy, on the forces of Braccio da Montone which had occupied the monastic complex. The entire western wing of the abbey was destroyed in the battle.[2]

An equally major blow was soon given to the life of the monastic community in 1430, when Pope Martin V made his nephew, Cardinal Prospero Colonna, the commendatory abbot of Casamari, thereby giving him the control of the abbey's finances. By 1623 the community had been reduced to eight monks. As a result, it joined eight other abbeys to form the Roman Congregation for their mutual support.[2] This union lasted until 1650.[4]

In 1717, the commendatory abbot at that time,

Congregation of St. Bernard.[2]

Suppression

At the start of the 19th century, Italy found itself invaded by the forces of the

suppressed by a decree of Napoleon in 1811.[2]

Revival

Within a few years, by 1814, some of the surviving monks returned to the abbey and were able to resume monastic life, now under the direct authority of the

Congregation of Subiaco.[4]

Congregation of Casamari

In 1929 the Holy See formally recognized the Congregation of Casamari, and united it with the other congregations which form the Cistercian Order (though not the Trappists). The monks began to extend their work to include the pastoral care of nearby parishes and opened a seminary. At the invitation of Pope Pius XI they began to consider expansion to foreign missions.[4]

The Venerable Father Felix

At this point in time, Father Felix Mary Ghebreamlak, a priest of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, was directed to Casamari, due to his desire to introduce Catholic monastic life to his country. The community there accepted his request to sponsor a community of the Order in Ethiopia and train the candidates for such a community. Ghebreamlak entered, along with 12 other Ethiopian Catholic men.

Within a few years of his admission to the Order, Ghebreamlak was diagnosed with incurable tuberculosis. Allowed to profess religious vows on his deathbed, he died in 1934 and was buried at Casamari. The reputation he had for holiness of life drew the veneration of the Ethiopian clergy. The local Catholic Diocese, along with the Ethiopian Catholic Church, opened a process of investigating his life for possible canonization. The cause was eventually approved and accepted by the Holy See for further investigation.

In 1957 the abbey church was designated a basilica minor by Pope Pius XII.

Current status

The abbey made its first overseas foundation in Ethiopia in 1940. There are now four monasteries of the congregation there, with some 100 native monks. Foundations were also made subsequently in Brazil and the United States. The total membership of the congregation numbers some 200 monks. The abbey notes that, with the exception of the three years that they were disbanded under Napoleon, there has been a continuous monastic presence there since its founding.[4]

The Abbot of the Abbey of Casamari, as of 2017, is the

Dom Eugenio Romagnuolo, President of the Cistercian Congregation of Casamari.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Casamari". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 440.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Cenni Storici". L'Abbazia di Casamari (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  3. ^ "Casamari Abbey - Lazio, Italy". www.sacred-destinations.com. Retrieved 2019-02-21.
  4. ^ a b c d "La Congregazione di Casamari". L'Abbazia di Casamari (in Italian). Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Promulgazione di Decreti della Congregazione delle Cause dei Santi". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2020-09-01.
  6. ^ "Le Udienze". press.vatican.va. Retrieved 2019-02-21.

External links

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41°40′16″N 13°29′13″E / 41.671°N 13.487°E / 41.671; 13.487

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