Trinitarians
Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives | |
Mendicant order | |
Purpose | To ransom Christian captives |
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Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
Membership (2018) | 610 (415 priests)[1] |
Minister General | Luigi Buccarello, OSsT |
Parent organization | Catholic Church |
Website | trinitari |
The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (
Papal documents refer to the founder only as Brother John, but tradition identifies him as
Background
Between the eighth and the fifteenth centuries medieval Europe was in a state of intermittent warfare between the Christian kingdoms of southern Europe and the Muslim polities of North Africa, Southern France, Sicily and portions of Spain. According to James W. Brodman, the threat of capture, whether by pirates or coastal raiders, or during one of the region's intermittent wars, was a continuous threat to residents of Catalonia, Languedoc, and the other coastal provinces of medieval Christian Europe.[3] Raids by militias, bands, and armies from both sides was an almost annual occurrence.[4]
The redemption of captives is listed among the corporal works of mercy. The period of the Crusades, when so many Christians were in danger of falling into the hands of Muslims, witnessed the rise of religious orders vowed exclusively to this pious work.[5]
History
The Order of the Trinitarians (Order of the Holy Trinity and Captives) was founded by St. John de Matha after his vision of Christ with two captives around 1193.
Brother John's founding intention expanded quickly beyond the three initial foundations (Cerfroid, Planels, Bourg-la-Reine) into a considerable network of houses committed to the ransom of Christian captives and the works of mercy conducted in their locales. Trinitarian tradition considers St. Felix of Valois co-founder of the Order and companion of John of Matha at Cerfroid, near Paris. In Cerfroid the first Trinitarian community was established and it is considered the mother house of the whole Order.[8] Among the earliest recruits were some Englishmen, and the first to go on the special mission of the order were two English friars, who in 1200 went to Morocco and returned to France with 186 liberated Christian captives.[9]
The first generation of Trinitarians could count some fifty foundations. In northern France, the Trinitarians were known as "Mathurins" because they were based in the church of Saint-Mathurin in Paris from 1228 onwards.[10] Ransoming captives required economic resources. Fundraising and economic expertise constituted important aspects of the Order's life. The Rule's requirement of "the tertia pars", or setting aside one-third of all income for the ransom of Christian captives, became a noted characteristic of the Order.
The rule initially was the
In succeeding centuries,
The Trinitarian Family
Today the Trinitarian family is composed of priests, brothers, women (cloistered nuns and active sisters) as well as committed
.Third Order Secular of the Most Holy Trinity
In 2000 the Vatican Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life approved "The Trinitarian Way" rule of life which would guide all the lay groups associated with the Trinitarians: the Third Order Secular, the Trinitarian Movement, Confraternities, etc.[12]
There have been tertiaries of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives since the beginnings of the Order though they were not known by that name. Lay confreres were admitted already in 1198 by the permission of Pope Innocent III. Statutes attributed to William the Scotsman, the third Minister General of the Order (1217–1222), give some idea of the primitive organization of the Trinitarian Fraternity. In the 1203 contract between the Bishop of Arles and St. John de Matha, reference is made to affiliates of the convent.[13] There were Trinitarian Confraternities, of the Redemption, and of Our Lady of Remedy aggregated to the Order.
The first known Statutes of the Trinitarian Third Order were published in 1584, and were approved by the General of the Order, Father Bernard Dominici. The first Rule of Life for the Third Order attached to the Discalced Trinitarians was approved by Pope Leo XII on 6 June 1828.
Charism
The Glory of the Most Holy Trinity and the ransom of Christian Captives. Along with the Order's mission of ransoming Christian captives, each Trinitarian Community served the people of its area by performing works of mercy; redemption and mercy are at the center of the Trinitarian charism.[2]
Our Lady of Good Remedy
Our Lady of Good Remedy is the patroness of the Order of the Most Holy Trinity. Devotion to Mary under this ancient title is widely known in Europe and Latin America. Her feast day is celebrated on 8 October.[14]
Scapular of the Most Blessed Trinity
Sacramental garments |
General |
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Specific scapulars |
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Catholicism portal |
The Scapular of the Holy Trinity is a
See also
- Angelo Buccarello
- DeMatha Catholic High School, the only college preparatory and secondary educational school in the Americas run by the Trinitarian Order.
- Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy
- San Tommaso in Formis, the Trinitarian church in Rome
- San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane in Rome
- List of Ministers General of the Trinitarian Order
References
- ^ "Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (O.SS.T.)". GCatholic.
- ^ a b c d "About the Trinitarians: Our Roots". www.trinitarians.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ^ Brodman, James William. "Ransoming Captives in Crusader Spain:The Order of Merced on the Christian-Islamic Frontier". The Library of Iberian Resources Online. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
- ^ Ibn Khaldun, Histoire des Berbères et des dynasties musulmanes de l'Afrique septentrionale, ed. Paul Casanova and Henri Pérès, trans. William MacGuckin, baron de Slane (Paris, 1925-56), 3: 116-17
- ^ a b c "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Order of Trinitarians". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ISBN 1-4021-6108-5page 497
- ^ The Order of the Holy Trinity and Captives: Andrew Witko 2008
- ^ a b c "Welcome into the Home Page of Trinitari.org". www.trinitari.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ^ a b c Butler 1911.
- ^ Alban Butler, Paul Burns, Butler's Lives of the Saints (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2000), 5.
- ^ Jean de Joinville Memoirs of Louis IX
- ^ "THE TRINITARIAN WAY". www.trinitari.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ^ "Trinitarian laity", Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives
- ^ "Our Lady Of Good Remedy". www.ewtn.com. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Scapular". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
Sources
- public domain: Butler, Edward Cuthbert (1911). "Trinitarians". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 286. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
- Witko, Andrew. The Order of the Holy Trinity and Captives, 2008