Vallombrosians
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Founded at | Italy |
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The Vallombrosians (alternately spelled Vallombrosans, Vallumbrosians or Vallumbrosans) are a monastic
Foundation
The founder, a Florentine named John Gualbert, a member of the prominent Visdomini family, was born in the year 985 or 995. His brother was murdered, and it was his duty was to avenge the deceased. He met the murderer in a narrow lane on Good Friday and was about to slay him, but when the man threw himself upon the ground with arms outstretched in the form of a cross and begged mercy for the love of Christ, John forgave him.[1]
A popular legend holds that on his way home, John entered the Benedictine church at
John Gualbert first became a Benedictine monk at San Miniato, but later left that monastery to lead a more perfect life. His attraction was to the
The holy lives of the first monks at Vallombrosa attracted considerable attention and brought many requests for new foundations, but there were few
The main point of divergence lay in the prohibition of manual work, which is prescribed by St. Benedict. St. John's choir monks were to be pure contemplatives and to this end, he introduced the system of lay-brothers who were to attend to the secular business. He was among the first to systematize this institution, and it is probable that it was largely popularized by the Vallumbrosans. The term conversi (lay brothers) occurs for the first time in Abbot Andrew of Strumi's Life of St. John, written at the beginning of the twelfth century.[1]
Only one other monastery, that of
The habit, originally grey or ash coloured,[3] is now that of other Benedictines.
Development
After the founder's death, the order spread rapidly. A
About 1087 Andrew of Vallombrosa (d. 1112) founded the monastery of
The Vallombrosan congregation was reformed in the middle of the fifteenth century by
Certain abbeys, headed by that of San Salvi of Florence, had formed a separate congregation. In 1485, these were reunited to the motherhouse by
From 1662–1680 the order was united to the Sylvestrines.[1]
In 1808
The decline of the order may be ascribed to the hard fate of the motherhouse, to the system of commendatory abbots, and to the constant wars which ravaged Italy. Practically all the surviving monasteries were suppressed during the course of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.[1]
Rule and functioning
The abbots were originally elected for life but are now elected at the general chapter, held every four years. The Abbot of Vallombrosa, the superior of the whole order, had formerly a seat in the Florentine Senate and bore the additional title of Count of Monte Verde and Gualdo.[1]
The shield of the order shows the founder's arm in a tawny-coloured cowl grasping a golden crutch-shaped crozier on a blue ground.[1]
The services rendered by the order have been mostly in the field of asceticism. Among the Vallumbrosan saints may be mentioned:
Present day
The Vallombrosians are part of the Benedictine Confederation. In 2015 the order had nine houses with 73 monks (48 priests).[4] The motherhouse is Vallombrosa Abbey.
The abbot-general is currently Giuseppe Casetta. Pierdamiano Spotorno is the Archivist and Librarian of Congregation.[5]
The Vallumbrosian monks maintain the Sanctuary of Montenero in Livorno, dedicated to Our Lady of Grace of Montenero, patron of Tuscany.[6]
The Vallumbrosians in
Nuns
Saint Humility is usually regarded as the foundress of the Vallumbrosan nuns. She was born at Faenza about 1226, was married, but with the consent of her husband, who became a monk, entered a monastery of canonesses and afterwards became an anchoress in a cell attached to the Vallumbrosan church of Faenza, where she lived for twelve years.
Lay sisters who, under the charge of an aged lay brother, lived in a separate house and performed various household duties were attached to the monastery of Vallombrosa.
At the request of the abbot-general Humility then founded a monastery outside Faenza and became its abbess. In 1282, she founded a second convent at Florence, where she died in 1310. She left a number of mystical writings.[1]
When they ceased to be attached to the monasteries of monks, these sisters probably continued to lead a conventual life. Blessed
In 1524, the nuns obtained the Abbey of San Salvi, Florence. There are Vallumbrosan nunneries at Faenza and San Gimignano, besides two at Florence. The relics of St. Umiltà and her disciple Bl. Margherita are venerated at the convent of Spirito Santo at Varlungo. The habit is similar to that of other Benedictine Nuns.[1]
Notable Vallombrosans
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Webster, Douglas Raymund (1912). "Vallumbrosan Order". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 15. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ a b Gunnupuri, Aarthi. "These Monks Have A Calling: Making Fresh Italian Cheese — In India", NPR, January 25, 2017
- ^ Erskine, Clara and Waters, Clement Waters. A Handbook of Christian Symbols and Stories of the Saints, Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1891, p. 29
- ^ "Vallumbrosan Congregation of the Benedictine Order (O.S.B. Vall.)". GCatholic. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
- ^ "Vallumbrosan Congregation of the Benedictine Order (O.S.B. Vall.)". GCatholic. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
- ^ Santuario della Madonna di Montenero
- ^ Thurston, Herbert. Bertha The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 31 August. 2023 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Further reading
- I Vallombrosani in Lombardia (XI-XVIII secolo), A cura di F. Salvestrini, Milano-Lecco: ERSAF, 2011.
- F. Salvestrini, I vallombrosani in Liguria, Roma, Viella, 2010.
- F. Salvestrini, Disciplina Caritatis, Il monachesimo vallombrosano tra medioevo e prima età moderna, Roma, Viella, 2008.
External links
- St. John Gualbert, Abbot at the Christian Iconography web site