Somaschi Fathers
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The Somaschi Fathers (Somaschi for short), officially Clerici Regulares Congregationis Somaschae (abbreviated as C.R.C.S.), are a charitable religious congregation of regular clerics, founded in the sixteenth century by Saint Jerome Emiliani and named after the mother-house at Somasca.
[edit] History
When the priests Alessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso had joined him in his labours of charity, in 1532 St. Jerome Emiliani, a Venetian converted former soldier and magistrate who had taken holy orders, founded a religious society, placing the motherhouse at Somascha, a secluded hamlet between Milan and Bergamo. In the rule, Jerome puts down as the principal work of the community the care of orphans, poor, and sick, and demands that dwellings, food and clothing shall bear the mark of religious poverty.
After the death of Jerome, his community was about to disband, but was kept together by Gambarana, who had been chosen superior and obtained the approval (1540) of Pope Paul III. In 1547 the members vainly sought affiliation with the Jesuits; then in 1547-1555 they were united with the Theatines. Pius IV (1563) approved the institution. St. Pius V raised it to the dignity of a religious order, according to the Rule of St. Augustine, with solemn vows, the privileges of the mendicants, and exemption. In 1569 the first six members made their profession, and Gambarana was made first superior general. Great favour was shown to the order by St. Charles Borromeo, and he gave it the church of St. Mayeul at Pavia, from which church the order takes its official name "Clerici regulares S. Majoli Papiae congregationis Somaschae".
Later the education of youth was put into the programme of the order, and the colleges at Rome and Pavia became renowned. It spread into Austria and Switzerland, and before the great Revolution it had 119 houses in its four provinces: Rome, Lombardy, Venice, and France.
Following early 20th century statistics, obtained from F. Gius. Landini of the Somaschi at the Curia Generalitia at Rome, the order counted in three provinces (Rome, Lombardy, and Liguria) 16 houses, all in Italy except one (in Bellinzona, Switzerland), and about 180 members, of whom 100 are priests, 50 clerics, and 30 lay brothers. At Rome they had three houses: San Girolamo della Carità , residence of the general and one of the three novitiates (the other two being in Genoa and Somasca); Santa Maria in Aquiro with a parish and orphanage; San Alessio on the Aventine for blind boys. The congregation managed three colleges with classical and technical studies at Spello, Como, Nervi, and finally, including those already mentioned, three orphanages and five parishes.
[edit] Source
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.
