Hieronymites

habit - painting by Francisco de Zurbarán

Hieronymites, or the Order of St. Jerome (Latin: Ordo Sancti Hieronymi, abbreviated O.S.H.), is a common name for several congregations of hermits living according to the Rule of St. Augustine, with supplementary regulations taken from the writings of the 5th-century monk and scholar, St Jerome. The principal group with this name was founded in Spain in the 14th century. Their traditional habit is a white tunic with a brown, hooded scapular and a brown mantle.^[1]

The Iberian Hieronymites

Origins

Santa Maria de Guadalupe was the principal house of the Spanish Order of St. Jerome.

Established near Toledo, the Order developed out of a spontaneous interest by a number of eremetical communities in both Spain and Italy in imitating the life of St. Jerome. This way of life soon became popular in both Spain and Portugal. Two of these hermits, Pedro Fernández y Pecha and Fernando Yáñez y de Figueroa, decided it would be more advantageous to live a more regular way of life in a community, under an authorized monastic Rule. Under their leadership, the Monastery of St. Bartholomew was then founded in Lupiana, with Fernández y Pecha acting as their first Prior. On 18 October 1373 Pope Gregory XI issued a Papal Bull recognizing them as a religious order, under the Rule of St. Augustine. The Constitutions included the teachings of their patron saint. By 1415 there numbered 25 houses following this spirit; in that year, they were united by the Pope and given the status of an exempt Order, free from episcopal jurisdiction.^[2]

The Order, from its outset, enjoyed great favor from the King of Spain, and soon possessed some of the most famous monasteries in the Peninsula, including the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Guadalupe in Extremadura, the Royal Monastery of Belem near Lisbon, and the magnificent monastery built by Philip II of Spain at the Escorial.

Though their way of life was very austere, the Hieronymites also devoted themselves to study and to active ministry, possessing great influence both at courts of Spain and Portugal. In the 16th century, they were a major supporter of the efforts of St. John of God, who established the great nursing Order in Grenada bearing his name. They went to both Spanish and Portuguese America and played a considerable part in bringing Christianity to the peoples of the New World.

The Hieronymite nuns, founded in 1375, also became numerous in the Iberian Peninsula.

American mission

The islands of the Antilles in the Caribbean was entrusted to them for pastoral care by Cardinal Cisneros, who sent a small party of three monks to Hispaniola. They were originally sent to deal with the issue of accusations against the Spanish colonists of atrocities against the native population. These charges had been most vocally leveled by the noted priest, don Bartolomé de las Casas, who was a secular priest at the time. Unfortunately, they appear to have been ineffectual in preventing the abuses which de la Casas had charged.

The leader of the monks, Luis de Figueroa, was later named the third Bishop of Santo Domingo in 1523, which at the time also covered the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico. He died, however, in 1526, before he could be consecrated as a bishop^[3]. Another member of the Order, Juan de Arzolaras (or Alzóloras), served as Archbishop of Santo Domingo (1566-1568), before being transferred to serve as the Bishop of the Canary Islands.

Modern era

The men's branch of the Order declined during the 18th century and was completely suppressed in 1835 by the Spanish government. At that time, there were 48 monasteries with about a thousand monks. The fate of the monastery buildings was diverse: most fell into ruins, others were given to other religious Orders; still more became breweries, barns, or holiday homes.

However, according to Canon Law, only the Holy See may suppress a religious order, and the Holy See possesses the right to restore that order should it see fit.^[4] In 1925, the Hieronymite nuns (who were not affected by the suppression), petitioned the Holy See for a restoration of the men's branch. This was granted, with a new community of monks being established at the Monastery of Santa Maria del Parral in Segovia. However, the troubles of the Republic of 1931 and of the subsequent Spanish civil war of 1936-1939 prevented any real progress until the general government of the Order was constituted in 1969.

As of 2010 two communities exist, one at Santa Maria del Parral and the other in San Jeronimo de Yuste (Cáceres). The Hieronymite Order is a monastic one, now purely contemplative. Through solitude and silence, assiduous prayer and healthy penance, the Order attempts to bring its monks into closer union with God. The Hieronymite is conscious that the more intensely he dedicates himself to the monastic life, the more fruitful becomes the life of the Church as a whole. Hieronymites believe that their prayer can have a profound impact on the world outside the monastery.

This is the environment in which the life of the Hieronymite monk is developed, with the morning usually spent in manual work--the normal means of support for monks, while afternoons are dedicated to contemplation, prayer and study. Throughout the course of the day, the monks also gather for the singing of the Liturgy of the Hours as well as the celebration of the Eucharist. The Hieronymite strives to allow these moments of prayer to flow through his way of life, so that his goal is to express his life in complete charity towards all people.

Hieronymites believe this inwardly directed manner of life is an exquisite and effective form of apostolic outreach. They believe that in the middle of a restless world, there are those who are called by God to spend some time living in monastic solitude. For this reason, Hieronymite monasteries readily welcome visitors who are guaranteed silence and prayerful support.^[5]

As of 2010, there were 11 monks in the Order, of whom 4 were priests. This is down from a high of 21 monks in 1990.^[6]

The nuns of the Order

Alongside the Hieronymite monks, there are the Hieronymite nuns. They began in Toledo, when María García (+1426) and Mayor Gómez headed a group of women who began living lives of simplicity and prayer. Finally, they joined in a common life in order to consecrate their lives to God in prayer and penance. As a result of their community, in 1374, Fernández y Pecha, the prior of the original community of monks, founded the Monastery of Santa Maria de La Sisla near that city. He then looked after the women, guiding them and outlining for them a way of life similar to that of the monks.

This first foundation was the origin of the Monastery of San Pablo of the "beatas de San Jerónimo", as they began to be called. Their continued observance of their rules and sanctity led to their spread in various places throughout the Iberian Peninsula. There are presently 17 monasteries of the nuns of the Order, all in Spain.

Hieronymites of the Observance, or of Lombardy

A reform of the above, effected by the third general in 1424; it embraced seven houses in Spain and seventeen in Italy, mostly in Lombardy. It is now extinct.

Poor Hermits of St Jerome (Pisa)

Established near Pisa in 1377, this congregation established nearly fifty houses, of which only two survive, one in Rome and one in Viterbo, Italy.

Hermits of St Jerome (Fiesole)

The congregation of Fiesole was established in 1406: they had forty houses but in 1668 they were united with those of Pisa.

References

1. ^  "Hieronymites". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 
2. ^ Official website of the Order of St. Jerome (in Spanish)[1]
3. ^ Catholic Hierarchy website [2]
4. ^ Code of Canon Law 616
5. ^ Website of the Order [3]
6. ^ Catholic Hierarchy website [4]

• Hippolyte Helyot, T.O.R., Histoire des ordres religieux (1714), iii. cc. 57-6o, iv. cc. 1-3; Max Heimbucher, Orden and Kongregationen (1896), i. 70; and art. " Hieronymiten " in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie (ed. 3), and in Welte and Wetzer, Kirchenlexicon (ed. 2).

See also

• St. Jerome, patron and inspiration of the Order
• Jerónimos Monastery, Hieronymite Monastery World Heritage site, Lisbon, Portugal.
• Saint Paula, co-patron of the Hieronymite Order with St. Jerome.
• Cristobal de Vera

External links

• Order of St. Jerome (in Spanish)
• Hieronymite Nuns - Barcelona, Spain (in Catalan)

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 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.