The Houses
AUGUSTINE
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Who was St.
Augustine?
Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
was one of the Latin Fathers of the
Church. In other words, he was one of the influential figures in the early
years of Christianity in central Europe. He is
also a Doctor of the Church; a title
which has been given to 33 saints over the years and which denotes the fact that
their teachings are of particular value to the Church.
He was born
in modern-day Algeria to a Christian mother, Saint Monica. She wanted him to become a
Christian but he refused for many years. She constantly prayed for his
conversion. As a young man he became a pagan intellectual and was quite wild. He
had a concubine and fathered a child.
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Augustine
went from Hippo to Rome and, at the age of about 32, having moved to Milan, he
came under the influence of St. Ambrose – who was bishop of Milan – and became a
Christian. Augustine largely attributed his conversion to the prayers of his
mother.
As an
intelligent scholar and persuasive debater, Augustine was able to add a great
deal to Christian theology. He had a great deal to say in the debates of the
times against various heresies and he was the first person to put forward
theological ideas that have become commonplace since.
His two most
famous works – the Confession [of
St. Augustine] and
City of God -are still widely read today. The former is regarded by many as
the first western autobiography.
The Augustinian Order
There are
several different groups that claim the name
Augustinian, including nuns priests
and non-ordained brothers & monks. There are also lay societies around the
world. The majority of Augustinians will have the suffix OSA after their names
(Order of Saint Augustine).
Some famous
Augustinians include Nicholas Breakspear, the only Englishman to become Pope
(Adrian IV).
Their work
includes teaching, parish work and various other ministries. Though some are
enclosed i.e. they devote themselves to prayer and don’t get out much.
The
Augustinian order is unique in that it wasn’t actually founded by
St. Augustine
himself. Rather it was a coalition, drawn together by the Pope at the Grand
Union in 1256, of various groups who were attempting to live and work following
Augustine’s example.
FEAST DAY: August 28th
www.osanet.org
BENEDICT
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Who was St. Benedict?
Not much is known about Benedict. Most of what we know was recorded by Pope St.
Gregory the Great. He lived between (approximately) 480-547. He was born in
Nursia, Italy to a Roman nobleman. His twin sister was Saint Scholastica.
While he was still a young man he turned down the chance to follow in his
father’s footsteps and have a career that could well have made him rich and
powerful. Instead he withdrew to an area where he could be alone to reflect and
learn.
Eventually his wisdom and character attracted people to him and he set up a
system of monasteries so that he could look after them.
Most of what is known about Benedict comes from the Rule of St. Benedict, which
he wrote as a guide for the monasteries he founded; a set of rules to live by.
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The order that Benedict started is the oldest religious order in the Catholic
Church and Benedict is referred to as the
founder of Western Monasticism. Many o the monastic orders and monasteries
that came after him, owed something to the principles he had drawn up.
The Benedictine
Order
There are a few different organisations which claim the title
Benedictine, some of which are even Anglican. Benedictines normally have the suffix OSB after their names, which
stands for Order of Saint Benedict.
The best known Benedictines are the Monastic monks, of which there are quite a
few in the UK in Monasteries such as Worth Abbey, Ampleforth Abbey,
Downside Abbey, Douai Abbey, Buckfast Abbey and numerous Abbeys. Although there
is an association and a structure to the order, each Abbey has a high degree of
autonomy in contrast to other orders. For instance, a monk will be accepted by a
certain Abbey and will normally be expected stay there for their entire life.
Transfer between Abbeys is extremely rare.
The Monks in the Abbeys are normally ordained priests and are officially
contemplative, which means that they devote themselves to prayer and don’t get
involved much in life outside of the Monastery. In contrast to other
contemplative/ enclosed orders though, Benedictines do actually do quite a bit
of work with those outside their Monastery. For instance, many Abbeys run
schools – such as Worth and Ampleforth – and many monks run parishes.
Feast Day:
July 11th
www.benedictines.org.uk
CATHERINE
Who was
Catherine McAuley?
Catherine
McAuley was born in Dublin in 1778 and died in 1841. She was born into a rich
family, which was unusual at the time, since Catholics were widely oppressed in
Ireland and prevented from holding a great deal of jobs and from owning
property.
Catherine was
concerned about the lack of opportunity and education that was available to many
children and she wanted to do something to help.
At the age of 48, Catherine inherited a great deal
of money.
She chose to
use it to build a house where she and other compassionate women could take in
homeless women and provide care and education for them and their families.
Catherine
never intended to start a religious order, but eventually she was persuaded that
associations of women were far more likely to be respected and successful if
they had an official status in the Church, rather than simply being loose
associations.
The Sisters of Mercy
At the time
of Catherine’s death there were 150 Sisters of Mercy. Today there are over
10,000 which means that they are one of the largest religious orders of women in
the Church. They are predominantly teachers, but they get involved in a range of
other humanitarian and care work.
Feast Day:
She’s not a saint, and so doesn’t
have one!
www.sistersofmercy.org
DOMINIC
Who was St.
Dominic?
Dominic de
Guzman lived between 1170-1221. His father was a rich and respected man in his
village and Dominic devoted the early years of his life to study, learning about
the arts and theology. In 1191 Spain was hit by a famine and so Dominic sold his
books and his clothes to aid the poor.
At about 25 years old Dominic became a priest. A few years later, while
travelling, Dominic encountered some well-educated and persuasive heretics who
were leading people away from the Catholic faith, and so Dominic decided to
devote himself to preaching the word of God and battling heresy. He gathered a
group of priests around him who were similarly committed to the cause and from
the house where they based themselves, they travelled to numerous places
preaching and debating. Eventually Dominic received permission from Rome to
start a religious order. The main object of their preaching during Dominic’s
time were a group called the Albigensians. They were a
group who
held beliefs based partly on Christianity, but diverging quite a bit. Dominic
and his Friars were quite successful against them. In the end however, the
Church crushed them in the Albigensian Crusade!
The order is
popularly known as the Dominicans but
is more officially called the Friars
Preachers or the Order of Preachers.
Hence Dominicans have the suffix OP after their name. The Dominicans are one of
the largest orders in the Church and are an association of priests, brothers,
nuns and lay people. Priests and brothers who have taken vows are often referred
to as Friars, a word which simply means
brothers. The nuns belong to many different orders and groups who are
independently grouped around the Dominican tradition.
Feast Day:
August 8th
FRANCIS
Who was St.
Francis?
Francis was
the son of a rich trader and lived from 1181-1226 (or there abouts). His Father
was an Italian cloth merchant and his mother was thought to be French. His
mother was a Christian and had him baptised in France with the name Giovanni
(John). His Father was unhappy about this, however, and changed his son’s name
when he returned to Italy, naming him Francesco (Francis) in honour of his love
for France.
Throughout his early years he showed a great desire
to help the poor and to work for the Church. This annoyed his Father who
punished him and became increasingly angry. Eventually Francis renounced his
inheritance and his ties to his Father.
H quickly
gained followers and they became famous for their devotion to the poor, to the
Gospel and to nature.
Francis was a
friend of St. Dominic and was never ordained a priest. Rather he desired to be
humble. He was ordained a deacon though, so that he would be allowed to read the
Gospel in Churches.
The Franciscan Order
The
Franciscans are one of the largest and most respected orders of the Church. They
are normally identifiable by their brown habits. Their numbers include ordained
priests, brothers (both called friars), nuns and lay people. Their work includes
education, parish work and work with the poor.
The main
group are the Order of Friars Minores, who have the suffix OFM after their
names. There are also the OFMCaps, or
Capuchians. A more recent addition is the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal
(CFR).
Feast Day:
October 4th
www.ofm.org
Further information about the house system can be found here
** To see how many points each house had earnt as of September, please click here
**
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