Vallombrosan

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Johannes Gualbertus and confreres

The Vallombrosaner or Vallumbrosaner ( Latin Congregatio Vallis Umbrosae Ordinis Sancti Benedicti , order abbreviation : OSBVall and CVUOSB ) are a branch of the Benedictines in the Roman Catholic Church . They were founded in 1039 as a community of hermits by Giovanni Gualberto OSB (985 or 995-1073, canonized in 1193). The female branch of the order was founded by St. Humilitas (* 1266 in Faenza , † 1310 in Florence ).

Origin of name

The origin of the name is derived from the first small " Vallombrosa Monastery " in Acquabella near Reggello ( Tuscany ). In this place the monks built a monastery and named it after the Latin word "Vallis umbrosa". ( German  Schattiges Tal or Schattental ). The name of the monastery became the basis for naming the monks gathered there, they were called "Vallombrosaner".

history

Benedictine Abbey of Vallombrosa (engraving around 1750)

After entering the Florentine Benedictine abbey of San Miniato, Gualbertus fell out with the abbot there and went to Aquabella. Here he joined the two hermits Paulus and Guntelm. In 1036 several like-minded people from Florence and the surrounding monasteries joined them. So the need arose to build their own small monastery, which they named "Vallombrosa". The construction and completion of the buildings took place in 1039, this is regarded as the year of foundation. The monks followed a strictly ascetic way of life, they lived monastically and on the basis of the Benedictine rules Ora et labora ( German  pray and work ).

Years of construction

In 1051 the monks built the Badia a Coltibuono monastery . In 1055/56 the congregation , which was initially an association of several monasteries, received papal approbation from Pope Viktor II . He put the monastery association under his personal protection. In 1090 Pope Urban II received renewed recognition. After Gualbertu's death, monks began to spread rapidly in Italy. With a papal bull , Pope Urban II placed the parent monastery Vallombrosa and another 50 branch monasteries, such as the Badia Ardenga near Montalcino , under the protection of the Holy See . From the 12th to the 14th century, this monastic association was transformed into a monastic order. At the head was the Abbot General of Vallombrosa, he was supported by deans . The order was represented by a visitor in the Roman Curia .

Papal protection

Further confirmation and protection bulls for the monasteries of the Vallombrosans followed in 1115 by Paschalis II. , 1153 by Anastasius IV. And 1156 by Hadrian IV. The order spread under papal protection especially in central and northern Italy, so that in 1188 had over 53 monasteries and branches. In 1485, under Innocent VIII, the union with a split off congregation took place. A first reform of the order took place in the middle of the 15th century and another at the beginning of the 17th century. In 1662 another Benedictine order was assigned to the Vallombrosan by Pope Alexander VII , but the fellowship with the New Years Eve was abolished again in 1678.

At the beginning of the 16th century, Abbot General Milanesi founded a university- style educational institution , but it was burned down in 1527 by the troops of the Roman-German Emperor Charles V. In addition, there were more than 80 abbeys, around 200 priories , around 30 hospitals , pilgrim hostels , orphanages and around 20 women's convents in Italy and the rest of Europe at the beginning of the 16th century . In the years 1572–1585 the monks supported Pope Gregory XIII. During the major church reforms , under the direction of Abbot General Nicolini, the reconstruction of the university began in 1637, after an observatory had already been built in 1634 .

Destruction and reconstruction

In 1808 the Napoleonic troops looted the monastery during the coalition wars and banished the monks, in 1810 the monastic order was abolished by Napoleon Bonaparte . It was not until 1815 that the monks were able to return to Vallombrosa. The next repeal took place in 1866 by the Italian government, the abbey was opened for auction. Some monks stayed in the monastery to look after the church and the meteorological station. The abbey buildings have been converted into a national forest management school . In the course of the 18th and 19th centuries, as a result of the constant wars in Italy, a large number of the existing monasteries were destroyed. In addition to the parent monastery Vallombrosa, there are other monasteries in Badia a Passignano, a district ( fraction ) of the municipality of Barberino Tavarnelle , with the tomb of St. Gualberto, in Santa Trinita near Florence, in Rome , in Albano Laziale and in Montessoro .

Current organization

In 1966, the until then independent order joined the Benedictine Confederation as a congregation . The head of the order of all Vallumbrosan monks continues to be the Abbot General , who is also the abbot of the parent monastery , the Vallombrosa Abbey . The General House is located in Santa Trinita (Florence) . and belongs to the diocese of Albano . The Abbot General is elected for five years by the Chapter of the Order and has a seat in the Senate of Florence. In addition, the Abbot General was conferred the title of Count of Monte Verde and Gualdo. The current incumbent is Giuseppe Casetta (* 1958).

Personalities of the Order

literature

  • Douglas Raymund Webster:  Vallumbrosan Order . In: Catholic Encyclopedia , Volume 15, Robert Appleton Company, New York 1912.
  • G. Spinelli, G. Rossi (ed.): Alle origini di Vallombrosa. Giovanni Gualberto nella società dell'XI secolo. Editoriale Jaca Book, 1998, ISBN 978-8-81-677106-2 .
  • Karl Suso Frank : Vallombrosaner / Vallombrosanerinnen. In: LThK , 3rd edition, Vol. 10. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 2010, Sp. 530f.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Heim: Introduction to Church History. CH Beck, 2011, ISBN 978-3-40-662325-7 , p. 181
  2. ↑ Humilitas Negusanti in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints , accessed on November 26, 2016
  3. ↑ Bahia S. Michele di Passignano (English)
  4. ^ Church of Santa Trinita ( Memento of October 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  5. ↑ Montessoro
  6. ↑ Abbazia di Vallombrosa
  7. ^ Vallombrosani, Eugenio Casetta é il nuovo Abate Generale. Toscana Oggi , July 26, 2007, accessed November 26, 2016
  8. ↑ Intervista all'Abate Generale Giuseppe Casetta. Vita diocesana Pinerolese , April 9, 2015, accessed November 26, 2016
  9. ↑ Erizzo van Vallumbrosa (Dutch)
  10. ↑ Boezio, OSBVall., Lucio. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website ), accessed November 26, 2016.
  11. ↑ Den salige Hieronymus av Vallombrosa on katolsk.no, accessed on November 26, 2016 (Norwegian)
  12. ↑ Atto of Pistoia in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints , accessed on November 26, 2016
  13. ↑ Beccheria, OSBVall., Tesauro dei. In: Salvador Miranda : The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. ( Florida International University website ), accessed November 26, 2016.
  14. ↑ Orazio Morandi , accessed on November 26, 2016 (English)