, image = SomascosEscut.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = Coat of arms of the Somascan Fathers , abbreviation = CRS , nickname = Somascans , formation = , founder = St. Fr.

Jerome Emiliani Gerolamo Emiliani, CRS ( it, Gerolamo Emiliani also Jerome Aemilian, Hiëronymus Emiliani) (1486 – 8 February 1537) was an Italian humanitarian, founder of the Somaschi Fathers, and is considered a saint by the Catholic Church. Born in Ven ...

, CRS , founding_location =

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, type = Order of

Clerics Regular Clerics regular are clerics (mostly priests) who are members of a religious order under a rule of life (regular). Clerics regular differ from canons regular in that they devote themselves more to pastoral care, in place of an obligation to the pr ...

of Pontifical Right for men , headquarters = Generalate
Via Casal Morena 8, Morena - Rome, Italy , coords = , num_members = 520 members (includes 327 priests) as of 2020 , leader_title =

Superior General A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

, leader_name = José Antonio Nieto Sepúlveda , leader_title2 = Motto , leader_name2 = la, Onus Meum Leve
English: ''Lighten my Burden'' , leader_title3 = Patron saints , leader_name3 = , leader_title4 = Continents served , leader_name4 = Europe, Americas, Asia Africa , parent_organization =

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, website = https://somascans.org/ , former_name = The Company of the Servants of the Poor , remarks = The Somascans officially named the Order of Clerics Regular of Somasca ( lat, Ordo Clericorum Regularium a Somascha), abbreviated CRS, is a Catholic order of Clerics Regular of Pontifical Right for men (priest and brothers). It was founded in Italy in the 16th century by Saint

and named after the motherhouse at Somasca. , there are currently 520 Somascans serving around the world. They provide staff for boys' homes, serve in 95 parishes, and engage in other ministries.http://www.gcatholic.org/orders/074.htm

History

In 1532, the priests Alessandro Besuzio and Agostino Bariso joined the charitable labors of Jerome Emiliani, a converted former soldier from Venice. Emiliani founded the religious order called the "Company of the Servants of the Poor" in 1534, calling together his collaborators and companions for a general assembly."History of Our Order", Somascan Fathers and Brothers
This handful of laymen and priests adopted an organized structure for the movement of religious and social reform started by Jerome in 1529 in

. Their goal was to dedicate themselves to the care, assistance, promotion of poor, orphans, abandoned youth, sick, etc., to any kind of works of mercy, and to any pastoral ministry according to the instructions of the bishops. Jerome placed the motherhouse at Somascha, a secluded hamlet between

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

and

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Com ...

.Mershman, F. (1910). St. Jerome Emiliani. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 3 February 2014 from New Advent
/ref> The group was recognized by the papal nuncio to the Republic of Venice in 1535. Jerome Emiliani died at dawn on 8 February 1537,"Clerics Regular Somaschi, CRS", Vidimus Dominum
/ref> (and was canonized in 1767). After the death of Jerome the community was about to disband, but was kept together by Angelo Marco Gambarana, who had been chosen superior. It was approved by Pope Paul III in 1540, and confirmed by

Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

in 1563. In 1568 the community was constituted a religious order, according to the

Rule of St. Augustine The Rule of Saint Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church. The rule, developed ...

, with solemn vows, by

Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

with the name of Somascan Regular Clerics. At this time the first Constitutions were issued to define a common lifestyle for all its members, both lay and clergy. In 1547 the Somascans were briefly united with the

Theatines The Theatines officially named the Congregation of Clerics Regular ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium), abreviated CR, is a Catholic order of clerics regular of Pontifical Right for men founded by Archbishop Gian Pietro Carafa in Sept. 14, 1524. I ...

, but as the care of orphans was different from the purpose of the latter community, they separated in 1554. In 1569 the first six members made their profession, and Gambarana was made first

superior general A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...

.WdJOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA439&dq=Somaschi+Fathers&hl=en&sa=X&ei=2pQNVYvxK8PIsASq44GgDw&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Somaschi%20Fathers&f=false Currier, Charles Warren. "The Somaschi", ''History of religious orders'', p.367, Murphy & McCarthy, NewYork, 1898
/ref> Great favour was shown to the order by St. Charles Borromeo, and he gave it the church of St. Mayeul at

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the ...

, 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.

Spirituality

The spirituality of St. Jerome consists in the desire to bring the Church "to the state of holiness" of the early Christian communities, serving Christ especially in poor, abandoned children and, showing them the tender "fatherhood and motherhood" of God. In the rule, Jerome puts down as the principal work of the community the care of

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

s, poor, and sick, and demands that dwellings, food and clothing shall bear the mark of religious poverty. The Order extended its charitable ministries beyond the care of orphans by supporting and staffing seminaries (just then mandated by the Council of Trent), by educating and forming youth, and by ministering to people in parishes. Its expansion, however, was abruptly stopped by laws obstructing religious life issued by Napoleon in 1810 and by the Italian government in 1861. It followed a painful dark period characterized by persecution, injustice, suffering, from which only at the beginning of the 20th century did the Order emerge with new vitality. Its expansion resumed, reaching new continents and new countries. Nowadays, the Somascans number about 500 religious. Somascan Philippines

Today

The Somascan Fathers and Brothers continue St. Jerome's mission as either priests or brothers by living in communities, pursuing holiness by prayer and ministry to the poor, living in humility and kindness, loving poverty and work, praying to Jesus and Mary. They perform different ministries in the Church, such as the care of orphans, the disadvantaged and the poor; the treatment of at-risk youth; the rehabilitation of drug addicts; education; pastoral care and spiritual guidance; the pastoral care of minorities; foreign missions; and youth formation. They work in group homes, treatment and rehabilitation centers, retreat houses, schools, youth centers, and parishes. The Somascan operate in the following continents/countries: * Europe: Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Albania; * Americas: USA, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Santo Domingo; * Asia: the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Australia; * Africa: Mozambique and Nigeria.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Clerics regular 1532 establishments in Italy Religious organizations established in the 1530s Catholic religious orders established in the 16th century