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The Jesuati (or Jesuates) were a
religious order A religious order is a subgroup within a larger confessional community with a distinctive high-religiosity lifestyle and clear membership. Religious orders often trace their lineage from revered teachers, venerate their Organizational founder, ...
founded by
Giovanni Colombini Giovanni Colombini ( – 31 July 1367) was an Italian merchant and founder of the Congregation of Jesuati (not to be confused with the Jesuits, the Society of Jesus, founded in the 16th century by Ignatius of Loyola). Biography He was born at Sie ...
of Siena in 1360. The order was initially called (from
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: Apostolic Clerics of
Saint Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible ...
) because of a special veneration for St. Jerome and the apostolic life the founders led. The order was abolished by
Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...
on 6 December 1668.


History

Colombini had been a prosperous merchant and a senator in his native city, but, coming under ecstatic religious influences, abandoned secular affairs and his wife and daughter (after making provision for them), and with a friend of like temperament, Francesco Miani, gave himself to a life of apostolic poverty, penitential discipline, hospital service and public preaching. The name Jesuati was given to Colombini and his disciples from the habit of calling loudly on the name of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
at the beginning and end of their ecstatic sermons. The senate banished Colombini from Siena for "imparting foolish ideas to the young men of the city", and he continued his mission in
Arezzo Arezzo ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
and other places, only to be honourably recalled home on the outbreak of the
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
. Howard Eves writes that the order was then "dedicated to
nursing Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
and burying the victims of the rampant bubonic plague." Colombini went out to meet
Urban V Pope Urban V (; 1310 – 19 December 1370), born Guillaume de Grimoard, was head of the Catholic Church from 28 September 1362 until his death, in December 1370 and was also a member of the Order of Saint Benedict. He was the only Avignon pope ...
on his return from
Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...
to
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in 1367, and implored his approval for the new order and a distinctive habit. Before this was granted, Colombini was required to clear the movement of a suspicion that it was connected with the
heretic Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...
al sect of
Fraticelli The ''Fraticelli'' (Italian language, Italian for “Little Brethren”) or Spiritual Franciscans opposed changes to the Monastic rule, rule of Saint Francis of Assisi, especially with regard to poverty, and regarded the wealth of the Catholic ...
. He died on 31 July 1367, soon after papal approval had been given. The guidance of the new order, whose members (all lay brothers) gave themselves entirely to works of mercy, devolved upon Miani.


Suppression of the Order

Their rule of life, originally a compound of
Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...
and
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
elements, was later modified on Augustinian lines, but traces of the early penitential idea persisted, e.g. the wearing of sandals and a daily
flagellation Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, Birching, rods, Switch (rod), switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, floggin ...
.
Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...
in 1606 arranged for a small proportion of clerical members. Later in the 17th century the Jesuati became known as the Aquavitae Fathers, possibly because of the alcohol they administered as medical treatment of the sick they cared for. The order was abolished by
Pope Clement IX Pope Clement IX (; ; 28 January 1600 – 9 December 1669), born Giulio Rospigliosi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 20 June 1667 to his death in December 1669. Giulio Rospigliosi was born into the noble Ro ...
in 1668, perhaps because abuses had crept in.
Amir Alexander Amir Alexander () is a historian, author, and academic who studies the interconnections between mathematics and its cultural and historical setting. Early life and education Born in Rehovot, Israel, he grew up in Jerusalem where his father, Shlom ...
wrote that it was likely in reaction to its support of the practitioners of the
method of indivisibles In geometry, Cavalieri's principle, a modern implementation of the method of indivisibles, named after Bonaventura Cavalieri, is as follows: * 2-dimensional case: Suppose two regions in a plane are included between two parallel lines in that pl ...
, including
Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri (; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuati, Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion (physics), motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infin ...
and his students: this method was fiercely opposed by the rival, and more powerful, order of the
Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
s who viewed it as a religious threat. Mathematician Bonaventura Cavalieri was a member from the age of fifteen until his death. Other illustrious members included
Stefano degli Angeli Stefano degli Angeli (Venice, September 23, 1623 – Padova, October 11, 1697) was an Italian mathematician, philosopher, and Jesuate. He was member of the Catholic Order of the Jesuats (Jesuati). In 1668 the order was suppressed by Pope Clemen ...
and the poet
Bianco da Siena Bianco di Santi alias Bianco da Siena or Bianco da Lanciolina (Anciolina, 1350 circa - Venice, 1399) was an Italian mystic poet and an imitator of Jacopone da Todi. He wrote several religiously-inspired poems ( lauda) that were popular in the Mid ...
.Vittoria Deudi, ''I Gesuati e il loro poeta Bianco da Siena'', Bullettino senese di storia patria, 1911, XVIII pp. 396–412. The female branch of the order, the Jesuati sisters, founded by Caterina Colombini (d. 1387) in Siena, and thence widely dispersed, survived the male branch by 200 years, existing until 1872 in small communities in Italy.


References


Bibliography

*Telesforo Bini, ''Laudi spirituali del Bianco da Siena, povero gesuato del secolo XIV'', Lucca, G. Giusti, 1851 (Edition of poems I–XCII). *Franca Ageno, ''Il Bianco da Siena. Notizie e testi inediti'', Genova-Roma-Napoli, Società Anonima Editrice Dante Alighieri, 1939 (Edition of poems XCIII–CXI). *Bianco da Siena, ''Serventesi inediti'', edited by Emanuele Arioli, Pisa, ETS, 2012 (Edition of poems CXII–CXXII). *Feo Belcari, ''Vita del beato Giovanni Colombini da Siena, fondatore de' poveri Gesuati con parte della vita d'alcuni primi suoi compagni'', edited by Antonio Cesari, Verona, Tipografia erede Merlo, 1817. *Vittoria Deudi, ''I Gesuati e il loro poeta Bianco da Siena'', Bullettino senese di storia patria, 1911, XVIII pp. 396–412. {{Authority control Catholic orders and societies