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The Sylvestrines are a
congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...
of
monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
s of the
Order of St Benedict The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
who form the Sylvestrine Congregation. The Sylvestrines use the post-nominal initials O.S.B. Silv.. The congregation was founded in 1231 by
Sylvester Gozzolini Silvestro Guzzolini (1177 – 26 November 1267) was an Italian Catholic Church, Catholic Priesthood in the Catholic Church, priest and the founder of the Sylvestrines, Silvestrini. He served as a Canon (priest), canon in Osimo but respectful re ...
. They are members of the
Benedictine Confederation The Benedictine Confederation of the Order of Saint Benedict () is the international governing body of the Order of Saint Benedict. Origin The Benedictine Confederation is a union of monastic congregations that nevertheless retain their own aut ...
. The congregation is similar to others of eremitical origin, in that their houses are not raised to the status of an
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
, which would entangle the monasteries more strongly in the affairs of the world. The congregation, though, is led by an abbot general, the only
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
it has, who supervises all the houses of the congregation.


History

Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267) was born at
Osimo Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. History The oldest archaeological evide ...
near
Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. As a young man, he entered a community of Augustinian
canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...
who served
Osimo Cathedral Osimo Cathedral or the Church of San Leopardo (, ''Chiesa di San Leopardo'') is the principal church of Osimo in Italy, dedicated to the first bishop, Saint Leopardus. Formerly the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Osimo, it has been since 1986 a ...
, and eventually was
professed A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath. A vow is used as a promise that is solemn rather than casual. Marriage vows Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding c ...
in that Order and received
Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...
. Around 1227, he left the community to lead an austere,
eremitical A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...
life. Disciples flocked to him, however, and in 1231 he built a hermitage by the mountain of
Montefano Montefano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Macerata in the Italian region Marche, located about southwest of Ancona and about north of Macerata. Montefano borders the following municipalities: Appignano, Filottrano, Montecassia ...
in the
March of Ancona The March of Ancona ( or ''Anconetana'') was a frontier march centred on the city of Ancona and later Fermo then Macerata in the Middle Ages. Its name is preserved as an Italian region today, the Marche, and it corresponds to almost the entir ...
(near the town of
Fabriano Fabriano is a town and ''comune'' of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at above sea level. It lies in the Esino valley upstream and southwest of Jesi; and east-northeast of Fossato di Vico and east of Gubbio (both in U ...
). The congregation was approved in 1247 by
Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
as the ''Ordo S. Benedicti de Montefano''. The community that Sylvester founded followed the
Rule of St. Benedict The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' () is a book of precepts written in Latin by Benedict of Nursia, St. Benedict of Nursia (c. AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The spirit of Saint Benedict's Rule is summed up ...
, but, as regards poverty in external matters, was far stricter than the general Benedictines of the time. At Sylvester's death in 1267, there were eleven Sylvestrine monasteries.Webster, Douglas Raymund
"Sylvestrines"
''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 14. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 30 January 2014.
At their peak, there were 56 monasteries in the congregation, mostly in
Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...
and
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
, as well as in the March of Ancona. The Church of
San Marco San Marco is one of the six sestiere (Venice), sestieri of Venice, lying in the heart of the city as the main place of Venice. San Marco also includes the island of San Giorgio Maggiore. Although the district includes Piazza San Marco, Saint Mar ...
in Florence belonged to the Sylvestrines, but in 1437, through the efforts of
Cosimo de' Medici Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici (27 September 1389 – 1 August 1464) was an Italian banker and politician who established the House of Medici, Medici family as effective rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance. His power derive ...
, they were displaced in favor of the Dominicans and moved to the smaller
San Giorgio alla Costa The church of San Giorgio alla Costa, called in earlier times also ''dei Santi Giorgio e Massimiliano dello Spirito Santo'' (''of Ss. George and Maximilian of the Holy Spirit'') is a small historical church in the Oltrarno district of the centr ...
. Like all religious communities in Europe, the Sylvestrines suffered throughout the 19th century from the upheavals of the
French Revolutionary Army The French Revolutionary Army () was the French land force that fought the French Revolutionary Wars from 1792 to 1802. In the beginning, the French armies were characterised by their revolutionary fervour, their poor equipment and their great nu ...
and the later
unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century Political movement, political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the Proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, annexation of List of historic states of ...
. Their principal house was the Monastery of
Santo Stefano del Cacco Santo Stefano de Pinea or more commonly Santo Stefano del Cacco is a church in Rome dedicated to Saint Stephen, located at Via di Santo Stefano del Cacco 26. Name The name "del Cacco" may refer to the Religion in Ancient Rome, Roman deity Cacus, ...
in Rome, dedicated to St. Stephen the
Protomartyr A protomartyr (Koine Greek, ''prôtos'' 'first' + ''mártus'' 'martyr') is the first Christian martyr in a country or among a particular group, such as a religious order. Similarly, the phrase the Protomartyr (with no other qualification of ...
, which was founded in 1563 to serve as the
motherhouse A motherhouse or mother house is the principal house or community for a Catholic religious community.YourDictionaryMotherhouse/ref> One example is the Missionaries of Charity's motherhouse in Kolkata, which functions as the congregation's headquart ...
of the congregation. Notable Sylvestrine include the founder, Sylvester Gozzolini, Bl. Giovanni del Bastonne, and the Bl. Giuseppe and Ugo di Serra San Quirico.


Expansion

For most of its history, the Congregation was confined to Italy. The
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
Mission was begun in 1845, their first foundation outside Europe. The Sylvestrines provided many of the
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
for that missionary
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
well into the 20th century. Additionally, they have monasteries in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the first being established in
Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator ...
, where two monks arrived in 1910 and served the spiritual needs of the many workers in the
coal industry Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...
there. As that industry faded and the local population began to move away, they looked elsewhere to build a permanent home. They were welcomed into the
Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...
in 1928, where they built their first monastery in the country in 1938, St Benedict of Oxford Monastery, which serves as the orders headquarters in the United States. There is a daughter house Holy Face Monastery in
Clifton, New Jersey Clifton is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Criss-crossed by several major highways, the city is a regional commercial hub for North Jersey and is a bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York Metropolitan Area.L ...
. A conventual priory was founded in 1962 in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at Arcadia,
Sydney, Australia Sydney is the capital city of the state of New South Wales and the most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 80 km (50 mi) from the Pacific Ocean ...
, by an Italian monk serving in Sri Lanka. Now, there are also monasteries in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. In the late 20th century, a foundation was set up in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
and, more recently, in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
.


Present day

The Sylvestrine monks operated as a completely autonomous congregation for most of their history, until they joined the Benedictine Confederation in 1973. This placed the congregation under the general supervision of the abbot primate of the Benedictine Order and joined them to the life of the entire Order throughout the world. As of 2020, there are three monasteries in Italy (Montefano, Bassano, and Giulianova). On 28 May 2019, Father Antony Puthenpurackal OSB of Saint Joseph’s Conventual Priory, Makkiyad, India became abbot general of the congregation. The
habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...
is dark blue, as compared to the standard black worn by most other Benedictines.


Saints, Blesseds, and other holy people


Saints

* Silvestro Guzzolini (c. 1177 – 26 November 1267), founder of the Order, canonized on 29 August 1890.


Blesseds

* Filippo da Varano di Recanati (13th century), one of Silvestro Guzzolini's first disciples, declared Blessed by popular acclaim. * Giovanni della Cella (aka Giovanni Solitario) (13th century), hermit, declared Blessed by popular acclaim. * Ugo degli Atti de Actis (c. 1227 - 26 July 1270), monk, beatified on 27 July 1757. * Giuseppe degli Atti de Actis (died 24 August 1273?), Second Prior of the Order and brother of Ugo degli Atti, declared Blessed by popular acclaim. * Giovanni dal Bastone (24 March 1200 – 24 March 1290), monk, beatified on 29 August 1772. * Bartolo di Cingoli (first half of the 13th century - 3 August 1298), Third Prior of the Order, declared Blessed by popular acclaim. * Benvenuto da Piticchio di Acervia (died unknown), monk, declared Blessed by popular acclaim. * Giacomo da Attigio da Fabriano (died unknown), monk, declared Blessed by popular acclaim but no official cult. * Bonaparte (died unknown), monk, declared Blessed by popular acclaim but no official cult. * Simone da Ripalta (13th century - 14th century), monk and one of Silvestro Guzzolini's first disciples, declared Blessed by popular acclaim.


Venerables

* Alfredo (Ildebrando) Gregori (8 May 1894 - 12 November 1985), founder of the Benedictine Reparatrix Sisters of the Holy Face, declared Venerable on 7 November 2014


Servants of God

* Bernardo Regno (18 August 1886 - 22 August 1977), Bishop of Kandy


References


External links


Congregazione Benedettina Silvestrina "Curia Generalizia"


{{Authority control 1231 establishments in Europe Catholic orders and societies Religious organizations established in the 1230s