The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union 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 ...

houses (abbeys and priories) within 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 ...

. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom

Pietro Casaretto Pietro Casaretto, O.S.B. (1810-1878) was an Italian Benedictine monk who established the Subiaco Congregation, an international federation of Benedictine monasteries, now part of the Subiaco Cassinese Congregation. Life He was born Francesco Ca ...

, O.S.B., as a reform of the way of life of monasteries of the Cassinese Congregation, formed in 1408, toward a stricter

contemplative In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with religious practices such as meditation or prayer. Etymology The word ''contemplation'' is de ...

observance, and received final approval in 1872 by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

. After discussions between the two congregations at the start of the 21st century, approval was given by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

in 2013 for the incorporation of the Cassinese Congregation into its offshoot, the Subiaco Congregation. The expanded congregation was given this new name.

History

Father Casaretto (1810–1878) from the age of seventeen was a monk of the Abbey of Santa Maria del Monte which was a member of the ancient

Cassinese Congregation The Subiaco Cassinese Congregation is an international union of Benedictine houses (abbeys and priories) within the Benedictine Confederation. It developed from the Subiaco Congregation, which was formed in 1867 through the initiative of Dom Pietro ...

of Benedictine monasteries. Due to his poor health later, after his

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

, he was advised to seek

exclaustration In the canon law of the Catholic Church, exclaustration is the official authorization for a member of a religious order (in short, a religious) bound by perpetual vows to live for a limited time outside their religious institute, usually with a vi ...

(a temporary leave of absence for discernment). Instead, he accepted assignment to a parish which had been entrusted to the

pastoral care ''The Book of Pastoral Rule'' (Latin: ''Liber Regulae Pastoralis'', ''Regula Pastoralis'' or ''Cura Pastoralis'' — sometimes translated into English ''Pastoral Care'') is a treatise on the responsibilities of the clergy written by Pope Greg ...

of the Congregation, but only on condition of being accompanied by a few of his brother monks. Furthermore, his stipulation was that they be allowed to follow an exact observance of the monastic life as laid down in 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 ...

. To be revived in this was the practice of perpetual

abstinence Abstinence is the practice of self-enforced restraint from indulging in bodily activities that are widely experienced as giving pleasure. Most frequently, the term refers to sexual abstinence, but it can also mean abstinence from alcohol (drug), ...

from meat and the celebration of

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning (between midnight and dawn). The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which w ...

at 2:00 a.m. This was seen as an act of defiance in some quarters, but Casaretto had won the confidence of

and the King of Piedmont. His vision was fulfilled with the establishment of a small monastic community in 1843. The new foundation received approbation within the Congregation in 1846 with the visit of the Abbot of their mother community. That same year, it also found support from the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

with its approval of 18 articles Casaretto had submitted to serve as shaping the character of the foundation. Additionally, he founded a small

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

nearby to prepare monks for serving overseas. This was a step away from the purely European focus of the Cassinese congregation. Over the next few years, three other Cassinese monasteries joined Casaretto's experiment. At this point, the Cassinese Congregation formed these communities into a new

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

of Subiaco, granting these communities a degree of autonomy. By 1867, monasteries in Belgium, England and France had also joined this new Province. That was the year that Casaretto had decided that conditions in the mother Congregation were such that a complete split would be best. For this he convened an extraordinary

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

, which declared such a break, and established the monasteries of the Province as the Cassinese Congregation of the Primitive Observance. One new feature of this congregation, breaking with monastic tradition, was the establishment of a single

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 ...

for the congregation, titled the Abbot General, with the

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

of each monastery being titled simply a

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

, who was to be elected

triennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

ly, rather than for life. This step drew the criticism of excessive centralization of monastic life, but the new congregation thrived, and received final

papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

approval in 1872, only five years after its inauguration. Yet Casaretto's vision was not to survive intact. Within a few years of his death, a committee of

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

called an extraordinary

General Chapter A chapter ( or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the reading of a chapter o ...

in 1880. In the course of this, they cancelled the congregational nature of the monastic

religious vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

and re-established both the lifetime office of Abbot as the Superior of each monastery and the practice of the monk's vowing stability in a single community. Following decades saw the consolidation and expansion of the Congregation. Growing hostility by the governments of Italy and France saw temporary suppression of various abbeys. This led them to establish new foundations in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, New Zealand and 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 ...

by the end of the 19th century. The congregation was flourishing however, at the start of the 20th century, with the number of monks growing from about 1,000 in 1920 to over 1,400 by 1937. New foundations were taking place, but this growth also came through the affiliation of the formerly

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

monastery of

Prinknash Abbey Prinknash Abbey (pronounced locally variously as "Prinidge/Prinnish") (International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) is a Catholic Church in England and Wales, Roman Catholic monastery in the Vale of Gloucester in the Diocese of Clifton, near the vill ...

which chose to affiliate itself with this Congregation, after its

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, followed soon after by World War II, saw a change in fortunes of the Congregation. Widespread destruction and dispersal of religious communities did not spare the monks. The entire community of "El Pueyo" was murdered during this conflict. Growth was able to resume after these conflicts, especially in the French province, which made new foundations in Asia and Africa. In 1959, the General Chapter of the Congregation chose to re-take its original name of Subiaco.

Current status

, the Congregation consists of 64 monasteries, with another 45 women's houses affiliated or "aggregated". There are 1,250 members located in 24 countries. The congregation was formed with the aim of rediscovering the ancient simplicity of the monastic life, which had become obscured over the centuries. As such, its houses tend to be focused more on an enclosed contemplative life rather than pastoral involvement with the larger community through the operations of schools or parishes. Compared to the other member congregations of the Benedictine Confederation (apart from the

Ottilien Congregation The Ottilien Congregation, officially known as the Benedictine Congregation of Sankt Ottilien and as the Missionary Benedictines, is a congregation of religious houses within the Benedictine Confederation, the aim of which is to combine the Benedi ...

), the Subiaco Confederation is one of the most internationally diverse, due to the widespread missionary activity of its abbeys. The residence of the Abbot President of the congregation is at the Abbey of St. Ambrose () in Rome. It was founded by the sister of St. Ambrose in the 4th century as a monastery of nuns. On Thursday, September 22, 2016, capitulars of the General Chapter meeting in Rome, elected as the new Abbot President, Abbot Guillermo Arboleda Tamayo. He is the first Abbot President of the Congregation from the Americas. He was born in 1956, ordained priest in 1980, and professed as a monk of Santa María de la Epifanía (Guatapé) in 1986. He previously served as Abbot of the '
Abbey of Santa Maria de la Asunción (Envigado)
'' and Administrator of '
Santa María de la Epifanía (Guatapé)
''.

Structure of the Congregation

The congregation is currently made up of: : Eight provinces: the Italian Province, the English Province, the Flemish Province, the French Province, the Spanish Province, the African and Madagascar Province, and the Vietnamese Province : The Philippine Pro-Province (2 houses) : Extra-provincial monasteries, subject directly to the Abbot President of the Congregation : Monasteries of Women As to membership, the most recent ''Catalogus Monasteriorum'' published by the

(2015) notes the following (the figures cited do not include novices, oblates, or temporary professed):

Italian Province

Archabbey of Monte Cassino
(6th century): 13 monks
Monastery of St. Scholastica
and Sacro Speco (6th century) Subiaco: 19 monks
Abbey of St. Justina
Padua (970): 15 monks
Abbey of St. John the Evangelist
Parma (980): 10 monks
Abbey of the Holy Trinity
Cava (1011): 8 monks
Abbey of St. James the Greater
Pontida (1076): 14 monks
Praglia Abbey
Praglia (1080): 44 monks ** Sadhu Benedict Math, Maheshwarapash, Daulatpur,

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

(1990): (dependent on Praglia) *
Abbey of St. Gregory the Great
Venice (982): 3 monks (dependent on Praglia)
Abbey of St. Mary of Montevergine
Montevergine (1124): 14 monks ** Abbey of St. Peter, Assisi (970): 5 monks (dependent on Montvergine)
Abbey of St. Martin
Palermo (1347): 10 monks

Finale Ligure (1477): 13 monks ** Priory of Saints Martin and Benedict, Pegli: 2 monks (dependent on Finalpia)
Abbey of St. Mary of the Stairs
Noci (1930): 15 monks
Abbey of St. Peter of Sorres
Borutta (1955): 10 monks * Abbey of St. Mary of Farfa, Farfa (6th century): 6 monks ** Abbey of St. Peter, Perugia (966): 5 monks (dependent on Farfa)
Monastery of Saints Paul and Andrew
Novalesa (726): 7 monks
Monastery of St. Peter
Modena (983): 8 monks * Abbey of St. Mary of the Mountain, Cesena (10th century): 7 monks (dependent on Modena)
Monastery of Our Lady of Miracles
Miraculi (1925): 8 monks
Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul
Germagno (1974): 10 monks * Monastery of Benedictine G.B. Dusmet, Nicolosi: 4 monks
Monastic Community of the Most Holy Trinity
Dumenza (1989): 9 monks

English Province

Pluscarden Abbey
Moray (1230): 21 monks *
St. Mary's Monastery
Petersham, Massachusetts (1987): 4 monks (dependent on Pluscarden)
St. Augustine's Abbey
Chilworth (1861): 10 monks; formerly at

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...

St. Michael's Abbey
Farnborough (1895): 4 monks
Prinknash Abbey
Gloucestershire (1896): 12 monks
Monastery of Christ in the Desert
Abiquiu, New Mexico (1964): 27 monks ** Monastery of Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, San Miguel, Mexico (1987): 10 monks (dependent on Christ in the Desert) ** Monasterio Benedictino De Santa María y Todos Los Santos, Texin, Telocelo,

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

, Mexico (1997): 10 monks (dependent on Christ in the Desert) *
Monastery of Thien Tam
Kerens, Texas (2009): 6 monks (dependent on Christ in the Desert)
Monastery of the Holy Cross
Chicago, Illinois (1989): 7 monks
Monastery of Kristo Buase
Techiman (1989), priory ''sui juris'' i.e., granted independent status in 2016: 12 monks

Flemish Province

Affligem Abbey
Affligem, Belgium (1062): 3 monks
Dendermonde Abbey
Dendermonde, Belgium (1837): 11 monks
St. Peter's Abbey
Steenbrugge, Belgium (1094): 4 monks * St. Benedict's Abbey, Pietersburg, South Africa (1910): 14 monks
Keizersberg Abbey
(''Regina Coeli''),

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

, Belgium (1899): 5 monks * Abbey of St. Paul, Teteringen/Oosterhout (1907): 8 monks
St. Willibrord's Abbey
Slangenburg, Doetinchem, Netherlands (1945): 8 monks ** Sint-Maartenskommuniteit, Tilburg, Netherlands: 3 monks (dependent on St. Willibrord's Abbey)

French Province

Abbey of St. Mary of La Pierre-qui-Vire
Saint-Léger-Vauban, France (1850): 46 monks ** Chauveroche Priory, France (1980): 6 monks (dependent on La Pierre-qui-Vire)
Abbey of Our Lady of Belloc

Urt Urt (; ; )AHURTI
Landévennec Abbey Landévennec Abbey () is a Benedictine monastery at Landévennec in Brittany, in the department of Finistère, France. The present monastery is a modern foundation at the site of an early mediaeval monastery, of which only ruins survive. First ...

, France (1878): 20 monks ** Monastery of Morne-Saint-Benoît,

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

Haïti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

(1981): 4 monks (dependent on Landévennec)
Abbey of St. Benedict of En-Calcat Abbey

Dourgne Dourgne (; ) is a commune in the Tarn department and Occitanie region of southern France. Demographics Sites and monuments Dourgne is known for its two Benedictine monasteries, the En-Calcat Abbey and the Sainte Scholastique Abbey, both f ...

, France (1890): 52 monks ** Monastery of St. Mary, Bouakè, Côte d’Ivoire (1960): 14 monks (dependent on Calcat Abbey) * Tournay Abbey, Tournay, France (1934): 20 monks
Fleury Abbey

Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire (, literally ''Saint-Benoît on Loire'') is a commune in the Loiret department in north-central France. Monastery This town hosts the '' Abbaye de Fleury'', also known as the ''Abbaye de Saint Benoît'' (Saint Benedic ...

, France (630): 32 monks

Hispanic Province

Abbey of Saint Julián of Samos

Lugo Lugo (, ) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population of 100,060 in 2024, ...

, Galicia, Spain (655; 960): 19 monks ** Monastery of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico: 5 monks (dependent on Samos)
Valvanera Abbey
La Rioja, Spain (900): 12 monks
Abbey of Saint Mary of Montserrat
Barcelona, Spain (1025): 76 monks *
Abbey of Saint Michael of Cuxa
Codalet, France: 5 monks (dependent on Montserrat) *
Monastery of Saint Mary (Santuari del Miracle)
El Solsonès, Catalonia, Spain (1899): 6 monks (dependent on Montserrat) * Estibaliz Priory, Estibaliz,

Álava Álava () or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álava, Lordship ...

, Spain (1923): 7 monks
Monastery of Saint Mary of El Paular
Rascafria, Madrid, Spain (1954): 8 monks
Abbey of Saint Mary of Assumption
Envigado, Colombia (1954): 15 monks
Monastery of Saint Mary of the Epiphany
Guatapé, Colombia (1968): 27 monks * Monasterio de Santa Teresa de Jesús, Lazkao, Spain (1968): 8 monks * Resurrection Abbey, Ponta Grossa (Brasil): 23 monks"Abbey of the Resurrection", Subiaco Cassinese Congregation
/ref>

Africa and Madagascar Province

* Monastère Bénédictin Sainte-Marie, Bouaké Priory, Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire: 19 monks * Mahitsy Monastery, Madagascar (1955): 23 monks * Abbaye de l'Ascension, Abbey of the Ascension, Dzogbégan, Danyi-Apéyémé, Togo (1961): 32 monks * Abbaye Saint-Benoît de Koubri, Koubri Abbey, Koubri, Burkina Faso (1963): 23 monks * Abbaye Saint-Benoît de Koubri#Dependencies, Mont Tabor de Hékanmè, Attogon, Benin (1998): 7 monks (dependent on Koubri)

Vietnamese Province

* Thien An Abbey, Huế (1940): 43 monks (and 3 secular oblates) * Thien Hoa Priory, Đắk Lắk (1962): 12 monks * Thien Binh Priory, Đồng Nai Province, Đồng Nai (1970): 51 monks * Thien Phuoc Priory, Ho Chi Minh City (1972): 55 monks (and 28 secular oblates)

Philippine Pro-Province

* Our Lady of Montserrat Abbey, Manila, Abbey of Our Lady of Montserrat, Manila (1895): 28 monks (and 40 secular oblates
Abbey of the Transfiguration
Malaybalay (1981): 14 monks (and 1 Novice; 1 Simply Professed; 24 Secular Oblates; 13 Oblate Novices. Elevated to an abbey by decree of the abbot president, Rt. Rev. Guillermo L. Arboleda, OSB on 2 February 2017. The founder and first abbot elected is Rt. Rev. Eduardo Africa, OSB.

Extra-provincial

Kornelimünster Abbey
Aachen (814): 9 monks
Abbey of the Holy Trinity
New Norcia, Western Australia, (1846): 12 monks (and 30 secular oblates)

Notes

{{reflist

Sources and external links

Subiaco Cassinese Congregation official website
Benedictine congregations Benedictine monasteries in the United States Religious organizations established in 1867