The Christian congregations are institutions which were created with the wire of time according to the needs or of the crises which agitated the Church, and are the illustration of the evolution of this one.

Beginnings

At the beginning of the Christianity, the Ascétisme was a form of gift of oneself and as of the 3rd century, create for themselves monastic communities. It is with holy Pacôme that convents observing of the strict rules appear. Pacôme thinks indeed that loneliness is dangerous, because it can lead to despair.

As of 360, Martin de Tours creates the Abbaye Saint Martin's day de Ligugé near Poitiers. holy Jean Cassien founds Saint-Victor of Marseilles and the Saint-Saver of Marseilles to Marseilles towards 415. It is the beginning of the Cénobitisme where the monks are alone in their cell and find themselves for the meals. The common life carries it finally. When Benoît de Nursie founds a monastery with the Mont Cassin in 529, the rule of life which it finalizes in 540 form the base of all the monastic orders of Europe. The currency of Benoît saint was: “Ora and will labora” , “Requests and works”. It remained the currency of the order Benedictine.

Under the reign of the Carolingian sovereigns , the monastic life, in particular the order Benedictine, takes a considerable rise by all the convents depending on the Abbaye of Cluny (founded in 910).

The revival at the beginning of the second millenium

About at the same time, the Order cistercian, created in 1098 at the time of the foundation of the Abbey of Cîteaux, is the first order, known as reforming, which also refers to the rule bénédictine while wanting to ensure a more strict observance and to return from it to the starting ideals. Bruno of Cologne founds the Chartreuse; whereas one attends the birth of the Grandmontains, of the Prémontrés, of the Gilbertins, the congregation of Savigny and good of others.

This need for reform involves also the creation of the Orders beggars, in particular the Franciscains towards 1210 and the Dominicains towards 1215, which choose a life of poverty and preaching apart from a monastery. Personalities of this new type of conventual life find even their entry in the universities (Thomas d' Aquin, Bonaventure). Thanks to these Orders beggars, much of Christians remained faithful to the Church.

Reforms as from the 16th century

The Capucins result in 1517 from the order franciscain, still accentuating the ideal of poverty of this last.

True innovation, Society of Jesus is created in 1540 by Ignace de Loyola deals primarily of missionary activity and teaching, thus forming an order of regular clerks.

Little by little congregations appear which specialize in specific activities: the Somasques, founded in 1532, which are dedicated to the care of the patients and the education of the orphans, the Camilliens, founded in 1584, devoting itself to the care of the patients, the Piaristes founded in 1597 for teaching. Female congregations are born, of which the Ursulines, first order of female teaching.

Female orders

August 1st

Orders and the Reform

August 1st

The French Republic and congregations

The French State expressed, since the Révolution, a certain mistrust with regard to the congregations. With the length of the 19th century, a rather restrictive legislation was elaborate, including under modes rather favorable to the Catholic religion like the Restauration, through the law of May 24th, 1825 on the congregations of women.

Third Republic

Under the Third Republic, the movement anticlerical, if there remains rather benevolent towards the secular clergy, follows a more restrictive policy with regard to the congregations, which results in particular in expulsions of the French territory. The law of the 1 {{er}} July 1901 subjects the congregations to title III of the law: no religious congregation can be formed without an authorization given by a Loi which will determine the conditions of its operation, and it will be subjected to the control of the prefects.

Failing this for a congregation to subject itself to the provisions indicated, penal sanctions can be inflicted to the founders of the congregation. The the Vatican condemns the law, but leaves with the congregations freedom require their authorization, and the majority of the congregations deposit a request file. However, following the victory of the Bloc of the Lefts to the legislative elections of May 1902 carried to the capacity Emile Combes, combined with the Socialistes of Jaurès, and whose government carries out a savage combat Anticlérical. The introduced requests for recognition were examined in a restrictive direction and were refused.

As of the summer 1902, the schools congreganists not - authorized were closed and the movement accelerated in 1903, the final blow with the congregations being carried by a law of 1904 prohibiting purely and simply “ the teaching of any kind and any nature to the congregations ”, prohibition applying even to the authorized congregations and teaching in the public schools.

Close to 2  000 schools had been closed, and of tens of thousands of monks who had made instruction their ground of action privileged were prohibited to follow their occupation and confronted with the alternative of the reconversion, and thus of the abandonment of the religious state, or the exile. Some are secularized, with the call of the bishops, to ensure the survival of their work, but much choose fidelity with their vocation and thus the exile, preferably more close possible of France, in the hope of a possible return.

30 with 60  000 French monks thus leave to found establishments abroad: Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, but also the way “missionary”. Thus, approximately 1300 will unload with the Canada between 1901 and 1904, marking the Québécois company.

Much monk will remain abroad, contributing to the internationalization of the congregations, but the Sacred union proclaimed when the First World War bursts, makes some return much in France, trustful in the opening created which will be followed by the resumption of the relations with the the Holy See in the Années 1920.

The law of April 8th, 1942, confirmed with the Release, softens the system. The foundation of a congregation is not subjected any more to a legal authorization, but to a decree taken after Assent of the Council of State. The law removes also the offense of congregation and thus puts definitively fine at hunting for the monk.

Contemporary time

At the 20th century, the traditional orders pass through a crisis, and one notes the appearance of secular institutes.

Sources

• Article devoted to with the orders and congregations
• Summarized book of Christian Sorrel
• Article relating to the book of Guy Lapperière
• Article on the laws of 1901 and 1904

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