The Seven Holy Founders of The Servite Order

The Order of Servites a.k.a. Order of the Servants of Mary (OSM) is the fifth mendicant order, the objects of which are (1) the sanctification of its members, (2) preaching the Gospel, and (3) the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God , with special reference to her sorrows.

Foundation and History:

To the city of Florence belongs the glory of giving to the Church the seven youths who formed the nucleus of the order: Buonfiglio dei Monaldi (Bonfilius), Giovanni di Buonagiunta (Bonajuncta), Bartolomeo degli Amidei (Amideus), Ricovero dei Lippi-Ugguccioni (Hugh), Benedetto dell' Antella (Manettus), Gherardino di Sostegno (Sosteneus), and Alessio de' Falconieri (Alexius); they belonged to seven patrician families of that city, and had early formed a confraternity of laymen , known as the Laudesi, or Praisers of Mary.

While engaged in the exercises of the confraternity on the feast of the Assumption, 1233, the Blessed Virgin appeared to them, advised them to withdraw from the world and devote themselves entirely to eternal things. They obeyed, and established themselves close to the convent of the Friars Minor at La Camarzia, a suburb of Florence. Desiring stricter seclusion than that offered at La Camarzia, they withdrew to Monte Senario, eleven miles north of Florence. Here the Blessed Virgin again appeared to them, conferred on them a black habit, instructed them to follow the Rule of St. Augustine and to found the order of her servants (15 April, 1240). The brethren elected a superior, took the vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty, and admitted associates.

In 1243, Peter of Verona (St. Peter Martyr), Inquisitor-General of Italy, recommended the new foundation to the pope , but it was not until 13 March, 1249, that the first official approval of the order was obtained from Cardinal Raniero Capocci, papal legate in Tuscany . About this time St. Bonfilius obtained permission to found the first branch of the order at Cafaggio outside the walls of
Florence. Two years later (2 Oct., 1251) Innocent IV appointed Cardinal Guglielmo Fieschi first protector of the order. The next pope , Alexander IV , favoured a plan for the amalgamation of all institutes following the Rule of St. Augustine . This was accomplished in March  1256, and about the same time (March 23, 1256) a Rescript was issued confirming the Order of the Servites as a separate body with power to elect a general. Four years later a general chapter was convened at which the order was divided into two provinces, Tuscany and Umbria, the former of which St. Manettus directed, while the latter was given into the care of St. Sostene. Within five years two new provinces were added, namely, Romagna and Lombardy . After St. Philip Benizi was elected general (5 June, 1267) the order, which had long been the object of unjust attack from jealous enemies, entered into the crisis of its existence. The Second Council of Lyons in 1274 put into execution the ordinance of the Fourth Lateran Council , forbidding the foundation of new religious orders, and absolutely suppressed all
mendicant institutions not yet approved by the Holy See . The aggressors renewed their assaults, and in the year 1276 Innocent V in a letter to St. Philip declared the order suppressed. St. Philip proceeded to Rome , but before his arrival there Innocent V had died. His successor lived but five weeks. Finally John XXI , on the favourable opinion of three consistorial advocates, decided that the order should continue as before. The former dangers reappeared under Martin V (1281), and though other popes continued to favour the order, it was not definitively approved until Benedict IX issued the Bull , "Dum levamus" (11 Feb., 1304). Of the seven founders, St. Alexis alone lived to see their foundation raised to the dignity of an order. He died in 1310. The exact date of birth and death and place of death of each founder is uncertain. At the beginning of the 16th century, however, it was recorded that the bodies of Bonfilius, Benedict dell’Antella, and Alexis Falconieri were buried on Monte Senario. In 1649, when the main altar of the chapel at Monte Senario was being remodeled, the remains of seven bodies were found, and, after being moved several times, they are now enshrined in the Chapel of the Seven Holy Founders, Monte Senario.

St. Peregrine Laziosi:
We must here make mention of St. Peregrine Laziosi (Latiosi), whose
sanctity of life did much towards increasing the repute of the Servite
Order in Italy. Peregrine was born in Forli, Italy, around 1265. At that time, Forli was governed by the Pope as part of the Papal States, and Peregrine grew up in a family that was actively involved in the opposition, or anti-papal party. Because of anti-papal activity, the city was under the church penalty of interdict, meaning that Mass and the Sacraments could not be celebrated there. St. Philip Benizi, Prior General of the Servants of Mary, went to Forli to preach reconciliation. Young Peregrine, very intense in his political fervor, not only heckled Philip during his preaching, but, in fact, struck him. Philip, instead of responding with anger and violence to the attack, turned and forgave Peregrine. This encounter with Philip is said to have dramatically changed Peregrine. He began channeling his energy into good works and eventually joined the Servants of Mary in Siena, Italy. He returned to Forli, where he spent the rest of his life, dedicating himself to the sick, the poor, and those on the fringes of society. He also imposed on himself the penance of standing whenever it was not necessary to sit. This led to varicose veins, which later deteriorated into an open sore on his leg, and was eventually diagnosed as cancer.

Peregrine's leg wound became so serious that the local surgeon decided to amputate the leg. The night before the surgery, Peregrine prayed before the image of the crucified Christ, and when he awoke, the wound was healed and his leg saved. He lived another 20 years, dying on May 1, 1345, and the age of about 80. Peregrine was canonized on December 27, 1726, and has been named the Patron Saint of those suffering from cancer. His body remains incorrupt to the present day. He was canonized by Benedict XIII in 1726, and his feast is celebrated on 30 April.

Growth / Expansion:
One of the most remarkable features of the new foundation was its wonderful growth. Even in the thirteenth century there were houses of the order in Germany, France , and Spain . Early in the fourteenth century the order had more than one hundred convents including branch houses in Hungary , Bohemia, Austria , Poland , and Belgium ; there were also missions in Crete and India. The disturbances during the Reformation caused the loss of many Servite convents in Germany , but in the South of France the order met with much success. The Convent of Santa Maria in Via (1563) was the second house of the order established in Rome ; San Marcello had been founded in 1369. Early in the eighteenth century the order sustained losses and confiscations from which it has scarcely yet recovered. The flourishing Province of Narbonne was almost totally destroyed by the plague which swept Marseilles in 1720. In 1783 the Servites were expelled from Prague and in 1785 Joseph II desecrated the shrine of Maria Waldrast. Ten monasteries were suppressed in Spain in 1835. A new foundation was made at Brussels in 1891, and at Rome the College of St. Alexis was opened in 1895. At this period the order was introduced into England and America chiefly through the efforts of Fathers Bosio and Morini. The latter, having gone to London (1864) as director of the affiliated Sisters of Compassion, obtained charge of a parish from Archbishop Manning in 1867. His work prospered: besides St. Mary's Priory at London, convents were opened at Bognor (1882) and Begbroke (1886). In 1870 Fathers Morini, Ventura,
Giribaldi, and Brother Joseph Camera, at the request of Rt. Rev. Bishop Melcher of Green Bay, took up a mission in America, at Neenah, Wisconsin . Father Morini founded at Chicago (1874) the monastery of Our Lady of Sorrows. A novitiate was opened at Granville, Wisconsin , in 1892. The American province, formally established in 1908, embraces convents in the dioceses of Chicago , St. Louis, Milwaukee , Superior , and Denver . In 1910 the order numbered 700 members in 62 monasteries, of which 36 were in Italy , 17 in Austria-Hungary , 4 in England, 4 in North America, 1 in Brussels.

Twentieth Century:
The order continued to expand geographically throughout the twentieth century, taking responsibility for missions in Swaziland in 1913, Acre in Brazil in 1919, Aisén, Chile in 1937, and Zululand in South Africa. It also made foundations in Argentina from 1914 and more solidly since 1921; Transvaal in South Africa since 1935, Uruguay 1939, Bolivia 1946, Mexico 1948, Australia 1951, Venezuela 1952, Colombia 1953, India 1974, Mozambique 1984, Philippines 1985, Uganda , Albania 1993, and also the refoundations in Hungary (Eger) and the Czech Republic .

Pope Pius XII , through the Congregation of Seminaries and Universities, elevated the Marianum to a pontifical theological faculty on 30 November 1950.
After the Second Vatican Council , the order renewed its Constitutions starting with its 1968 general chapter at Majadahonda , Madrid , a process which was concluded in 1987. In the same year, Prior General Michael M. Sincerny oversaw the creation of the International Union of the Servite Family (UNIFAS).
The twentieth century also saw the beatification (1952) and the canonization of Friar Antonio Maria Pucci , the canonization of Clelia Barbieri (d. 1870), foundress of the Minime dell’Addolorata, the beatification of Ferdinando M. Baccilieri of the Servite Secular Order (1997), and the beatification of Sr. Maria Guadalupe Ricart Olmos (2001), a Spanish cloistered nun who was martyred during the Spanish Civil War , the beatification of Cecelia Eusepi of the Servite Secular Order .

Through the centuries, the Servite Order has spread throughout the world, including all of Europe, parts of Africa, Australia, the Americas, India and the Philippines. The general headquarters of the Servite Order is in Rome, while many provinces and motherhouses represent the Order throughout the world. In the United States there is one province of friars with headquarters in Chicago; there are four provinces of sisters with motherhouses in Wisconsin, Nebraska and two in Illinois.

Devotions / Duties:
In common with all religious orders strictly so called, the Servites make solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience . The particular object of the order is to sanctify first its own members, and then all men through devotion to the Mother of God, especially in her desolation during the Passion of her Divine Son.
The Servites give missions, have the care of souls, or teach in higher institutions of learning. The Rosary of the Seven Dolors is one of their devotions, as is also the Via Matris .
The fasts of the order are Advent , Lent, and the vigils of certain feasts.
All offices in the order are elective and continue for three years, except that of general and assistant-generals which are for six years.
Canonized Servite saints are: St. Philip Benizi (feast day on 23 August), St. Peregrine Laziosi (4 May), St. Juliana Falconieri (19 June). The seven founders of the order were canonized in 1888, and have a common feast day on 17 February. The date first assigned to this feast day was 11 February, the anniversary of the canonical approval of the order in 1304. In 1907 this date was assigned to the celebration of Our Lady of Lourdes and the feast day of the Seven Holy Founders was moved to 12 February. In accordance with liturgical tradition, the date was changed in 1969 to the anniversary of the death of one of them, Alexis Falconieri , which occurred on 17 February 1310.

Affiliated Associations:
Connected with the first order of men are the cloistered nuns of the second order , which originated with converts of St. Philip Benizi . These sisters have monasteries in Spain, Italy, England, the Tyrol, and Germany.
The Mantellate, is a third order of women founded by Juliana Falconieri , to whom St. Philip gave the habit in 1284. From Italy it spread into other countries of Europe. The Venerable Anna Juliana, Archduchess of Austria, founded several houses and became a Mantellate herself. In 1844 it was introduced into France, and was thence extended into England in 1850. The sisters were the first to wear the religious habit publicly in that country after the so-called Reformation and were active missionaries under Father Faber and the Oratorians for many years. This branch occupies itself with active works. They devote themselves principally to the education of youth, managing academies and taking charge of parochial schools and workrooms. They also undertake works of mercy, such as the care of orphans, visiting the sick, and instructing converts, etc.  have houses in Italy, France, Spain, England, and Canada . In the United States they are to be found in the dioceses of Sioux City , Omaha , and Belville, NC, and Blue Island, IL.
There is also a confraternity of the Seven Dolours, branches of which may be erected in any church.
The Secular Order of the Servants of Mary (Servite Secular Order) is a Catholic organization of lay men and women plus diocesan priests living their Christian faith in the context of the world. They strive toward holiness according to the spirituality of the Servite Order, following the directives of their Rule of Life. Secular Servites are asked to do the following each day: live the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love; pray and try to read Sacred Scripture each day, and/or the Liturgy of the Hours; practice acts of reverence for the Mother of God daily, especially by praying the Servite prayer "The Vigil of Our Lady" and/or the Servite Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary.

(Source: newadvent.org, wikipedia.org, servite.org, britannica.com)