TRAPPISTS
25
TRAPPISTS
phalia (founded 16 Oct., 1795, from the Abbey of
Val-Sainte), which had been exempted some years
previous from the authority of Dom Augustine, fol-
lowed the Regulations of de Rancc, which differed
from those of Dom Augustine principally in the hour
for dinner, and the length of time devoted to manual
labour; their order of exercises was naturally followed
by the houses founded by them, thus instituting a
new observance and the nucleus of a congregation.
In 1S34 the Holy See erected all the monasteries of
France into the "Congregation of the Cistercian
Monks of Notre-Dame de la Trappe". The Abbot of
La Trappe was by right the vicar-general of the con-
gregation as soon as his election was confirmed by the
president-general of theOrderof Clteaux. They were
to hold a general chajjler each year; were to follow the
Rule of St. Benedict and the Constitutions of de
Ranee, except for a few points, and retain the liturgi-
cal books of the Cistercian Order. Divergences of
jpinion on several matters concerning regular obser-
i-ance induced the abbots of the various monasteries
to believe that this union could not be productive of
that peace so much desired, and so at their solicita-
tion the Holy See issued a new Decree, deciding that
'AH the monasteries of Trappists in France shall form
two congregations, of which the former will be
termed 'The Ancient Reform of Our Lady of La
Frappe', and the second the 'New Reform of Our
Lady of La Trappe'. Each shall be a congregation
jf the Cistercian Monks. The .Ancient Reform is
to follow the Constitutions of de Ranee, whilst the
New Reform is not to follow the Constitutions of the
■Ibbot de Lestrange, which it abandoned in 1834,
Dut the Rule of St. Benedict, with the ancient Consti-
tutions of Clteaux, as approved by the Holy See, ex-
cepting the prescriptions contained in this Decree,
rhe Moderator General of the Cistercian Order shall
je at the head of both congregations, and will confirm
- he election of all abbots. In France each congrcga-
- ion shall have its vicar-general, with full authority for
ts administration" (.Vpostolic Decree, 2.5 F'eb., 1847).
After this the congregations began to flourish. The \ncient Reform made fourteen foundations, some of
- hem in China and Natal; the New Reform was even
nore fruitful, establishing twenty monasteries as far as ,he L'nited States, Canada, Syria, etc. The Belgian congregation of Westmalle also prospered, forming ive new filiations. .\s the combined strength of the hree congregations thus became greater than the old i;istercian Order, the earnest desire soon developed imongst all to establish a permanent bond of union jetween them, with one head and a uniform obser- .•ance; this was etTected in 1S92. Dom Sebastian kVyart (b. 1839; d. 1904), Abbot of Sept-Fons and i'icar-General of the .Vncient Reform, was elected first ibbot-general. .\fter twelve years of zealous labour, he most worthy moimment of which was the pur-
- hase of the cr.adle of the order, Clteaux, and making
t again the mother-house, he p.a.ssed to his reward, ind was succeeded as abbot -general by Mgr Augustin Marre, then Abbot of Igny (a monastery which he had governed since issl ), titular Bishop of Constance and luxiliarj' to Cardinal Lang(5nieux of Reims; he is still niling the order (1911), with the greatest zeal and jrudenee.
The natne under which the order was reorganized is 'Order of Reformed Cistercians" and while its mem- )ers no longer bear the name of "Trappists", yet hey are heirs to the old tr.aditions, and even the name vill continue to be connected with them in the popu- ar mind. The present Constitutions (ajiproved 13 ^ug., 1894) under which the order is governed and ipon which all the usages anfl regulafions are based, s derived from the Rule of St. Benedict, the "Charta I^haritatis" and ancient usages anil definitions of the general chapters of Ctteaux, and the Apostolic T^etters md Constitutions. It is divided into three parts.
The first part regards the government of the order;
the supreme power residing in the general chapter,
which is composed of all the abbots (actually in office),
titular priors and superiors of houses, and meets each
year under the presidency of the abbot-general, who
is elected by themselves for life. During the time
the general chapter is not in session the order is di-
rected, in urgent cases, by the abbot-general with the
assistance of a council composed of fi\i.' definitors, also
elected by the general chajitcr, but fur a term of five
years. The abbot-general is I ituhu- .Vbbot of Ctteaux,
and must reside at Rome. The order is not divided
From a photograph
into provinces, nor is there an officer similar to a
provincial. Each monastery is autonomous and
maintains its own novitiate; its abbot or titular prior
appointing all local subordinate superiors, and having
full administration in both spiritual and temporal
affairs. Nevertheless each monastery has the duty
of visiting all tlie houses it has founded, either once
each year, or once every two years, according to dis-
tance, and then rendering a report of its material and
spiritual well-being to the next subsequent general-
chapter. The abbot of such a monastery is called the
father-immediate, and the houses thus subject are
termed " daughter-house.s " or filiations. It is espe-
cially prescribed that all houses be dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin.
The second part is concerned with monastic obser- vances; which must be uniform in all the monasteries of the order. The Divine Office must be sung or recited in choir according to the directions of the Breviary, Missal, Ritual, and Martyrology, no matter how few may be the number of religious in a particu- lar house; the canonical Office is always preceded (ex- cept at Compline, when it is followed) by the Office of the Blessed Virgin; and on all ferial days through- out the year Vespers and Lauds are followed by the Office of the Dead. Mass and the d.ay Offices are always sung with the Gregorian Chant; Matins and Lauds also are sung on Sundays and the more solemn feasts. Mental prayer, one half-hour in the morning, and fifteen minutesin the evening, is of obligation, but of counsel much more fre(|uent,ly. Confession must be made once each week, and daily Holy Communion is strongly commended. Out of the time of Divine Office, before which nothing is to be jireferred, and when not engaged in manual labour, the monks de- vote themselves to pr.ayer, study, or pious reading, for there is never any time granted for recreation; these exerci.ses always t.ake jilace in common, never in pri- vate rooms. The hour for rising is at '2 A. M on week- days, 1..30 on Sundays, and 1 on the more solemn feasts; whilst the hour for retiring is at 7 P. M. in winter, .and 8 in summer; in this latter season there is a xicMa given after dinner, so that the religious have seven hours' sleep in the course of the day; aljout seven hours also are devoted to the Divine Office and Mass, one hour to meals, four hours to study and
