Congregation of the Feuillants

The Feuillants were a Roman Catholic congregation, originating in the 1570s as a reform of the Cistercian life in Les Feuillants Abbey in France but soon after declared an independent order, which in 1630 separated into the French branch (the Congregation of Notre-Dame des Feuillants) and the Italian branch (the Reformed Bernardines or Bernardoni). The French order was suppressed in 1791 during the French Revolution. The Italian order later rejoined the Cistercians.

Les Feuillants Abbey, the Cistercian abbey near Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) from which the order took its name, dated from 1145. It passed into the hands of commendatory abbots in 1493, and in that way came in 1562 to Jean de la Barrière (1544-1600). After his nomination he went to Paris to continue his studies, and then began his lifelong friendship with Arnaud d'Ossat, later cardinal. In 1573 Barrière, having decided to introduce a reform into his abbey, became a novice there himself, and after obtaining the necessary dispensations, made his solemn profession and was ordained priest, some time after 8 May 1573.

His was not an easy task. The twelve monks at Les Feuillants, despite the example and exhortations of their abbot, refused to accept the reform, which they disliked so greatly that they tried to poison him. Their resistance, however, was futile. In 1577 Barrière received the abbatial benediction, re-stated his intention of reforming his monastery, and made the members of the community understand that they had either to accept the reform or leave the abbey; most chose to do the latter and dispersed to various other Cistercian houses, leaving a community of five persons: two professed clerics, two novices, and Barrière himself.

The reform that caused such strong feeling consisted of an ascetic interpretation of the Cistercian rule in its most rigid sense and in many ways exceeded even that.

In addition, silence and manual labour were prized. Despite, or perhaps because of, this austere regime, the community grew with the admission of fervent postulants.

In 1581 Barrière received from Pope Gregory XIII a brief of commendation and in 1589 one of confirmation, which established the Feuillants as a congregation separate from the Cistercian order, the abbots and general chapters of which mostly opposed it fiercely. Their opposition did not prevent the reform from flourishing.

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