Abbreviation | Order of the Hieronymites (O.S.H.) |
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Formation | Late 14th century |
Type | Catholic enclosed religious order |
Headquarters | Orden de San Jerónimo Monasterio de Santa María del Parral Subida al Parral, 2 40003 - Segovia, España |
Website | www3.planalfa.es/msmparral/ |
The Order of Saint Jerome or Hieronymites (Latin: Ordo Sancti Hieronymi, abbreviated O.S.H.) is a Catholic enclosed religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule of Saint Augustine, though the inspiration and model of their lives is the 5th-century hermit and biblical scholar, Saint Jerome.
The principal group with this name was founded in Spain in the 14th century. Their religious habit is a white tunic with a brown, hooded scapular and a brown mantle. For liturgical services, they wear a brown cowl.
Established near Toledo, Spain, the Order developed out of a spontaneous interest by a number of eremetical communities in both Spain and Italy in imitating the life of Saint Jerome. This way of life soon became widespread in Spain. Two of these hermits, Pedro Fernández y Pecha and Fernando Yáñez y de Figueroa, decided it would be more advantageous to live a more regular way of life in a community, under an authorized monastic rule.
Under their leadership, the Monastery of Saint Bartholomew was then founded in Lupiana, with Fernández y Pecha acting as their first prior. On 18 October 1373, Pope Gregory XI issued a papal bull recognizing them as a religious order, under the Rule of Saint Augustine. The Constitutions included the teachings of their patron saint. By 1415 there numbered 25 houses following this spirit; in that year, they were united by the pope and given the status of an exempt Order, free from episcopal jurisdiction.