The Oratory of Divine Love was an Italian Catholic ecclesiastical reform movement that originated in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

at the end of the 15th century. The notary, Ettore Vernazza (father of the mystic nun, Battistina Vernazza), played a key role in its formation - along with three other Genoese citizens, Giovanni Battista Salvago, Nicolo Grimaldi, and Benedetto Lomellino, and with the advice and inspiration of

Catherine of Genoa Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, 1447 – 15 September 1510) was an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor and remembered because of various writings describing both these acti ...

(Caterina Fieschi Adorno). Bernardino da Feltre had founded the Oratory of San Girolamo in the Italian city of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

in 1494). In 1497 Vernazza established the Society of the Handkerchief (Compagnia del Mandiletto), a grouping whose purpose was to gather alms for the poor, and which was to overtake Vicenza in significance. In 1499 he founded a hospital for incurables (''Societas reductus incurabilium''), the first of its kind in Italy. It was approved by the Genoese Senate on 27 November 1500, and privileged by Popes

Julius II Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...

and

Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

. The Oratory in Rome was established in the

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

district around 1514-17, where both prelates and laymen would meet in the church of Santi Silvestri e Dorotea frequently to discuss ecclesiastical reform. It was modelled on Genoa but its membership was more exclusive, with 50 (mainly aristocratic) members.

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

formally approved the rule on 24 March 1514, which meant membership was restricted to 36 laymen and four priests. The rule prescribed a fixed program of prayers, a weekly fast, monthly confession, and Communion four times a year. Members of the Oratory cared for orphans, helped the poor, consoled imprisoned criminals, and attended the sick in hospital. To facilitate their work throughout all classes of society, the names of the members of the oratory and its program were kept secret from others. It was finally disbanded at the Sack of Rome in 1527, but its spirit survived in the hospital for incurables of S. Giacomo in Augusta and in the reform measures championed by its members, such as Gian Matteo Giberti, Bishop of Verona,

Cajetan Cajetan and Kajetan is the Anglicized and Germanized form of the Italian given name Gaetano. People with this name include: * Thomas Cajetan (1469–1534), Italian Dominican theologian, cardinal, and opponent of Martin Luther * Saint Cajetan (Gaet ...

and

Gian Pietro Carafa Pope Paul IV, born Gian Pietro Carafa, Theatines, C.R. ( la, Paulus IV; it, Paolo IV; 28 June 1476 – 18 August 1559) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 May 1555 to his death in August 1559. While serv ...

, as well as Jacopo Sadoleto, Luigi Lippomano, and Gasparo Contarini. Similar oratories were subsequently founded around the same time at Milan, Florence, Lucca, Brescia (established by Bartolomeo Stella in 1517), Faenza, Verone (established by

, Padua, Rome, and Naples. Often in an atmosphere of secrecy, although members did not take vows.Diarmaid MacCulloch, ''Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700'' (Allen Lane, 2003).

Notes

{{reflist, 30em Catholic orders and societies