The Congregation of France (French: ''Labaye de Sainte Genevieve et la Congregation de France'' lit: The Abbey of Sainte Genevieve and the Congregation of France) was a

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

of houses of

canons regular The Canons Regular of St. Augustine are Catholic priests who live in community under a rule ( and κανών, ''kanon'', in Greek) and are generally organised into Religious order (Catholic), religious orders, differing from both Secular clergy, ...

in France.. Its members were called ''Génovéfains'' after the

Abbey of St Genevieve The Abbey of Saint Genevieve (French: ''Abbaye Sainte-Geneviève'') was a monastery in Paris. Reportedly built by Clovis, King of the Franks in 502, it became a centre of religious scholarship in the Middle Ages. It was suppressed at the time of t ...

, the

motherhouse A motherhouse or mother house is the principal house or community for a Catholic religious community.YourDictionaryMotherhouse/ref> One example is the Missionaries of Charity's motherhouse in Kolkata, which functions as the congregation's headquart ...

of the congregation.

History

The congregation was founded by

Cardinal de La Rochefoucauld Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

commendatory abbot A commendatory abbot () is an ecclesiastic, or sometimes a layman, who holds an abbey ''in commendam'', drawing its revenues but not exercising any authority over its inner monastic discipline. If a commendatory abbot is an ecclesiastic, however, ...

of St Genevieve at the behest of

Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...

to reform the monastic communities in France, starting with those closest to Paris. In April 1622 La Rochefoucauld was named papal commissioner for the reform of the old religious orders in France. He called Charles Faure from the Abbey of St. Vincent in

Senlis Senlis () is a commune in the northern French department of Oise, Hauts-de-France. The monarchs of the early French dynasties lived in Senlis, attracted by the proximity of the Chantilly forest. It is known for its Gothic cathedral and other ...

, where Faure had already initiated the formal observance of the Rule of St. Augustine. Faure was elected Prior General of the new congregation, a position he held until his death in 1644. Although the motherhouse was St. Genevieve, the congregation held its General Chapter at St. Vincent every three years, to honor its role in the reform of the canonical life in France. The

religious habit A religious habit is a distinctive set of clothing worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally, some plain garb recognizable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious Hermit, eremitic and Anchorite, anchorit ...

that they wore were white, covered by a linen

rochet A rochet () is a white vestment generally worn by a Roman Catholic or Anglican bishop in choir dress. It is virtually unknown in Eastern Christianity. The rochet in its Roman form is similar to a surplice, with narrower sleeves and a hem that co ...

, and a black cloak for outside the abbey. The administration of parishes was an essential part of the Genovéfains' work. One of the earliest to come under their care was

Saint-Étienne-du-Mont Saint-Étienne-du-Mont () is a church in Paris, France, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève in the 5th arrondissement, near the Panthéon. It contains the shrine of St. Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris. The church also contains the tombs of ...

, adjacent to St. Genevieve. In 1683 the parish church of Saint-Medard in the Faubourg Saint-Marcel was placed under the jurisdiction of the abbot of the nearby abbey. The antiquary Richard Augustine Hay became a canon at St. Genevieve in 1678. Astronomer and naval geographer,

Alexandre Guy Pingré Dom Alexandre Guy Pingré (September 1711 – 1 May 1796) was a French canon regular, astronomer and naval geographer. Early life Pingré was born in Paris but was educated by the canons regular of the Abbey of St. Vincent in Senlis, Oise, whe ...

was made librarian of St. Geneviève and built an observatory at the Abbey. Around 1740, Louis, Duke of Orléans decided to retire to the Abbey of St Genevieve. From then on, he became known as ''Louis le Génovéfain''. By the eighteenth century the order had 107

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

and over 1300 canons, who primarily cared for the sick in their hospitals and

almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...

. The congregation was suppressed during the French Revolution. In 1744

King Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

vowed that if he recovered from his illness he would replace the dilapidated abbey church of St Genevieve with a building worthy of the patron saint of Paris. Work proceeded slowly and the re-modelled abbey church of St. Genevieve was finally completed in 1790, shortly after the beginning of the French Revolution, when it became the

Panthéon The Panthéon (, ), is a monument in the 5th arrondissement of Paris, France. It stands in the Latin Quarter, Paris, Latin Quarter (Quartier latin), atop the , in the centre of the , which was named after it. The edifice was built between 1758 ...

. The abbey later became the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

References

Sources

* Pierre Féret (1883): ''L'Abbaye de Sainte-Geneviève et la Congrégation de France: précédées de la vie de la patronne de Paris, d'après des documents inédits'' {{Authority control Christian organizations based in France Catholic organizations established in the 17th century Canons regular