Servite Order
The Servite Order, officially known as the Order of Servants of Mary (; abbreviation: OSM), is one of the five original mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic Church. It includes several branches of friars (priests and brothers), contemplative nuns, a congregation of religious sisters, and lay groups. The order's objectives are the sanctification of its members, the preaching of the Gospel, and the propagation of devotion to the Mother of God, with special reference to her sorrows. The Servites friars lead a community life in the tradition of the mendicant orders. History Foundation The order was founded in 1233 by "the seven holy founders", each a member of a patrician family of Florence, Italy. These cloth merchants left their city, families, and professions and withdrew to Monte Senario, a mountain outside the city of Florence, for a life of poverty and penance. The seven were: Bonfilius of Florence, born Bonfilius Monaldi (Buonfiglio dei Monaldi); Alexis of Florence, born Alexis Falconieri () (1200 – 17 February 1310); Manettus of Florence, born Benedict dell'Antella (Benedetto dell' Antella); Amideus of Florence, born Bartholemew Amidei (died 1266) (also known as Bartolomeo degli Amidei); Hugh of Florence, born Ricovero Uguccioni (Hugh dei Lippi Uggucioni (Ricovero dei Lippi-Ugguccioni)); Sostene of Florence, born Gerardino Sostegni (Gherardino di Sostegno); and Buonagiunta of Florence, born John Manetti (Giovanni di Buonagiunta (Bonajuncta)). They were canonized by Pope Leo XIII on 15 January 1888. The members of the order dedicated themselves to Mary under her title of Mother of Sorrows (). Dedicating their devotion to the mother of Jesus, they adopted Mary's virtues of hospitality and compassion as the order's hallmarks. The distinctive spirit of the order is the sanctification of its members by meditation on the Passion of Jesus and the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, and spreading abroad this devotion. The Bishop of Florence, Ardengo Trotti (Ardengo Dei Foraboschi), approved the group as a religious order sometime between 1240 and 1247. The Servites, like other new orders before them such as the Trinitarians and the Dominicans, decided to live by the ancient Rule of St. Augustine, and added to the rule further guidelines that were the expression of their own Marian devotion and dedication. By 1250 a number of Servites had been ordained to the priesthood, thus creating an order with priests as well as brothers. Pope Alexander IV favored a plan for the amalgamation of all orders which followed the Rule of St. Augustine. This was accomplished in March 1256, but about the same time a rescript was issued confirming the Servite Order as a separate body with power to elect a general. Four years later a general chapter was convened at which the order was divided into two provinces, Tuscany and Umbria, the former being governed by Manettus and the latter by Sostene. Within five years two new provinces were added, that of Romagna and that of Lombardy. Centuries of growth Philip Benizi was elected general on 5 June 1267, and afterwards became the great propagator of