This Friday the Mass will be in remembrance of the Seven Founders of the Servite Order. It’s not one that many folks have even heard of, much less know anything about. We need to change that.
There was terrible political division in Florence in the 1200s (perhaps not unlike the political polarization in our country today?). Some prominent citizens of that city decided they needed to withdraw and live lives of penance and prayer, in silence and solitary community. And so, off they went—including two who were married, and two who were widowers! Significantly, as well, none of them was a priest (until much later on in their new community’s history).
More than a few other Florentines felt the same desire to detach from the political scene in their city, and these seven companions found themselves flooded with men who wanted to join what they saw as a spiritual confraternity (though the original seven never wanted additional companions). Their bishop, however, saw in this desire the movement of the Holy Spirit. He told the original members to be less severe in their penitential disciplines, more open to those wanting to join them, and finally authorized them to form a genuine religious community rather than a loosely structured fellowship. And so, the Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites) came to be.
They came to adopt a lifestyle very similar to the Dominicans, including a black habit. They were of two forms of life, if you please: within the confines of their monastery they were dedicated to prayer, work, and silence; outside, they engaged in parish work, teaching, preaching, giving missions, and so on.
They grew in numbers, and by the time of the Council of Trent (in the 1500s) they were so numerous and influential that the Order’s Superior General was one of the standing members (with the right to vote) of the Council (along with heads of the Dominican, Franciscan, Carmelite, and Augustinian Orders). This Servite, Agostino Bonuccio, turned out to be a significant and influential thinker and speaker at the Council.
The Servites finally did make it to the United States, but in far less numbers than the other so-called “mendicant” (begging and preaching) Orders, and far, far less than the Jesuits, who were only just founded as Trent was beginning its roller coaster ride through the middle of the 16th century.
The feast of the Seven Founders was chosen at 17 February because it was the death-day (the day of being born into eternal life) of Alex Falconieri, who was (then, anyway) the best-known of the original seven. But for us, we should want to celebrate in our own lives and times the desire to be people of discipline, of prayer, and of service to others. There are groups affiliated with these orders, usually referred to as “secular” or “third order,” and they offer really important community support in striving to live spiritual lives according to the pattern of the Order (whether Franciscan, or Carmelite, or Benedictine). But even without, we can still strive to live lives of discipline, prayer, and service—in other words, to be, to the best of our ability, followers of Jesus. -Fr. David