Bethlehemites

Last updated
Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, founder of the Order of Bethlehemite Brothers Hermano Pedro.jpg
Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, founder of the Order of Bethlehemite Brothers

Bethlehemites, or Bethlemites, is the name of five Catholic religious orders. Two of them were restored to existence in the 20th century. The other three are extinct.

Contents

12th-century order in Bethlehem and Italy

This order was founded in Bethlehem and managed a seminary there, until the Christian expulsion from the Holy Land. The order then moved to northern Italy, where it remained until it dissolved some time in the 16th century.

13th-century order in England

The author of an article in the 1907 Catholic Encyclopedia says that, in his Grande Chronique, Matthew Paris mentions that Henry III of England authorized an order of Bethlehemites to open a house in a suburb of Cambridge in 1257; but he leaves us in complete ignorance as to their founder, where they originated, and their history. We only know that their habit was similar to that of the Dominican order and that a red star, whose five rays emanated from an azure center (in reference to Matthew 2:1–11), decorated the breast of their cape. This was in commemoration of the star that appeared to the Magi and led them to Bethlehem. This order is not to be confused with the military order of the Crusaders of the Red Star (Ordo militaris crucigerorum cum rubea stella), who came from Palestine to Bohemia in 1217, where Blessed Agnes of Bohemia confided two hospitals to their charge. They have since remained in that country where they devote themselves to the care of the sick, to education, and to the various works of the ecclesiastical ministry. [1]

The author states that nothing further is known of this order, which he describes as a military order. He thus fails to indicate if it was connected with the Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem to which was entrusted in 1247, under the same king, the London hospital that later became known as Bedlam. This property had been donated to the Bishop of Bethlehem, and members of the new Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem, wore a star on their cloaks to symbolize their obeisance to the bishopric of Bethlehem. [2] This order was founded in the 13th century and its members were known as the Bethlehemites. [3]

15th century still-born military order

On 18 January 1459, following the taking of Constantinople by the Turks (1453), Pope Pius II founded the knightly Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem for the defence of the island of Lemnos, which Cardinal Ludovico Trevisan, Patriarch of Aquileia, had recaptured from Mohammed II. The island was to be their headquarters, whence they were to oppose the attacks of the Moslems by way of the Aegean Sea and the Hellespont. The order was composed of brother-knights and priests governed by an elective grand-master. The white costume worn by the members was decorated with a red cross and the rule prescribed for them was very similar to that of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. [1] [4]

That their needs might be supplied, the pope turned over to them the property and revenues of the order of St. Lazarus, the order of Sainte-Marie du Château des Bretons, the order of Bologna, the order of the Holy Sepulchre, the order of Santo Spirito in Sassia, the order of St. Mary of the Crossed Friars, and the order of St. James of Lucca, suppressing all these orders for this purpose. He alluded in a bull to this foundation and the bravery of its knights, but the second capture of Lemnos by the Turks rendered the institution useless. Thus the order of Our Lady of Bethlehem was suppressed almost as soon as founded and those orders whose goods the pope had transmitted to it were re-established. [1] [4]

17th century Bethlehemite Brothers

Symbol of the Order of the Bethlehemite Brothers in the Convent of Bethlehemites of Mexico City Simbolo de los Betlemitas.jpg
Symbol of the Order of the Bethlehemite Brothers in the Convent of Bethlehemites of Mexico City

The Order of Bethlehemite Brothers (or Bethlehem Brothers) are a religious institute founded in Guatemala in 1653 and restored in 1984. It was the first to be founded in the Americas, and the last religious order with solemn vows to be approved anywhere by the Church before the changes introduced by the 1917 Code of Canon Law. [5] Were founded by Pedro de San José de Betancur, from the Canarias.

Their official name is Order of Bethlehemite Brothers (Ordo Fratrum Bethlemitarum: O.F.B.), or Bethlehem Brothers (Hermanos de Belén). [6] They are also known as the Order of the Brothers of Our Lady of Bethlehem (Orden de los Hermanos de Nuestra Señora de Bethlehem). [7]

In 2007, the order had 17 members, living in a single community at La Laguna, in Tenerife, Canary Islands. [6]

20th century Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem

The Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem wear the same religious habit as the Carthusians. Freres dans la Chartreuse de San Giacomo a Capri.jpg
The Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem wear the same religious habit as the Carthusians.

The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno (or simply Monks and Sisters of Bethlehem) is a Roman Catholic religious order with Carthusian spirituality founded on November 1, 1950, at Saint Peter's Square, Rome, following the promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, by the inspiration of a small group of French pilgrims. [8] The Monastic Sisters were founded in France, soon after, and the Monastic Brothers in 1976.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmelites</span> Roman Catholic religious order

The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Roman Catholic Church for both men and women. Historical records about its origin remain uncertain; it was probably founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in the Crusader States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustinians</span> Members of religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine

Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about 400 AD by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th centuries:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military order (religious society)</span> One of a variety of Christian societies of knights

A military order is a Christian religious society of knights. The original military orders were the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller, the Order of Saint James, the Order of Calatrava, and the Teutonic Knights. They arose in the Middle Ages in association with the Crusades, both in the Holy Land, the Baltics, and the Iberian peninsula; their members being dedicated to the protection of pilgrims and Christians, as well as the defence of the Crusader states. They are the predecessors of chivalric orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friar</span> Member of a Christian order

A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Roman Catholic church. There are also friars outside of the Roman Catholic church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the older monastic orders' allegiance to a single monastery formalized by their vow of stability. A friar may be in holy orders or be a non-ordained brother. The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Carmelites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scapular</span> Short cloak or cloth pieces, worn with ecclesiastical dress

A scapular is a Western Christian garment suspended from the shoulders. There are two types of scapulars, the monastic and devotional scapular; both forms may simply be referred to as "scapular". As an object of popular piety, a scapular serves to remind wearers of their commitment to live a Christian life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of the Holy Sepulchre</span> Catholic order of knighthood

The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic order of knighthood under the protection of the Holy See. The Pope is the sovereign of the order. The order creates canons as well as knights, with the primary mission to “support the Christian presence in the Holy Land.” It is an internationally recognised order of chivalry. The order today is estimated to have some 30,000 knights and dames in 60 lieutenancies around the world. The Cardinal Grand Master has been Fernando Filoni since 2019, and the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem is ex officio the Order's Grand Prior. Its headquarters are situated at the Palazzo Della Rovere and its official church in Sant'Onofrio al Gianicolo, both in Rome, close to Vatican City. In 1994, Pope John Paul II declared the Virgin Mary as the order's patron saint under the title "Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Palestine."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel</span> Roman Catholic devotional garment

The Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel belongs to the habit of both the Carmelite Order and the Discalced Carmelite Order, both of which have Our Lady of Mount Carmel as their patroness. In its small form, it is widely popular within the Latin Church of the Catholic Church as a religious article and has probably served as the prototype of all the other devotional scapulars. The liturgical feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, July 16, is popularly associated with the devotion of the Scapular.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendicant orders</span> Type of religious lifestyle

Mendicant orders are, primarily, certain Roman Catholic religious orders that have adopted for their male members a lifestyle of poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preaching, evangelization, and ministry, especially to the poor. At their foundation these orders rejected the previously established monastic model. This model prescribed living in one stable, isolated community where members worked at a trade and owned property in common, including land, buildings and other wealth. By contrast, the mendicants avoided owning property at all, did not work at a trade, and embraced a poor, often itinerant lifestyle. They depended for their survival on the goodwill of the people to whom they preached. The members of these orders are not called monks but friars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Order of Saint Lazarus</span> Roman Catholic military order founded by crusaders around 1119

The Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem, also known as the Leper Brothers of Jerusalem or simply as Lazarists, was a Catholic military order founded by Crusaders around 1119 at a leper hospital in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, whose care became its original purpose, named after its patron saint, Lazarus. It was recognised by King Fulk in 1142 and canonically recognised as a hospitaller and military order of chivalry under the rule of Saint Augustine in the Papal bull Cum a Nobis Petitur of Pope Alexander IV in 1255. Although they were centred on their charism of caring for those afflicted with leprosy, the knights of the Order of Saint Lazarus notably fought in the Siege of Acre in 1191, Arsuf, and in the 1192 Battle of Jaffa. Battle of La Forbie in 1244 and in the Defense of Acre in 1291. The titular seat was successively situated at Jerusalem, then Acre. After the fall of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the order split into two main branches – in Italy and in France.

There were two military orders known as the Order of Our Lady of Bethlehem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third order</span> Type of Christian religious order

The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the good works of a great order. Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism all recognize third orders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur</span> Christian saint

Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur y Gonzáles, OFB, also called Hermano Pedro de San José Betancurt or more simply Peter de Betancurt, Hermano Pedro, Santo Hermano Pedro, or San Pedro de Vilaflor, was a Spanish saint and missionary in Guatemala.

A Catholic order liturgical rite is a variant of a Catholic liturgical rite distinct from the typical ones, such as the Roman Rite, but instead specific to a certain Catholic religious order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary</span> Spiritual protection attributed to Mary

A patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a form of spiritual protection attributed to Mary, mother of Jesus, in favor of some occupations, activities, religious orders, congregations, dioceses, and geographic locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Order of Saint Dominic</span> Order of religious men and women

The Third Order of Saint Dominic, also referred to as the Lay Fraternities of Saint Dominic or Lay Dominicans since 1972, is a Catholic third order which is part of the Dominican Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christianity in Malta</span>

In the small Mediterranean island nation of Malta, the predominant religion is Roman Catholicism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catholic Marian movements and societies</span> Organizations within Roman Catholicism dedicated to the worship of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Catholic Marian movements and societies have developed from the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary by members of the Catholic Church. These societies form part of the fabric of Mariology in the Catholic Church. Popular membership in Marian organizations grew significantly in the 20th century, as apparitions such as Our Lady of Fátima gave rise to societies with millions of members, and today many Marian societies exist around the world. This article reviews the major Marian movements and organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno</span> Roman Catholic religious order

The Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno – or simply known as Monastic Brothers of Bethlehem and Monastic Sisters of Bethlehem – is a Roman Catholic institute of consecrated life that practices the Carthusian spirituality and was founded through the inspiration of a small group of French pilgrims on November 1, 1950, at St. Peter's Square, following the promulgation of the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven. The Monastic Sisters were founded in France, soon after, and the Monastic Brothers in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanctuary of the Santo Hermano Pedro</span>

The Sanctuary of the Santo Hermano Pedro is a pilgrimage temple located in the town of Vilaflor, south of the island of Tenerife. The shrine is dedicated to Saint Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, the first Saint of the Canary Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethlehemite Brothers</span>

The Bethlehemite Brothers are a religious institute founded in Guatemala in 1653 and restored in 1984.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Besse, Jean. "Bethlehemites" in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 11 Sept. 2014
  2. Vincent, Nicholas (1998). "Goffredo de Prefetti and the Church of Bethlehem in England". Journal of Ecclesiastical History . 49 (2): 213–35. doi:10.1017/S0022046998006319. S2CID   162955646.
  3. Richard Noll, The Encyclopedia of Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders (Infobase 2009 ISBN   978-0-81607508-9), p. 54
  4. 1 2 Elena Bellomo, "Islands as Strongholds for the Defence of Christendom: The Hospital of Saint Mary of Bethlehem on Limnos (1459)" in Simon Phillips, Emmanuel Buttigieg (editors), Islands and Military Orders, c.1291-c.1798 (Ashgate 2014 ISBN   978-1-47242095-4)
  5. Álvarez Gómez, Jesús, C.M.F., Historia de la vida religiosa, Volume III, Publicaciones Claretianas, Madrid, 1996.
  6. 1 2 Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ISBN   978-88-209-9070-1), p. 1425
  7. Colegio Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Bethlemitas Palmira, "Santo Hermano Pedro de San José Betancur"
  8. The beginnings of the Monastic Family of Bethlehem, of the Assumption of the Virgin and of Saint Bruno