Augustinian
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What is a religious order in the Roman Catholic Church?
In the Roman Catholic Church, a religious order is a community of men or women who take solemn vows to live together under a religious rule and the authority of a designated superior. These orders must be approved by the Vatican before they are considered legitimate.
The Augustinians are members of Roman Catholic religious orders and congregations of men and women whose rules are based on the Rule of St. Augustine, a set of instructions on religious life written by St. Augustine. The two main branches are the Augustinian Canons and the Augustinian Hermits. The Augustinian Canons were the first religious order to combine clerical status with a common life. The Augustinian Hermits were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages.
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Who are the Augustinians?
The Augustinians are members of Roman Catholic religious orders adhering to the Rule of St. Augustine. This Rule, written by St. Augustine, provides instructions for religious life and was widely circulated after his death.
There are two main branches of Augustinians:
* Augustinian Canons In the 11th century, they were the first religious order to combine clerical status with a common life. By 1150, they almost universally adopted the Rule of St. Augustine.
* Augustinian Hermits Also known as Austin Friars, they were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages. In 1244, they were established as one order, and in 1256, they were called to an active lay apostolate in the cities.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Who was Saint Augustine, and why is this order named after him?
Saint Augustine of Hippo (354–430 CE) was a significant Christian theologian and philosopher whose writings shaped modern Christian thought. His works adapted Neoplatonic philosophy to Christian doctrine, impacting Western philosophy and theology for over 1,000 years.
The Augustinian order refers to Roman Catholic religious orders whose constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine. These include the Augustinian Canons and the Augustinian Hermits. The Augustinian Hermits, also known as Austin Friars, were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages.
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What are the main beliefs and missions of the Augustinian order?
The Augustinians are members of Roman Catholic religious orders following the Rule of St. Augustine. There are two main branches: the Augustinian Canons and the Augustinian Hermits.
Augustinian Canons
The Augustinian Canons, or Austin Canons, were the first religious order to combine clerical status with a common life. By 1150, they almost universally adopted the Rule of St. Augustine. Today, they focus on mission, educational, and hospital work.
Augustinian Hermits
The Augustinian Hermits, or Austin Friars, were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages. Today, they dedicate themselves to foreign missions and advancing learning through teaching and scholarly research.
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How do Augustinian monks and priests live and serve their communities?
The Augustinians are members of Roman Catholic religious orders following the Rule of St. Augustine. There are two main branches: the Augustinian Canons and the Augustinian Hermits.
Augustinian Canons were the first to combine clerical status with a communal life in the 11th century. They live according to monastic ideals, emphasizing mission, education, and hospital work.
Augustinian Hermits, also known as Austin Friars, were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages. Initially hermits, they transitioned to an active role in cities, participating in university life and ecclesiastical affairs. Today, they dedicate themselves to foreign missions and advancing learning through teaching and scholarly research.
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What are some important contributions the Augustinians have made to the Church and society?
The Augustinians, guided by the Rule of St. Augustine, have significantly contributed to the Church and society. As the first to combine clerical status with a common life, the Augustinian Canons embraced monastic ideals, influencing moral standards. The Augustinian Hermits transitioned from seclusion to active ministry, engaging in education and scholarly research.
Saint Augustine of Hippo, a Church Father, shaped Western philosophy and theology for over 1,000 years. His introspective approach to philosophical questions and his concept of free will have had a lasting impact. Famous Augustinians include Gregor Mendel, who laid the foundation for genetics. Today, Augustinians are involved in missions, education, and hospital work.
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Augustinian, member of any of the Roman Catholic religious orders and congregations of men and women whose constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine. More specifically, the name is used to designate members of two main branches of Augustinians—namely, the Augustinian Canons and the Augustinian Hermits, with their female offshoots. The Rule comprises instructions on the religious life written by St. Augustine, the great Western theologian, and widely disseminated after his death in 430 ce.
Famous Augustinians
In 2025 a member of the Augustinian order was elected to the papacy, as Pope Leo XIV. Before his election, he served as head of the worldwide order between 2001 and 2013. Born in Chicago in 1955, he is the first North American and Augustinian pontiff. Another famous Augustinian is Gregor Mendel, a 19th-century Austrian botanist and prelate who was the first person to lay the mathematical foundation of the science of genetics, in what came to be called Mendelism.
Augustinian Canons
The Augustinian Canons, or Austin Canons (in full the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine), were in the 11th century the first religious order of men in the Roman Catholic Church to combine clerical status with a full common life. The moral impulse emanating from the Roman synods of 1059 and 1063 and the Gregorian Reform led many canons to give up private ownership and to live together according to monastic ideals. By 1150 the adoption of the Rule of St. Augustine by these canons was almost universal. The order grew and flourished until the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, during which time many of its foundations perished. The French Revolution (1787–99) also put an end to a number of its houses. Modern emphasis has been on mission, educational, and hospital work.
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Augustinian Hermits
The Augustinian Hermits, or Austin Friars (in full the Order of the Hermit Friars of Saint Augustine; O.S.A.), were one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages. Dispersed by the Vandal invasion of northern Africa (c. 428), a number of congregations of hermits who had been following the Rule of St. Augustine founded monasteries in central and northern Italy. These remained independent of one another until the 13th century, when Pope Innocent IV in 1244 established them as one order and Alexander IV in 1256 called them from their solitary seclusion as hermits to an active lay apostolate in the cities. The order spread rapidly throughout Europe and took a prominent part in university life and ecclesiastical affairs; perhaps its most famous member was the Protestant reformer Martin Luther in the 16th century. Its members now dedicate themselves to several activities, including foreign missions, as well as to the advancement of learning by teaching and scholarly research.
Augustinian Recollects
An offshoot of the Augustinian Hermits is the Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.), formed in the 16th century by friars who desired a rule of stricter observance and a return to the eremitic ideals of solitude and contemplation. In 1588 the monastery at Talavera de la Reina in Spain was designated for the Recollects, and Luis de León was directed to devise constitutions for their government, but the movement proved so popular that soon it required four monasteries. In 1602 the Recollects were established as a distinct province of the Augustinians and in 1912 as an independent order. They now engage in high-school and college teaching, administer parishes, and conduct retreats and missions.
Augustinian nuns and sisters
Among nuns, the term Second Order of St. Augustine applies only to those nuns who are jurisdictionally dependent upon the Augustinian Friars. They were founded in 1264 and remained strictly cloistered until 1401, but at that date they began to accept third-order affiliates—women who desired to perform apostolic works outside the cloister, in schools, hospitals, and missions.
A distinct group is the Hospital Sisters of Hôtel-Dieu and Malestroit. Sisters following the Rule of St. Augustine were staffing the Hôtel-Dieu in Paris at least from about 1217. They not only survived the French Revolution but were even allowed to continue their work. Though expelled in 1907, they managed to open other hospitals and today maintain several institutions.
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