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<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Hieronymites</title><script src="https://dtyry4ejybx0.cloudfront.net/js/cmp/cleanmediacmp.js?ver=0104" async="true"></script><script defer data-domain="newadvent.org" src="https://plausible.io/js/script.js"></script><link rel="canonical" href="https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07345a.htm"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="description" content="In the fourth century, certain Roman ladies, following St. Paula, embraced the religious life in Bethlehem, putting themselves under the direction of St. Jerome, who had founded a monastery in that city"> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="http://feeds.newadvent.org/bestoftheweb?format=xml"><link rel="icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><link rel="shortcut icon" href="../images/icon1.ico" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="robots" content="noodp"><link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="../utility/screen6.css" media="screen"></head> <body class="cathen" id="07345a.htm">  <br/> <div id="capitalcity"><table summary="Logo" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width="100%"><tr valign="bottom"><td align="left"><a href="../"><img height=36 width=153 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></td><td align="right"> <form id="searchbox_000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0" action="../utility/search.htm">  <input type="hidden" name="safe" value="active"> <input type="hidden" name="cx" value="000299817191393086628:ifmbhlr-8x0"/> <input type="hidden" name="cof" value="FORID:9"/>  <label for="searchQuery" id="searchQueryLabel">Search:</label> <input id="searchQuery" name="q" type="text" size="25" aria-labelledby="searchQueryLabel"/>  <label for="submitButton" id="submitButtonLabel" class="visually-hidden">Submit Search</label> <input id="submitButton" type="submit" name="sa" value="Search" aria-labelledby="submitButtonLabel"/> </form> <table summary="Spacer" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td height="2"></td></tr></table> <table summary="Tabs" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr> <td bgcolor="#ffffff"></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../"> Home </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_white_on_color" href="../cathen/index.html"> Encyclopedia </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../summa/index.html"> Summa </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../fathers/index.html"> Fathers </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../bible/gen001.htm"> Bible </a></td> <td class="tab"><a class="tab_color_on_beige" href="../library/index.html"> Library </a></td> </tr></table> </td> </tr></table><table summary="Alphabetical index" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"> <a href="../cathen/a.htm"> A </a><a href="../cathen/b.htm"> B </a><a href="../cathen/c.htm"> C </a><a href="../cathen/d.htm"> D </a><a href="../cathen/e.htm"> E </a><a href="../cathen/f.htm"> F </a><a href="../cathen/g.htm"> G </a><a href="../cathen/h.htm"> H </a><a href="../cathen/i.htm"> I </a><a href="../cathen/j.htm"> J </a><a href="../cathen/k.htm"> K </a><a href="../cathen/l.htm"> L </a><a href="../cathen/m.htm"> M </a><a href="../cathen/n.htm"> N </a><a href="../cathen/o.htm"> O </a><a href="../cathen/p.htm"> P </a><a href="../cathen/q.htm"> Q </a><a href="../cathen/r.htm"> R </a><a href="../cathen/s.htm"> S </a><a href="../cathen/t.htm"> T </a><a href="../cathen/u.htm"> U </a><a href="../cathen/v.htm"> V </a><a href="../cathen/w.htm"> W </a><a href="../cathen/x.htm"> X </a><a href="../cathen/y.htm"> Y </a><a href="../cathen/z.htm"> Z </a> </td></tr></table></div> <div id="mobilecity" style="text-align: center; "><a href="../"><img height=24 width=102 border="0" alt="New Advent" src="../images/logo.gif"></a></div>  <div id="mi5"><span class="breadcrumbs"><a href="../">Home</a> > <a href="../cathen">Catholic Encyclopedia</a> > <a href="../cathen/h.htm">H</a> > Hieronymites</span></div> <div id="springfield2"> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-top' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <h1>Hieronymites</h1> <p><em><a href="https://gumroad.com/l/na2"><strong>Please help support the mission of New Advent</strong> and get the full contents of this website as an instant download. Includes the Catholic Encyclopedia, Church Fathers, Summa, Bible and more  all for only $19.99...</a></em></p> <p>In the fourth century, certain Roman ladies, following <a href="../cathen/11582a.htm">St. Paula</a>, embraced the <a href="../cathen/12748b.htm">religious life</a> in <a href="../cathen/02532e.htm">Bethlehem</a>, putting themselves under the direction of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a>, who had founded a <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> in that city. It is not to be inferred from this that he composed any monastic rule or founded an order. Some Hieronymites of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, indeed, asserted as much, but their claims rest upon no substantial basis, so that no historical link is to be looked for between St. Jerome and this religious <a href="../cathen/05782a.htm">family</a>. The congregation was formed in <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> and <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a> in the fourteenth century, by the amalgamation of several groups of <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">hermits</a>, and the <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">sovereign pontiffs</a>, while granting it their approval, imposed upon it the <a href="../cathen/02079b.htm">rule of St. Augustine</a>, though the name of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a>, whom the religious had chosen as their model and patron, was retained.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>In <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> the cradle and centre of this congregation was the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of San Bartolome de Lupiana. Its first prior, Fernando Pecha, in conjunction with Peter of <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>, obtained from <a href="../cathen/06799a.htm">Pope Gregory XI</a> <a href="../cathen/03052b.htm">Bulls</a> confirming their order, 8 October, 1373. The <a href="../cathen/12260a.htm">pope</a> received their solemn <a href="../cathen/15511a.htm">vows</a> and gave them their habit, which consisted of a white tunic, a brown <a href="../cathen/13508b.htm">scapular</a> and mantle. Their constitutions resembled those of the Augustinians of St. Mary of the Sepulchre at Florence. Fernando Pecha received the profession of the other <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">hermits</a> in 1374. Their numbers rapidly increased; in the reigns of Philip II and his successors and their prosperity was extraordinary. <a href="../cathen/03625a.htm">Charles V</a> held them in high esteem. In 1389 they received the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Estramadura, in which is preserved the image of the Blessed Virgin most <a href="../cathen/05188b.htm">venerated</a> throughout <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a>. In 1415 their houses numbered twenty-five. They were then removed from the <a href="../cathen/08567a.htm">jurisdiction</a> of the ordinary and made an exempt order. They were established in <a href="../cathen/12297a.htm">Portugal</a>, and the religious of these two countries formed one congregation (1595). Philip II built on a grand scale the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of St. Lawrence of the <a href="../cathen/05534c.htm">Escorial</a>, in which the kings of <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> are buried. Its <a href="../cathen/09227b.htm">library</a> is one of the richest in <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a>, and it possesses many works of art. The kings of <a href="../cathen/12297a.htm">Portugal</a> are buried in the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of Belem, founded by King Manuel in 1497, which was the largest and finest in the kingdom. <a href="../cathen/03625a.htm">Emperor Charles V</a>, on his abdication (1555), withdrew to the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of Yuste, where he died. The <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monasteries</a> of <a href="../cathen/09516a.htm">Madrid</a> and Seville must also be mentioned. The hieronymite <a href="../cathen/11164a.htm">nuns</a> founded by Maria Garcias, who died 10 February, 1426, occupied the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monasteries</a> of <a href="../cathen/11582a.htm">St. Paula</a> of Toledo, of La Concepción Jeronima of <a href="../cathen/09516a.htm">Madrid</a> (1504), of <a href="../cathen/11582a.htm">St. Paula</a> of Seville (1473), of St. Martha of <a href="../cathen/04359b.htm">Cordova</a>, and <a href="../cathen/11582a.htm">St. Paula</a> of Granada. The Hieronymites became celebrated for their generous <a href="../cathen/01328f.htm">almsgiving</a>. The authority which they gained from so holy a manner of living allowed of their being employed efficaciously in the reformation of other <a href="../cathen/12748b.htm">religious</a> orders, among which were the <a href="../cathen/12387b.htm">Premonstratensians</a>, the Trinitarians, the <a href="../cathen/03288a.htm">Canons Regular</a> of Coimbra, of <a href="../cathen/08492a.htm">St. John the Evangelist</a>, the Knights of the Order of Christ and of St. James of the sword. It was by their help that <a href="../cathen/08472c.htm">St. John of God</a> was enabled to found his first <a href="../cathen/07480a.htm">hospital</a>. They cooperated in the evangelization of the <a href="../cathen/01409c.htm">New World</a>. The government of the island of <a href="../cathen/13463a.htm">San Domingo</a> was at first confided to them. Many of them have been raised to the episcopal dignity.</p> <p>Lupo de Olmedo introduced into this order a reform which issued in the establishment of the Congregation of the Monk-Hermits of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of the Observance (1424). Their manner of life resembled that of the <a href="../cathen/03388a.htm">Carthusians</a>. Their constitutions were drawn up with extracts made from the writings of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a>. The <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of l'Acella and others which existed in <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> were incorporated with the Spanish Congregation of the Hieronymites (1595); those which Lupo de Olmedo had founded in <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a> retained their independence, and were known as the <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">Hermits</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of <a href="../cathen/09336b.htm">Lombardy</a>, their general residing at San Pietro del Ospitaletto, in the <a href="../cathen/09322b.htm">Diocese of Lodi</a>. They had seventeen houses, notably that of St. Alexis on the Aventine, at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a>.</p> <p>There were two other congregations at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> under the patronage of the same <a href="../cathen/05075a.htm">Doctor of the Church</a>: the <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">Hermits</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> [of the Congregation] of Blessed Peter of <a href="../cathen/12110a.htm">Pisa</a>, and the <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">hermits</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of <a href="../cathen/06070a.htm">Fiesole</a>. The former came into existence at Montebello, in Umbria, about the year 1375; Blessed Peter of <a href="../cathen/12110a.htm">Pisa</a>, its founder, died in 1435. Its constitutions were not drawn up until 1444, and <a href="../cathen/12130a.htm">St. Pius V</a> gave the congregation its definitive form in 1568. It was augmented by the incorporation of several eremitical groups: that of Blessed Nicola di Furca-Palena, under the generalship of Blessed Bartolommeo Malerba, after 1446; that of the <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">Hermits</a> of Monte Legastro, near <a href="../cathen/06419a.htm">Genoa</a> (1579), founded by Blessed Lawrence; lastly the Tyrolese and <a href="../cathen/02353c.htm">Bavarian</a> <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">hermits</a> (1695). The forty houses of <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a> formed the two Provinces of <a href="../cathen/01463d.htm">Ancona</a> and <a href="../cathen/15038a.htm">Treviso</a>. At <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> these religious occupied the <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a> of Sant' Onoforio on the Janiculum. Their habit was brown and consisted of a tunic, a hood, and a mozetta, with a leathern girdle. Many of the congregation have been <a href="../cathen/02364b.htm">beatified</a>- Pietro Qualcerano, Nicola di Furca-Palena, Bartolommeo of Cesna, Filippo of Sant' Agata, and others.</p> <div class="CMtag_300x250" style="display: flex; height: 300px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; "></div> <p>The <a href="../cathen/07280a.htm">Hermits</a> of <a href="../cathen/08341a.htm">St. Jerome</a> of <a href="../cathen/06070a.htm">Fiesole</a> were founded by the Blessed Charles of Montegraneli. Cosimo de' Medici defrayed the cost of their first <a href="../cathen/04340c.htm">monastery</a>. <a href="../cathen/08019a.htm">Innocent VII</a> approved the congregation in 1406, and in 1441 <a href="../cathen/05601a.htm">Eugene IV</a> gave it its definitive constituti ons. They had as many as forty houses, all in <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italy</a>. The church of Sts. Vincent and Anastasius at <a href="../cathen/13164a.htm">Rome</a> was served by them. But in time their numbers diminished, and <a href="../cathen/04028a.htm">Clement IX</a> suppressed them in 1668. The other <a href="../cathen/08208a.htm">Italian</a> Hieronymites disappeared during the troubles which followed the Revolution; those of <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> were suppressed in 1835, and those of <a href="../cathen/12297a.htm">Portugal</a> shortly afterwards. The literary activity of this order has been confined to <a href="../cathen/14169b.htm">Spain</a> and <a href="../cathen/12297a.htm">Portugal</a>. Antonio Nicolás in his "Bibliotheca Hispana nova", vol. II, p. 314, enumerates the works of these religious, of whom some of the best-known names are: Diego de Carceros, moralist and <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologian</a> (1638); Diego de Yepes, author of a life of <a href="../cathen/14515b.htm">St. Teresa</a> (1643) and a history of the <a href="../cathen/11703a.htm">persecution</a> in <a href="../cathen/05445a.htm">England</a> (1599); Diego de Zuniga, <a href="../cathen/12025c.htm">philosopher</a> and <a href="../cathen/05692b.htm">exegete</a> (about 1600); Fernando de Talavera, <a href="../cathen/02581b.htm">Bishop</a> of <a href="../cathen/06723a.htm">Granada</a> (1507), <a href="../cathen/14613a.htm">ascetical</a> writer; Francisco de todos Santos, author of a history of the <a href="../cathen/05534c.htm">Escorial</a> (1657); Garcias de Toledo, canonist (about 1560); Hemengildo de San-Pablo, the historian of his congregation (1670); Jerónimo Gazia, moralist (1652); Jeronimo of Guadalupe, a commentator on several books of the <a href="../bible">Bible</a> (about 1600); Juan of Toledo, <a href="../cathen/14580a.htm">theologian</a> (1662).</p> <div class='catholicadnet-728x90' id='cathen-728x90-bottom' style='display: flex; height: 100px; align-items: center; justify-content: center; '></div> <div class="pub"><h2>About this page</h2><p id="apa"><strong>APA citation.</strong> <span id="apaauthor">Besse, J.</span> <span id="apayear">(1910).</span> <span id="apaarticle">Hieronymites.</span> In <span id="apawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="apapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company.</span> <span id="apaurl">http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07345a.htm</span></p><p id="mla"><strong>MLA citation.</strong> <span id="mlaauthor">Besse, Jean.</span> <span id="mlaarticle">"Hieronymites."</span> <span id="mlawork">The Catholic Encyclopedia.</span> <span id="mlavolume">Vol. 7.</span> <span id="mlapublisher">New York: Robert Appleton Company,</span> <span id="mlayear">1910.</span> <span id="mlaurl"><http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07345a.htm>.</span></p><p id="transcription"><strong>Transcription.</strong> <span id="transcriber">This article was transcribed for New Advent by Joel Dykstra.</span> <span id="dedication"></span></p><p id="approbation"><strong>Ecclesiastical approbation.</strong> <span id="nihil"><em>Nihil Obstat.</em> June 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.</span> <span id="imprimatur"><em>Imprimatur.</em> +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.</span></p><p id="contactus"><strong>Contact information.</strong> The editor of New Advent is Kevin Knight. My email address is webmaster <em>at</em> newadvent.org. Regrettably, I can't reply to every letter, but I greatly appreciate your feedback — especially notifications about typographical errors and inappropriate ads.</p></div> </div> <div id="ogdenville"><table summary="Bottom bar" width="100%" cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0><tr><td class="bar_white_on_color"><center><strong>Copyright © 2023 by <a href="../utility/contactus.htm">New Advent LLC</a>. 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