Poor Catholics
Encyclopedia
The Poor Catholics were an early Catholic mendicant order, organized in 1208 and of short duration. Recruits were taken from the Pauperes Lugdunenses (the original name of the Waldensians
); the distinguishing name was given by Pope Innocent III
.
. Innocent III complains bitterly, in a letter to the bishops, saying that the people are hungry for the Bread of Life, but that there is no one to break it for them. Public preaching, exclusively in the hands of the bishops, had become a rare event. Having thus far failed in its attempts to suppress the heresy, on account of the inadequate methods of its missionaries, the Catholic Church now adopted a new method, preaching the word of God and leading a life of resignation and evangelical poverty. Through the missionary activities of Bishop Diego of Osma and St. Dominic, a small group of Waldenses, under the leadership of Duran of Huesca (Spain), was won back to the Catholic Church during a religious discussion at a meeting held at Pamiers
(France) towards the end of 1207.
After 1212 they began to disintegrate. Innocent III stood by them for four years, making concession after concession, repeatedly urging the bishops to support them, recommending them to the King of Taragon; he exempted them from taking the oath of allegiance, as this was contrary to the teachings of the Waldenses, and finally placed them under the protectorate of St. Peter. They did not show positive results and, for this reason, the pope abandoned them in 1212 and gave his attention to the Preaching Friars of St. Dominic and the Friars Minor of St. Francis of Assisi
.
In 1237 Pope Gregory IX
requested the provincial of the Preaching Friars to visit the provinces of Narbonne and Taragon and compel the Poor Catholics to adopt one of the approved rules. In Milan we find them till 1256 when, by a Decree of Pope Innocent IV
, they were united with the Augustinian Hermits.
and were regarded as clerics, publicly preached the doctrine of the Church, under the protection of the supreme pontiff himself.
The only means of support were the daily offerings of the faithful. It was thought that, by giving the Poor Catholics this organization, the Waldenses could be won back easily to the Church.
Their chief occupation remained, as it was before their reconciliation, the preaching of the word of God directed against the heretics. Innocent III placed himself as sole director at the head of the organization, thus replacing the majoralis, leader of the Waldenses. He gave them the name of "Pauperes Catholici", to show that they practised poverty in common with the "Pauperes Lugdunenses" but were separated from them in enjoying the benefits and sympathy of the Church. The division into "perfecti" and "credentes" remained the same, only the names were changed into "fratres" and "amici". In their activity the Waldenses were divided into three classes: the "sandaliati", who had received sacred orders and the especial office to confute the heresiarchs; the "doctores", who had charge of the instructing and training of the missionaries; and the "novellani"", whose chief work consisted in preaching to the common people. The work of the Poor Catholics had the same division; however, the names "sandaliati", "doctores", and "novellani" were changed into "doctiores", "honestiores", and "idonei". The habit, a light gray, remained unchanged except the buckles on the sandals, by which the Waldenses were known as heretics. Manual labour was forbidden as before.
, he propagated his ideas. The lay people readily accepted his views on religion and formed a religious body known by the name of Humiliates (humiliati). Some of them appeared in Rome with him the following year, 1179, and asked Pope Alexander III
to sanction their rule or form of life, which consisted in leading a religious life in their separate homes, abstaining from the oath, and defending the Catholic doctrine by public preaching. The pope granted them permission to lead a religious life in their homes, but forbade them to preach.
Continuing their former life, they were excommunicated by Pope Lucius III
about the year 1184. In this state they remained until 1201, when, upon presentation of their constitution, Innocent III reconciled them with the Church, and reorganized them in conformity with their economic and religious customs, also approving of the name "Humiliati". This brought most of them back to the Church; but a number persevered in the heresy and continued their former life under the direction of the Poor of Lyons. Economic and religious difficulties, however, aggravated long-felt dissensions between the two groups and, in 1205, these non-reconciled Humiliates separated from the Lyonese and formed a distinct group, adopting the name of Poor Lombards, "Pauperes Lombardi".
In order to bring the Poor Lombards back to the Church, Innocent III founded and organized in 1210 the order of the Reconciled Lombards, under the immediate supervision of the supreme pontiff. The recruits were taken from the ranks of the Poor Lombards. Their first superior was Bernard Primus, a former Lombard leader, who, with a few followers, had given the impetus for the foundation of the order by presenting a rule of life to the pope.
The Lombards and the Humiliates gave manual labour the first place. Every member, irrespective of position or talent, had to learn a trade in order to make his living. This predominance of manual labour we also find a deciding factor in the reorganization of the Reconciled Lombards. Two years later, however, Innocent III gave them a new constitution, in which he retained manual labour for all the members of the order, but declared it only of secondary value for the missionaries or friars to whom he assigned the study of Holy Scripture and preaching as main occupation. He also makes a more definite division of the members into three classes, or orders, comprising respectively the missionaries or friars, the women who took the vows, and the married people. The object of this second constitution was to bring order into the chaos of social and religious agitation among the different classes of members and, at the same time, to bring the better elements to the front to train them for missionary work against the Cathari. The Reconciled Lombards, like the Poor Catholics, did not meet with the expectations of the Roman Curia.
Waldensians
Waldensians, Waldenses or Vaudois are names for a Christian movement of the later Middle Ages, descendants of which still exist in various regions, primarily in North-Western Italy. There is considerable uncertainty about the earlier history of the Waldenses because of a lack of extant source...
); the distinguishing name was given by Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
.
Background
The background was the growth of the Albigensians in ProvenceProvence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. Innocent III complains bitterly, in a letter to the bishops, saying that the people are hungry for the Bread of Life, but that there is no one to break it for them. Public preaching, exclusively in the hands of the bishops, had become a rare event. Having thus far failed in its attempts to suppress the heresy, on account of the inadequate methods of its missionaries, the Catholic Church now adopted a new method, preaching the word of God and leading a life of resignation and evangelical poverty. Through the missionary activities of Bishop Diego of Osma and St. Dominic, a small group of Waldenses, under the leadership of Duran of Huesca (Spain), was won back to the Catholic Church during a religious discussion at a meeting held at Pamiers
Pamiers
Pamiers is a commune in the Ariège department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Although Pamiers is the largest city in Ariège, the capital is the smaller town of Foix...
(France) towards the end of 1207.
History
Innocent III gave them, initially seven in number, a constitution by which they could retain their former rule of life. Aside from this they had to make a profession of faith. It represented the doctrine of the Church relative to all current heresies, and was intended, not only to free their minds from all heretical tendencies and subject them to the authority of the Church, but also to offer them a guide according to which they could enter upon missionary activities with a series of formulated truths giving them a clear outline of their faith and absolute certainty in their work. After having promised allegiance to the pope and the doctrines of the Church, they entered upon their mission in the beginning of 1208. They were active, not only through Southern France, but as far as Milan where they founded a school in 1209 to gather and educate recruits for their order. Three years later, 1212, a group of penitents placed themselves under their spiritual direction. Within four years of their foundation they extended their activities over the Dioceses of Béziers, Uzès, Nîmes, Carcassonne, Narbonne, Taragon, Marseilles, Barcelona, Huesca, and Milan.After 1212 they began to disintegrate. Innocent III stood by them for four years, making concession after concession, repeatedly urging the bishops to support them, recommending them to the King of Taragon; he exempted them from taking the oath of allegiance, as this was contrary to the teachings of the Waldenses, and finally placed them under the protectorate of St. Peter. They did not show positive results and, for this reason, the pope abandoned them in 1212 and gave his attention to the Preaching Friars of St. Dominic and the Friars Minor of St. Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
.
In 1237 Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
requested the provincial of the Preaching Friars to visit the provinces of Narbonne and Taragon and compel the Poor Catholics to adopt one of the approved rules. In Milan we find them till 1256 when, by a Decree of Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
, they were united with the Augustinian Hermits.
Organization
The whole enterprise was looked upon as an innovation contrary to established rights and privileges of the clergy. Laymen, although they had received the tonsureTonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
and were regarded as clerics, publicly preached the doctrine of the Church, under the protection of the supreme pontiff himself.
The only means of support were the daily offerings of the faithful. It was thought that, by giving the Poor Catholics this organization, the Waldenses could be won back easily to the Church.
Their chief occupation remained, as it was before their reconciliation, the preaching of the word of God directed against the heretics. Innocent III placed himself as sole director at the head of the organization, thus replacing the majoralis, leader of the Waldenses. He gave them the name of "Pauperes Catholici", to show that they practised poverty in common with the "Pauperes Lugdunenses" but were separated from them in enjoying the benefits and sympathy of the Church. The division into "perfecti" and "credentes" remained the same, only the names were changed into "fratres" and "amici". In their activity the Waldenses were divided into three classes: the "sandaliati", who had received sacred orders and the especial office to confute the heresiarchs; the "doctores", who had charge of the instructing and training of the missionaries; and the "novellani"", whose chief work consisted in preaching to the common people. The work of the Poor Catholics had the same division; however, the names "sandaliati", "doctores", and "novellani" were changed into "doctiores", "honestiores", and "idonei". The habit, a light gray, remained unchanged except the buckles on the sandals, by which the Waldenses were known as heretics. Manual labour was forbidden as before.
Reconciled Lombards
Peter Waldes had not confined his teaching to Lyons. When he was expelled from that city, he decided to go to Rome and make a personal plea for his cause to the pope. Going through LombardyLombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, he propagated his ideas. The lay people readily accepted his views on religion and formed a religious body known by the name of Humiliates (humiliati). Some of them appeared in Rome with him the following year, 1179, and asked Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
to sanction their rule or form of life, which consisted in leading a religious life in their separate homes, abstaining from the oath, and defending the Catholic doctrine by public preaching. The pope granted them permission to lead a religious life in their homes, but forbade them to preach.
Continuing their former life, they were excommunicated by Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III
Pope Lucius III , born Ubaldo, was pope from 1 September 1181 to his death.A native of the independent republic of Lucca, he was born ca. 1100 as Ubaldo, son of Orlando. He is commonly referred to as a member of the aristocratic family of Allucingoli, but this is not proven...
about the year 1184. In this state they remained until 1201, when, upon presentation of their constitution, Innocent III reconciled them with the Church, and reorganized them in conformity with their economic and religious customs, also approving of the name "Humiliati". This brought most of them back to the Church; but a number persevered in the heresy and continued their former life under the direction of the Poor of Lyons. Economic and religious difficulties, however, aggravated long-felt dissensions between the two groups and, in 1205, these non-reconciled Humiliates separated from the Lyonese and formed a distinct group, adopting the name of Poor Lombards, "Pauperes Lombardi".
In order to bring the Poor Lombards back to the Church, Innocent III founded and organized in 1210 the order of the Reconciled Lombards, under the immediate supervision of the supreme pontiff. The recruits were taken from the ranks of the Poor Lombards. Their first superior was Bernard Primus, a former Lombard leader, who, with a few followers, had given the impetus for the foundation of the order by presenting a rule of life to the pope.
The Lombards and the Humiliates gave manual labour the first place. Every member, irrespective of position or talent, had to learn a trade in order to make his living. This predominance of manual labour we also find a deciding factor in the reorganization of the Reconciled Lombards. Two years later, however, Innocent III gave them a new constitution, in which he retained manual labour for all the members of the order, but declared it only of secondary value for the missionaries or friars to whom he assigned the study of Holy Scripture and preaching as main occupation. He also makes a more definite division of the members into three classes, or orders, comprising respectively the missionaries or friars, the women who took the vows, and the married people. The object of this second constitution was to bring order into the chaos of social and religious agitation among the different classes of members and, at the same time, to bring the better elements to the front to train them for missionary work against the Cathari. The Reconciled Lombards, like the Poor Catholics, did not meet with the expectations of the Roman Curia.
Sources
- Innocent III in Patrologia LatinaPatrologia LatinaThe Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
, CCXV, CCXVI - Torelli, Secoli Agostiniani, IV (Bologna, 1675), 545, 607
- William of Puylaurant in Recueil des hist. des Gaules et de la France, XIX, 200
- Peter of Vaux-Cernay, ibid., XIX, 10
- Chronicon Urspergense in Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script., XXIII, 367, ad an. 1212.