Note 7 — Letter Written by a Citizen of Manila to an Absent Friend (continued 2)

The Cistercian Order was founded by St. Robert, the son of a gentleman of Champagne, who had taken the Benedictine habit, at Cistercium (the modern Citeaux) in 1098, and professed the rule of St. Benedict. The rule was very austere, but despite various reforms, it gradually became relaxed and approached the observance of other orders. The Trappists are an offshoot of this order. See Addis and Arnold’s Catholic Dictionary, pp. 186–188.