Note 7 — Present Condition of the Catholic Religion in Filipinas

This order was founded by St. Benedict, who removed his monastery from Subiaco to Monte Cassino in 529. He prescribed neither asceticism nor laxity, but laid especial emphasis on work, ordering that each monastery have a library. The clothing was generally black, but was to vary with the needs of the various countries and climates. They were founded in France by St. Maur, a disciple of St. Benedict, and were introduced into Spain about 633. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries many relaxations crept into the order, in the reforms of which the congregation of St. Vanne (1550) and the congregation of St. Maur (1618) were formed in France. The order was entirely suppressed in France at the Revolution, but was later reëstablished there. It was also suppressed in Spain and Germany, and has not been introduced again in the former country. The order was established first in the United States in 1846. See Addis and Arnold’s Cath. Dict., pp. 74–76.