Our History

History of the Capuchins

Written by Father Bede Hermann, OFM Cap, in 1945

Long ago, in the thirteenth century, grand heroic men, athirst to lead the simple life in perfect harmony with the gospel, left home and possessions to live in poverty and simplicity. For safe guidance and better protection they flocked around St. Francis of Assisi, the great apostle of Christ Crucified. St. Francis wrote a rule for his community to show the way of the gospel life. In the course of years modifications crept in which lessened the rigor of observance. In the fourteenth century a number of zealous friars successfully sought to restore Observants while the older Community received the name of Conventuals. As time went on even the Observants began to modify some observances. On this account some of their more fervent brethren endeavored to return to the original strictness of St. Francis, adopting also what they considered the original habit. The friars of this reform are called Capuchins. At present, therefore, the first Order of St. Francis is divided into three branches: the Conventuals, the Observants, (commonly called Franciscans) and the Capuchins.

The Capuchins, accordingly, are sons of St. Francis. The purpose of this Order is to lead the Christian life according to the simplicity of the gospel, to lead others back to the Christian spirit, to inspire all sincere souls with greater love of God, and so spread the gospel of Christ among all nations by missionary endeavor.

Chapter 1: ORIGINS

It was in the first days of the new year, 1525, that Father Matthew of Bascio, of the Franciscan Observants, set out from the friary of Montefalcone with the purpose of seeking an audience with the Holy Father, Clement VII, in the city of Rome, to obtain permission to live according to the strict rule of St. Francis. Pope Clement VII received him kindly and by word of mouth gave him permission to wear his new habit and to live as a hermit.

About the same time many other friars among the Observants were desirous of a return to the stricter life. Foremost among these were Louis of Fossombrone, a priest, and his brother Raphael, a lay Brother. The two went to meet Fr. Matthew on his return from Rome. The latter explained to them that he had no authority to receive companions, but enjoyed only a personal privilege of living as a hermit. Accordingly, he advised them to go to Rome as he had done. Fr. Matthew then introduced them to Caterina Cibo, the duchess of Camerino, who gave them letters of introduction to her uncle, Pope Clement VII. The Pope granted their wishes.

As other friars began to gather around them Fr. Louis who was a man of vision, bethought himself of placing his community on a firm and lasting basis. With this in view he applied to Pope Clement VII. On. 'July 3, 1528, the Pope issued the bull Religionis Zelus to Fr. Louis and Br. Raphael, establishing the "Friars Minor Hermits" or "Franciscan Hermits" as an autonomous Order, and released them completely from the jurisdiction of the Observants. Thus the Order of Capuchins was founded.

The six points that Fr. Louis had asked to have granted by the bull were the following: I That he and others be allowed to lead an eremitical life according to the rule of St. Francis; 2 that they be allowed to wear the beard: 3 that they wear a Mendicant Hermit habit with a quadrant cowl; 4 that they might accept out-of-way places in forests and on mountains and dwell there as pilgrims and strangers under the protection of the Friars Convenlllal; 5 that they might elect a superior and custos who should be to them as a provincial; 6 that they be allowed to receive religious of other Orders.

This bull is also known as the Rull of Foundation. As stated above, it was issued to Fr. Louis who therefore must be considered the founder of the Capuchin Order. He was the first superior of the small community and received Fr. Matthew into the fold.

The Capuchins, as they were popularly called, were now established with papal authority as a distinct branch of the Franciscan Order, and at once they began to figure in church history. Their trials, it is true, were not yet over, but they now had a solid footing. Because they had done heroic work among the plague-stricken in various cities in 1527, they found friends in high places who defended their cause in Rome when opposition arose.

Since many of the Observants came over to them immediately, the small community grew rapidly, and in 1529 Fr. Louis convoked the first chapter at Albacina. The friars elected a vicar general and drew up constitutions for the new Order. Fr. Matthew was elected first vicar general. After about ten days he resigned, leaving the office in the hands of Fr. Louis. His heart was set on the life of a hermit and a preacher.

For seven years Fr. Louis ruled the young community, founding new houses in many different places. In 1535 he convoked the second chapter, at Rome, where Fr. Bernardine of Asti was elected vicar general.

Under the inspired guidance of Fr. Bernardine, during the following three years, the Order waxed strong inwardly and outwardly, displayed a marvellous vitality in spreading all over Italy, and gained popularity that reminds one of the days of St. Francis himself.

In concluding this chapter one might say with Felice da Mareto: The Capuchins received the habit from Fr. Matthew, the beard from Fr. Louis, the soul and spirit from Fr. Bernardine of Asti. This expresses in concise form the founding of the Capuchin Order.

Chapter 2: RAPID GROWTH OF THE ORDER

The rapid spread of the Capuchin Order, first in Italy, then in the rest of Europe, is a phenomenon so singular in the history of religious Orders that it can only be compared to the spread of the Irish monks during the fourth and fifth centuries, and of the Friars Minor during the thirteenth. The Capuchins were canonically declared a religious Order in 1528, and less than ten years later, in 1535, they numbered 700 friars. Before the close of the century, in 1596, they had increased to 7,268, and within another century in 1696, they had grown to the number of 27,156 friars.

Old city archives and convent chronicles relate in language as romantic as it is authentic, how the first small band of friars would enter the city gates amid the triumphant acclaim of the populace, and how frequently the emperor or ruling prince would in person lay the first stone for their humble monastery. In the capitals of Europe the ceremony of laying the corner-stone for a Capuchin friary was made an official act of the State, of which the general public, both Catholic and Protestant, took cognizance. Thus the restriction to remain within the confines of Italy had hardly been removed from the Order by papal bull of 1574, when the Queen-Regent, Catherine de Medici, laid the foundation stone for the monastery of St. Honore near the Tuilleries in Paris. The entire royal court was present, and the lowly friars there took up their abode to the great joy of the pious Queen and King Henry III and the whole court. In 1599 Henry IV laid the first groundstone for the Capuchin church at Angers. Three years later the city of Bordeaux witnessed a similiar scene, when on January 14, 1602, Cardinal Francois inaugurated the building of the Capuchin monastery in the presence of the entire clergy, a large delegation from the French court and an immense concourse of people; "Thereupon the representatives of Parliament laid the second stone and the fathers of the city the third, pledging themselves as the founders and perpetual protectors of the friary,"

Catholic Spain was not to be outdone in the welcome that it accorded the Capuchins. When Cardinal Borgia founded the first monastery at Madrid in 1609, both the King and the Queen with their court and all the Spanish Grandees went in procession to the building site, where they attended the Pontifical Mass and the placing of the stone. It was no different with the famous monastery "El Pardo" in Madrid, where at the corner-stone laying in 1612 and at the taking possession by the Capuchins in 1614 the entire royal household was assembled.

At Prague, the residence of Emperor Rudolph II, the papal nuncio laid the first stone for the Capuchin house opposite the imperial palace, and it is said, "that such a multitude of people, beginning with the clergy .and all the ambassadors, as on that memorable May 23, 1600, had never been seen together in Prague before." A few months later, August 10, 1600, Archduke Ferdinand of Styria (later :Emperor Ferdinand II) placed the foundation stone for the first monastery of \he Capuchins at Graz. A still more touching ceremony had been witnessed seven years before, when at Innsbruck Archduke Ferdinand II of Tyrol had "laid the stone at the corner and after him his wife, Archduchess Anna Catherine, and their two daughters, the Princesses, fetched stones and mortar with their own hands and placed them on the construction wall around the corner-stone."

Munich, the Capital of Bavaria, saw the first Capuchins in the year 1600. They had been called thither by the reigning Count, Maximilian I, who with his own means built the first monastery for them. The corner-stone was laid by Duke William V of Bavaria, accompanied by the entire court and a number of princes from other lands. In Northern Germany, too, the reigning princes considered it an honor to place the foundation-stone for the Capuchin monasteries. This was done at Cologne in 1615 by Duke Francis of Lorraine and Count Eitel of Hohenzollern; at Duesseldorf in 1620 by Count Wolfgang William of Julich; at Muenchen-Gladbach in 1660 and at Wasserburg in 1660 by members of the same princely family. In fact, there is hardly a town in Germany where, at the foundation of the Capuchin monasteries, princely members of the various reigning houses and principalities did not personally assist at the laying of the first stone. The same was done for the foundations in Poland and Switzerland, yes, even at St. Petersburg in Russia, where Peter the Great founded the first Capuchin establishment.

In Rome, the Eternal City, Urban VIII and eleven Cardinals ,were conducted to the shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the first church of this title in the capital of Christendom, and there the Pope placed the corner-stone amidst all the splendor of the Roman ritual, granting at the same time a plenary indulgence to all who were in attendance. Ever since that day the Chiesa dell' Immacolata Concezione has been a favorite spot of the Capuchins and of the Romans.

Undoubtedly, the chief reason for this astounding popularity of the Capuchins was their simplicity and austerity. In that general confusion of vanity and pride that comes with the abuses of over-civilization in society it was plain to thinking men that only the simplicity of the gospel could work a change. In the Capuchin friars they saw that simplicity personified.

The interest shown by princes and noblemen in the foundations of the Capuchin Friars aided their rapid spread. There were times when requested Capuchin establishments had to be delayed for twenty years and more, for the sole reason that no more members were available At the first election at Albacina in 1529 there were four small friaries with twenty Capuchins. In the year 1574, when Pope Gregory XIII permitted them to spread outside of Italy, their number had grown to 300 houses and 3500 members. When first the friars settled at Munich in 1600 they had 730 friaries with 8,803 members. Fifty years later, in 1650, they registered the marvellous increase shown by the figures of 1,428 houses and 21,840 members. The Order experienced the highest development in its history in the year 1754, when the number of monasteries was 1,715 and that of Capuchin Friars 32,821, distributed over 63 provinces and one custody.

The latter half of the eighteenth century spelled unrest for the Church and suppression of numerous monasteries of all Religious Orders. One country after another experienced the ravage of secularization, till in 1885, only 7,722 friars remained in 42 provinces and three commissariates. From that period, however a steady increase is noticeable. The ten thousand mark was reached again shortly before the year 1903.

On January 1, 1940, the Order presented the follow figures: In 45 provinces and 15 commissariates Statistics there were 1,086 houses with 6,886 priests, 2,397 clerics, 3,490 lay brothers, 631 novices, 278 candidates for the lay brotherhood, 202 tertiaries living with the community,-or a total membership of 13,898 friars, 640 of whom were 'living in the United States.

In 115 Seraphic Schools 5,463 students were preparing for the priesthood in the Capuchin Order. Tertiaries of St. Francis under the jurisdiction of the Friars Minor Capuchin numbered 1,108,410 in 10,367 fraternities. The Order likewise has been honored by the selection of Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops and Prefects Apostolic from its membership.

Chapter 3: GREAT MEN AND GREAT DEEDS

"By their fruits ye shall know them!" In the past four hundred years Supreme Pontiffs have repeatedly acknowledged the services rendered by the Capuchin 'Order and its members to the Apostolic See, to the Church and to society. Without fear of contradiction it may be stated that from the very beginning the brown-robed bearded Friar won the esteem and love of the Catholic people of Europe and has held it to this very day. Many are the fruits of heroic sanctity produced by the Saints Order.

Aside from the numerous saints among the Sons of St. Francis to whom, according to the declarations of the Popes, all three branches of the First Order may lay claim, there are a number whose spiritual life was moulded upon the Constitutions of the Capuchin Friars Minor. The first to attain to the honors of the altar was Felix of Cantalicio (d. 1585), a Lay Brother, commonly known as "Brother Deo. Gratias," an intimate friend of St. Pius V, St. Philip Neri and St. Charles Borromeo. A second Lay Brother, Seraphin of Monte Granario (d. 1604), breathed the true spirit of simplicity of the early companions of Francis of Assisi. These two sainted Lay Brothers were joined by two priests of the Order, Joseph of Leonessa (d. 1612), missionary and confessor of the faith in Constantinople and, after his miraculous deliverance, fervent preacher in the cities and towns of Italy, who was accorded the honors of the altar together with Fidelis of Sigmaringen (d. 1622), the first missionary and martyr of the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. In 1881 was canonized the holy Minister General of the Order, Lawrence of Brindisi (d. 1619), a saint, accomplished linguist, diplomat, debater, polemic writer and army chaplain who led the Christian armies to victory over the Turks. As a preacher in the foremost cities of Europe he had no equal and by his eloquence he established a reputation that spread far and wide on the continent. Coming down to our times we have St. Conrad of Parzham in Bavaria (d.l894), a humble Lay Brother who as doorkeeper at Altoetting was the solace and inspiration of many souls that called at the famous place of pilgrimage.

†Among those beatified by the Church we find Benedict of Urbino (d. 1625), of the princely family of the Passionei, relative of three Popes, companion of St. Lawrence of Brindisi on his missions to the Protestants in Bohemia; the holy companions Agathangelus and Cassian, martyred for the faith in 1638 at Gondar in Abyssinia; Angelus of Acri (d. 1739), popular missionary in Italy; Didacus of Cadix (d. 1801), "Apostle of Spain"; Apollinaris of Fribourg (d. 1792), the martyr of the French Revolution. Among the Lay Brothers are the Blessed Bernard of Corleone (d. 1667), Crispin of Viterbo (d. 1750), Bernard of Ophyda (d. 1694), Felix of Nicosia (d. 1787), and Francis of Camporosso (d. 1866). A great number of other Friars, both priests and Lay Brothers, died in the odor of sanctity; the causes of more than thirty have already passed far beyond the preparatory stages at Rome.

A number of members of the foremost noble famNobles ilies of Europe have deemed it an honor to be called to the lowliest of all Religious Orders. Rome yielded its Barberini, Parma its Farnese, Milan its Visconti and Bologna its della Chiesa. Alphonse III of Este, reigning Duke of Modena, laid down the sceptre to enter the Capuchin Order as Fr. John Baptist. From him is descended, in the eleventh generation, the present King Leopold of Belgium. In France the Duke of Joyeuse took the same step, when at Paris he became Fr. Angelus. In Germany more than fifty scions of princely blood took the habit of the Capuchin Order. The second son of Jbhn III, King of Poland, Alexander Benedict Stanislaus, died in the monastery of the Immaculate Conception at Rome and was buried in the Capuchin habit. The Popes, lOO, have not failed to honor the Order with the highest distinction. Eight Capuchin Friars were raised to the dignity of the Cardinalate, while thirteen others humbly declined the honor; two Sons of the Order were Patriarchs and more than one hundred and thirty were raised to the dignity of archbishop or bishop.

The Capuchins achieved their greatest success in Preaching the pulpit and in missionary work. Preaching may truly be called the work of the Order. In 1753 the office of "Apostolic Preacher" in the Vatican was conferred on the Order, and it has retained it ever since. The Capuchins thus furnish the preacher for the most distinguished audience in the Catholic Church. The list of truly powerful and popular preachers in every Province of the Order is almost endless. In days when Catholic life needed a spiritual revival Capuchin preachers were the me(\ of the hour.

From the imposing array of Italian preachers we select, besides Lawrence of Brindisi, Joseph of Leonessa, Marc of Aviano and Angelus of Acri, the following: Mathias Bellintani (d. 1611), "easily the prince among the heralds of the word of God"; Jerome of Narni (d. 1632), Preacher Apostolic under three Popes, compared to the Apostle of the Geritiles, because of his flaming eloquence, who likewise was greatly influential in the foundation of the Congregation of the Propaganda; Cardinal Francis Mary Casini (d. 1719) and Venerable BonaventUre Barberini (d. 1743), both holding the office of Preacher Apostolic; Bernard Giacchi of Naples (d. 1744) who both in style and de. livery had no equal in his day; Adeodat Turchi, Bishop of Parma (d. 1803), famous for his sermons at the court of Spain and Parma, but more especially for his homilies; Louis Nicara (d. 1847), Cardinal Vicar of Rome, prominently mentioned for the papacy at the death of Gregory XVI; finally, Louis Puecher Passavalli (d. 1897), whose sermon to the assembled Fathers' opened the Vatican Council on December 8, 1869.

Other countries of Europe are likewise splendidly represented by Capuchin preachers and missionaries. Spain has its Fr. Joseph of Carabantes (d. 1694) and the Blessed Didacus of Cadix (d. 1801). In France Louis Francis of Argentan (d. 1680) and Nicholas of Dijon (d. 1696) were famous for their eloquence. In the Region of Chablais and Valais, and at Geneva, the stronghold of Calvinism, the name of Cherubin of Maurienne (d. 1610) is in great veneration. He was the adviser, the confessor and right hand of St. Francis de, Sales, a remarkable preacher and controversialist, frequently engaged in public disputations with the leaders of heresy, especially in defense of the Holy Eucharist. Germany, Austria and Switzerland are represented by Louis of Saxony" Baron of Einsiedeln (d. 1608), a convert from Lutheranism; Procopius of Templin (d. 1680), also a convert, the "Bard of the Blessed Virgin," who has left in print more than 2,600 sermons; Clement Harderer of Burghausen (d. 17~2), a born preacher, esteemed by princes and praised by Protestants; Albert Comployer (d. 1810), the "Apostle of Tyrol," and of late years the two brothers Vincent and Bernard Thuille and the popular Mathias of Bremscheid. England and Ireland sing the praises of Francis Nugent (d. 1638), of Arthur O'Leary (d. 1802), the great wit and controversial speaker, and Father Matthew (d. 1856), the "Apostle of Temperance." Poland speaks enthusiastically of Viator Pietrowski (d. 1835), cathedral preacher of Warsaw, and Honorat of Biala (d. 1916), founder of the Felician Sisters.

A few examples may give us an idea of further priestly activities of the Capuchins. In the Province Labors of Southern Germany they heard 51,787,000 confessions in 67 years (1674-1741). The Capuchins of Bavaria heard 26,002,000 confessions in 54 years (1668-1722) in their own churches, not counting those heard elsewhere. In the one monastery of Waldurn over 70,000 confessions have been heard annually for over a century. In many monasteries of Austria they heard about 25,000 confessions annually for two centuries. In more modern times the Friars of the Bavarian . Province heard 1,389,000 confessions within four years (1866-69). The Swiss Province provided confessors for 4,046,000 from 1888 to 1894. Capuchins functioned as confessors. of popes, cardinals, archbishops, bishops, kings, queens, princes and nobility of all Europe. Empress Marie of Austria had a Capuchin confessor. Marc of Aviano was confessor of Leopold II and his whole family and at the same time diplomatic counsellor of the emperor.

The Capuchins of Southern Germany preached 80,416 sermons and 6,408 catechetical instructions from 1720 to 1741. The Swiss Province had 28,619 sermons and 6,804 catechetical instructions from 1733 to 1740, and again from 1888 to 1894, 48,622 sermons and 9,000 catechetical instructions. From 1874 to 1900 the Bavarian Province had 185,000 sermons in its own churches alone. In one year (1900-1901) the Fathers had altogether 10,726 sermons, 175 courses of retreats, 329 missions, while they numbered no more than 183 priests. In Bozen the Capuchins preached regularly every Sunday in the parish church from 1600 to 1940, in Brixen from 1613 to 1940, in Meran from 1614 to 1940, in Neumarkt from 1617 to 1940. In Italy, Lenten preachers who preached every day in Lent, numbered 117 in 1755, 120 in 1760. Many Friars preached thousands of sermons. Among them we find Philip of Appenzell (d. 1625) who preached over 7,000, and John Baptist of Areriys who preached 5,429 in Spain.

Capuchins were appointed as regular preachers at the courts of emperors, kings and dukes in Austria, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Emperor Ferdinand III wrote to Pope Innocent X on May 28; 1650: "The Capuchins flourish in my empire to such a degree that they are loved by all, both the upper and lower classes of people, and, what is more, they are even loved by non-Catholics. This is the result of their exemplary life and their zeal in preaching the GospeL" In March, 1743, Pope Benedict XIV, when appointing the Capuchins as Preachers Apostolic, wrote the following: "The Capuchins deserve all praise, because ,nowadays they are the one only example that is left of the practice of evangelical perfection. The eternal truths preached by a Capuchin to Cardinals and Bishops sound better than coming from the lips of any others."

In Italy the Capuchins from the very beginning of the Order took up the work of reclaiming the Protestants. In Valtellina, the stronghold of Protestantism in Northern Italy, the Capuchins began to preach about 1548 and with a short interruption continued the work up to 1797, when their four monasteries were suppressed. That the Valtellina is entirely Catholic today is due to Capuchin labors, next to the grace of God. Again in the valleys of the Cottian Alps the Capuchins began in 1595 and pushed onward into the Marquisate of Saluzzo. From 1595 to 1659 they converted over 22,000 heretics, mostly Waldensians, in these valleys. In 1741 the Cardinals of the Propaganda wrote: "That Piedmont is now entirely Catholic is due to God's blessing, the activity of Propaganda and to the zeal of the Capuchins." The Friars came to Paris in 1578. As early as 1585 the Nuncio Gaetani wrote from Paris: "Through the Jesuits and Capuchins next to the grace of God the Catholic Religion was saved in France." December 28, 1628, Cardinal Richelieu wrote, that he expected there would be no Huguenots in France after two years, because the Capuchins had already made so many conversions.

Many glorious pages of the history of the Capuchin Order have been filled with the works performed by them as the friends of the common people, for the intensifying of Christian life and for the uplift of the masses. As in the very first years of the Capuchin Reform the little band of Friars solicitously attended the pest-stricken of Camerino, so they have ever been ready to lend their aid in hospitals and lazarettos, performing for the poor victims the most menial services. Their labors in this respect dilring the epidemics and harrowing sieges, as at Milan in 1575 and 1630, have been recorded in inimitable style by the pen of Allessandro Manzoni in his novel The Betrothed. Two thousand names are recorded of Capuchin Friars who offered their services for this dangerous occupation and who were finally themselves stricken by the disease and died as martyrs of charity. The name of Daniel of Samarate (d. 1924), a young priest, who died at Belem, Brazil, while ministering to the lepers will go down in history beside that" of Father Damien. Another martyr of charity who died a victim of leprosy in Brazil is Ignace of Ispra (d. 1935). At the present day the Capuchins have the care of a great number of hospitals, a work which of late has assumed such an importance that one of their number has been appointed bishop and acts as "chief chaplain" for the Italian Peninsula. At Rome they are entrusted with the care of the hospitals S. Spirito (since 1850), the oldest hospital in the world, with the Polyclinico, the San Giacomo and the Consolazione.

During the Thirty Years' War the Capuchin Guardian was several times deputed to confer with Gustave Adolph or his generals, and due to his intervention cities were saved from destruction and the inhabitants from heavy fines and reprisals. At the battle of Lepanto in 1571, where the Christian armies defeated the Turks, thirty Capuchin Friars acted as navy chaplains under the guidance of Jerome of Pistoia (d. 1571), the illustrious preacher and theologian and adviser of Pope Pius V, and it was on October the seventh that Anselm of Petramolaria, the successor of Jerome, turned the tide of battle in favor of the Christians through his active intervention. At his request there was instituted the feast of the Holy Rosary. Some years later, in 1601, when the Turks wished to retaliate for the defeat at Lepanto, a group of Capuchins was again selected to act as chaplains. The battle of Stuhlweissenburg, where 18,000 Christians defeated an army of 80,000 Islamitic forces, was won, according to the testimony of all, through the heroic leadership of St. Lawrence of Brindisi. And when 'once- more, in 1683, the Christian armies were endangered by the power of the Crescent and the Turks were finally routed outside the gates of Vienna, King Sobieski of Poland publicly attested to the Pope, that it was the blessing and the assistance in battle of Father Marc of Aviano that had gained them the victory. Fr. Marc of Aviano (d. 1699), the friend and counsellor of the governors and of the governed of Austria, is buried in the Capuchin vault of Vienna in the midst of the emperors and princes of the House of Hapsburg. Not far from Vienna, in the court church of Innsbruck, is the grave of a noted soldier-friar, Fr. Joachim Haspinger (d. 1858). lie had been the constant companion of Andreas Hofer and the champion of the Tyrolese in the wars of liberation against the forces of Napoleon.

In a number of other ways the Capuchins placed themselves at the disposal of the community. At Milan Fr. Joseph of Ferno (d. 1556) inaugurated the Quarant 'Ore, a devotion of reparation after the wild amusements and excesses of the carnival, a custom which since then (1537) has been extended to the Universal Church and is known as the "Forty Hours."

In other localities it was their office to prepare for death public criminals who had been condemned, and to accompany them to the scene of execution. At Paris they organized the first public fire-department with an "ever-ready apparatus" in the monastery yard, and for full two hundred years they were called upon to direct this utility in cases of fire. In Belgium they minister to the bands of roving gypsies and also render material and spiritual aid to the mariners and shipyard workers.

Switzerland cannot forget its "social Father," Theodosius Florentini (d. 1865), the builder of schools and academies, the organizer of the laboring classes, the founder of orphanages and hospitals, truly the greatest philanthropist of the Alps. In France P. Marie-Antoil)e (d. 1907), the "Saint of Toulouse" and the preacher of "Our Lady of Lourdes," organized and propagated the work for the poor known as St. Anthony's Bread, while in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and North America the Capuchins have saved tens of thousands of destitute and neglected children from physical and moral ruin by their society, called the "Seraphic Work of Charity."

That also the adults of the middle and poorer classes of society, and especially the working-man have ever been first and foremost the objects of care with the Capuchins is further proven by such illustrious Sons of St. Francis, as Martin Cochem (d. 1712), the great favorite of the German people, Father Matthew, the idol of the Irish race, and Father Honorat .of Biala, who by his dozen "secret religious orders," distributed through all the industries and factories of Poland, kept burning the bright flame of faith. At the door of a particular monastery in Bavaria it has been found that on a certain day 1,406 poor called for alms, and that 17,600 four-pound loaves of bread were distributed by the Brother within the lapse of one year.

What wonder that the common people love the Capuchin!