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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Trappists

Trappists, popular name for an order of Roman Catholic monks, officially (since 1892) the Reformed Cistercians or Cistercians of the Stricter Observance. They perpetuate the reform begun at La Trappe, Orne dept., France, by Armand de Rancé (c.1660). The reformer's aim was to restore primitive Cistercian (hence also primitive Benedictine) life; actually the Trappists surpassed both St. Benedict and St. Bernard in austerity. The reform was acclaimed in the world, but many Cistercians resisted it. The whole order was affected, but some abbeys never accepted the reform as such. The life of Trappists is one of strict seclusion from the world. Working hours are devoted to common and private worship, labor (often manual), and study; there is no recreation, meat is eaten only by the sick, and silence is observed except under unusual circumstances, but not by vow. Lay brothers do much of the farming, a peculiarly Cistercian practice. In the 19th and 20th cent. the Trappists shared in the revival of monasticism and expanded greatly. There are 12 abbeys in the United States. The head of the order, the abbot general of Cîteaux, lives in Rome.

See T. Merton, The Silent Life (1957); L. J. Lekai, The Rise of the Cistercian Strict Observance in Seventeenth Century France (1968).

Wikipedia search results for: Trappists

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance, or Trappists, are a contemplative Roman Catholic religious order, that follows the Rule of St. Benedict. They are a branch of the Cistercians and like the other Cistercian orders they also have a women's branch commonly referred to as the Trappistines. The order takes the name of "Trappist" from La Trappe Abbey or "La Grande Trappe" in Normandy in France, where it began as a reform movement in 1664, in reaction to the relaxation of practices in many Cistercian monasteries . The reform was led by Armand Jean le Bouthillier de Rancé, originally the commendatory abbot of La Trappe. As commendatory...more »

Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Trappists

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Oka, village, Canada
Oka, village, S Que., Canada, on the north shore of the Lake of the Two Mountains (a widening of the Ottawa) and SW of Montreal. It is noted as the site of a Trappist monastery and farm (est. ...
Rancé, Armand Jean le Bouthillier de
Rancé, Armand Jean le Bouthillier de, 1626–1700, French religious reformer, founder of the Trappists. He was of a noble family, was well educated, and lived at court as a worldly priest. In 16...
Foucauld, Charles, vicomte de
Foucauld, Charles, vicomte de, 1858–1916, French priest and missionary in the Sahara. After a career as an army officer and an explorer in Algeria and Morocco, he entered a Trappist monastery ...
Cahokia Mounds
Cahokia Mounds, approximately 85 Native American earthworks in Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, SW Ill., near East St. Louis; largest group of mounds N of Mexico. Monks' Mound, a rectangula...
Bardstown
Bardstown, city (1990 pop. 6,801), seat of Nelson co., central Ky., SE of Louisville, in a rich farm area; settled 1775, inc. 1788. The city has distilleries and varied manufacturing including...
Merton, Thomas
Merton, Thomas, 1915–68, American religious writer and poet, b. France. He grew up in France, England, and the United States and studied at Cambridge and at Columbia (B.A., 1938; M.A., 1939). ...
Dubuque
Dubuque, city (1990 pop. 57,546), seat of Dubuque co., NE Iowa, on the Mississippi River; chartered 1841. It is a trade, industrial, cultural, and rail center and a river port for an agricultu...
sign language
Sign language, gestural communication used as an alternative or replacement for speech. Sign languages resemble oral languages in every way other than their modality. As with oral languages, s...
Cistercians
Cistercians, monks of a Roman Catholic religious order founded (1098) by St. Robert, abbot of Molesme, in Cîteaux [Cistercium], Côte-d'Or dept., France. They reacted against Cluniac departures...
monasticism
Monasticism, form of religious life, usually conducted in a community under a common rule. Monastic life is bound by ascetical practices expressed typically in the vows of celibacy, poverty, a...

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