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The Church in France in
the last part of the 16th century was typical of medieval Europe. The concept
of a religious community was that of a group of people who withdrew from
the secular world for contemplation, prayer and scholarly work. At the same
time, many priests and religious were not dedicated to the service of the
people in parishes. As a consequence, the faith of the general populace
suffered. There was a new concept that was being proposed at this time to
rejuvenate the Church and renew faith. St. Peter Fourier was one of the
priests who worked to bring a living, gospel-based faith into the parish
where he was pastor, rather than going along with the prevailing materialism
that often was more important to priests and monks of this era. A second
concept that seemed a radical departure from tradition was the idea of an
apostolic religious community. A traditional religious community was contemplative
and did not interact with the general population very much. Apostolic religious
communities, on the other hand, believed that the fruit of prayer was action,
and took that action to the common people where the need was greatest. Both
of these new ideas played a part in the founding of "The Congregation
of Our Lady: Canonesses of St. Augustine." As a result, St. Peter Fourier
and Blessed Alix LeClerc faced opposition even from the Church, and suffered
civil and domestic persecution. They persisted, and the congregation flourished
in France and spread into other European countries. During Napoleonic times
the order was suppressed in France. |
