Pierre De Bérulle (1575-1629) and the renewal of Catholic spiritual life in France
Pierre de Bérulle, founder of the Oratoire de Jésus (commonly known as the Oratoire de France), is a leading figure in the renewal of the Catholic Church in France in the first half of the seventeenth century. He is generally regarded as the founder of the French School of Spirituality (École frança...
| Published in: | International journal for the study of the Christian church |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic/Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Routledge
[2017]
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| In: |
International journal for the study of the Christian church
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| IxTheo Classification: | CB Christian life; spirituality KAH Church history 1648-1913; modern history KBG France KCA Monasticism; religious orders KDB Roman Catholic Church |
| Further subjects: | B
spiritual theology
B reform and spiritual renewal B French School of Spirituality B spirituality of all the faithful B Bérulle B Bérulle’s influence B Religious Orders B St Francis de Sales B priestly spirituality B ‘spiritual pedagogy’ B the question of ‘vows’ B Catholic Church in France |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Pierre de Bérulle, founder of the Oratoire de Jésus (commonly known as the Oratoire de France), is a leading figure in the renewal of the Catholic Church in France in the first half of the seventeenth century. He is generally regarded as the founder of the French School of Spirituality (École française de spiritualité), though this term has been much criticised in recent years. He is often described as a ‘reformer’ of the Church in France, but this is a half-truth which obscures his real originality; he certainly shared the aims of those striving to create a clergy which would be better educated, more morally upright and more pastorally sensitive and zealous; but above all else he was concerned with the spiritual renewal of the clergy and with the Church in France generally. Lastly, he has often been accused of wishing to create chiefly, if not exclusively, a spirituality of the priesthood and to work for the ‘sanctification’ of the clergy. But his work and ideas must be seen here in a broader perspective, for Bérulle and his disciples shared with St Francis de Sales the aim, expressed in his Introduction à la vie devote (1608), of creating and promoting a spirituality available to all Christians. This article examines his conception of the Oratory, which he intended to be an intermediary between the religious orders and the secular clergy, his spiritual theology, what I have called his ‘spiritual pedagogy’, and his influence in France and elsewhere. |
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| ISSN: | 1474-225X |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal for the study of the Christian church
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/1474225X.2017.1351085 |