St. Augustine of Hippo
As Canons Regular of the Lateran we frequently have to excuse ourselves for our long name. It becomes even more difficult when we attempt to explain our origins. Here I want to offer you a glimpse of the wider Augustinian family.
Within that family there are a number of Congregations of Canons, founded mainly since the 11th century which saw the introduction of the reforms which gave new life to the Order. These Congregations tended to emphasise a special aspect of apostolic life ; others placed great store on scholarship or a more contemplative way of life. The female branch of the Order focused on prayer and the recitation of the Divine Office.
After the War Canons from some of these different Congregations began to meet and discuss whether it would be possible to bring their communities together in a closer bond with the purpose of mutual support and with the desire to understand the teaching and rule of St Augustine better.
Those plans bore fruit in 1959, the ninth centenary of the Lateran reforms. With the blessing of Pope John XX111 the Confederation of Canons Regular came into being during a solemn Mass in the Basilica of St John Lateran. On that day the Congregations of St Maurice, Great St Bernard, Austria, Immaculate Conception, Windesheim and Lateran were bound together in a bond of fraternal charity.
Statutes were drawn up expressing the aims and purposes of the Confederation. They agreed to meet regularly for study and publish their findings. Every six years a Congress would be held and the Congregations would take it in turns to put forward a candidate for election as Abbot Primate of the Confederation. The present Abbot Primate is Abbot Bitz of the Windesheim Congregation.
