MINIMS

A religious order, in the Church of Rome, whose founder was St. Francis de Paulu, so called from the place in Calabria, where he was born in 1416. He composed his rule in 1493, and it was approved by Pope Alexander VI., at the recommendation of the king of France. This pontiff changed the name of Hermits of St. Francis , which these monks bore, into that of Minims, (the Least ,) because they called themselves in humility Minimi Fratres Eremitæ , and gave them all the privileges of the religious mendicant or begging friars. In 1507, the holy founder of this order died, at the age of ninety-one years, and was canonized by Pope Leo X., in 1519. His body was preserved in the church of the convent of Ple is, until the Huguenots, in 1562, dragged it out of its tomb, and burnt it with the wood of a crucifix belonging to the church. His bones, however, were saved out of the fire by some zealous Catholics who mixed with the Calvin ist soldiers, and were distributed afterwards among several churches. This order is divided into thirty-one provinces, of which twelve are in Italy, eleven in France and Flanders, seven in Spain, and one in Germany. It has, at present, about 450 convents. The Minims have pa ed even into the Indies, where there are some convents which do not compose provinces, but depend immediately on the general. What more particularly distinguishes these monks from all others, is the observation of what they call the quadragesimal life , that is, a total abstinence from flesh, and everything which has its origin from flesh, as eggs, butter, cheese, excepting in case of great sickne . By this means they make the year one continued Lent fast. Their habit is coarse black woollen stuff, with a woollen girdle of the same colour, tied in five knots. They are not permitted to quit their habit and girdle night nor day. Formerly they went barefooted, but for these last hundred years they have been allowed the use of shoes.