The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order, Confessors
Ss. Septem Fundatorum Ordinis Servorum B.M.V. Confessorum
Seven noble citizens of Florence who, leaving the world together, devoted themselves to the service of the Mother of God and founded the Order of the Servants of Mary.
This feast honours together seven men of Florence who, in the thirteenth century, forsook the world to live for God under the protection of His holy Mother. United in heart and purpose, they became the founders of the Order of the Servants of Mary, commonly called the Servites, whose special devotion is to the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin at the foot of the Cross.
Seven Made One
The seven were men of standing in the city — merchants and citizens of good family — who had joined a confraternity devoted to Our Lady. Drawn by grace to a closer following of Christ, they withdrew about the year 1233 to a life of prayer and penance, and afterward to the solitude of Monte Senario near Florence. There they lived as a single community, so bound together in charity that the Church honours them not singly but as one. From their common life grew a religious order that spread through Italy and beyond.
Servants of Mary
The Servites took as their inspiration the Blessed Virgin standing in sorrow beneath the Cross, and made it their calling to keep her sorrows in remembrance and to serve God in her name. The seven founders are remembered for their humility and brotherly love; the last of them, Saint Alexis Falconieri, lived to a great age. They were canonized together by Pope Leo XIII in 1888. In them the Church sets before us the fruitfulness of a life given wholly to God in union with His Mother, and the strength of charity that makes many hearts one.
The Collect
O Lord Jesus Christ, who, to renew the memory of the sorrows of Thy most holy Mother, didst by the seven blessed Fathers enrich Thy Church with the new Order of the Servants of Mary: mercifully grant that we may be so united in their sorrows as to share in their joys. Who livest and reignest…
Dómine Iesu Christe, qui, ad recoléndam memóriam dolórum sanctíssimæ Genitrícis tuæ, per septem beátos Patres nova Servórum eius família Ecclésiam tuam fœcundásti: concéde propítius; ita nos eórum consociári flétibus, ut perfruámur et gáudiis.
Patronage
The Seven Holy Founders are venerated as the fathers of the Servite Order and as examples of fraternal charity and of devotion to the Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the Modern Calendar
In the modern calendar, the memorial of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order is observed on 17 February.
Common Questions
When is the feast of the Seven Holy Founders?
In the traditional Roman calendar their feast is kept on 12 February as a feast of the Third Class. In the modern calendar the memorial is observed on 17 February.
Who were the Seven Holy Founders?
They were seven citizens of Florence who, in the thirteenth century, left the world together to live in prayer and penance and founded the Order of the Servants of Mary (the Servites). They were canonized together by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.
What is special about the Servite Order?
The Servants of Mary are marked by their devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, contemplating her who stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross, and serving God under her protection.
See where this feast falls in the Church’s year on the liturgical calendar, or find a Traditional Latin Mass near you.
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