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Mosteiro de São Bento (São Paulo)

Coordinates:23°32′37″S46°38′02″W/ 23.54361°S 46.63389°W/-23.54361; -46.63389
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Monastery of Saint Benedict
Mosteiro de São Bento
The facade of the monastery
Mosteiro de São Bento (São Paulo) is located in São Paulo State
Mosteiro de São Bento (São Paulo)
Location within São Paulo State
Monastery information
OrderOrder of Saint Benedict
EstablishedJuly 14, 1598(1598-07-14)
DioceseArchdiocese of São Paulo
People
AbbotDomMathias Tolentino Braga
Architecture
ArchitectRichard Berndl
StyleNeo-Romanesque
Groundbreaking1910(1910)
Completion date1922(1922)
Site
LocationLargo São Bento,São Paulo,Brazil
Coordinates23°32′37″S46°38′02″W/ 23.54361°S 46.63389°W/-23.54361; -46.63389
Websitewww.mosteirodesaobentosp.com.br

Monastery of Saint Benedict(Portuguese:Mosteiro de São Bento) is a Catholic temple located inSão Paulo,Brazil.Established on 14 July 1598, the current church was built between 1910 and 1914 by the German architect Richard Berndl. It is formed by the Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, theCollege of São Bentoand theSchool of Philosophy of São Bento.[1][2]

Currently, around 45 monks reside in the monastery, where they dedicate their lives to theora et laboratradition. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption contains a choir for theDivine Officein the monastic rite, celebrated daily by the monks, and Mass in theRoman rite,both withGregorian chant.In May 2007, the monastery hostedPope Benedict XVIon hisfirst visitto Brazil.[3]

History

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The foundation of the Monastery of Saint Benedict dates back to July 14, 1598. According to documents from the time,Captain-MajorJorge Correia granted twosesmarias,which would become the basis for the Benedictine temple. The land granted was located between the riversAnhangabaúandTamanduateí,stretching on one side to theAnhangabaú Valleyand on the other to the current25 de Março.[2]

The monastery was founded by Friar Dom Mauro Teixeira, a disciple ofFather Joseph of Anchietawho met thecaciqueTibiriçáand built a church in homage toSaint Benedictin the same location as his house. On April 15, 1600, the City Council officials validated the letter ofsesmariato Friar Mauro Teixeira.[2][4]

In 1634, the work was completed. Initially, the chapel was dedicated to Saint Benedict. Afterwards, at the request of the governor of theCaptaincy of São Vicente,Francisco de Sousa, the patron saint changed toOur Lady of Montserratand, in 1720, toOur Lady of the Assumption.[2][4]

In 1641, after the end of theIberian Union,John IV,thenDuke of Braganza,was crowned King of Portugal. In São Paulo, a group of largely Castilian settlers wanted to prevent the captaincy from recognizing the new king and offeredAmador Buenothe title of King of São Paulo. He declined the offer and retreated to the Monastery of Saint Benedict to protect himself from the popular fury. With the help of the monks, tensions cooled and John IV was recognized by the people of São Paulo as the new King of Portugal.[2][4][5]

In 1650, the structure of the monastery underwent a renovation sponsored by thebandeiranteFernão Dias Pais,known as the "emerald hunter". Gratefully, the monks awarded him the privilege of being buried in the chancel of the monastery church, along with his relatives and descendants; his remains still rest in the central nave of the temple. The clay sculptures of St. Benedict andSt. Scholastica,made by FriarAgostinho de Jesusand displayed on the main altar of the church, date from the same period.[4][6]

Acclamation of Amador Bueno.

In the first half of the 19th century, a law passed by theimperial governmentordered the extinction ofnovitiatesin Brazil, which prevented the entry of new monks and caused the monastic community to become almost extinct. The collapse caused by the act led to plans to transfer the monastery to the public treasury. Abbot Dom Miguel Kruse, a German religious, renovated the monastery and reversed the situation. In 1903, Kruse founded the College of São Bento (Colégio de São Bento) forsecondary educationand in 1908 he created the School of Philosophy (Faculdade de Filosofia).[2][4][7][8]

The colonial church and monastery were demolished on Kruse's initiative to build a more modern building. The current temple, designed to match the city's urbanization process, was erected between 1910 and 1922 according to a design by architectRichard Berndl,a former professor at theUniversity of Munich,and decorated by Benedictine Adalbert Gressnigt.[2][4]

Architectural features

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Overall, the building follows theNeo-Romanesquestyle. Most of the interior decoration was planned and executed by the monk Adelbert Gresnicht, a Dutchman who arrived in Brazil in 1913. Gresnicht came fromMaredsous Abbeyin Belgium and was a follower of theBeuron Art School,a Benedictine institution that influenced artists such asGustav Klimt.The Beuron Art School applied the aesthetic theory for religious art developed by the architect and sculptorDesiderius Peter Lenz,a graduate of the Munich Art School, along with the painterGabriel Wügerand Abbot Mauro Wolter. The theory sought, withinancient art,an artistic process that allowed contact between the faithful and God. Lenz believed that the ancient peoples acquired this knowledge and used it in their temples based on a mathematical principle.[4][9][10][11]

Church organ.

Some of the medallions on the walls of the side naves were painted by Thomaz Scheuchl, a German painter. The sculptures of the 12 apostles in thenavewere made between 1919 and 1922 by the Belgian sculptor and painterAdrien Henri Vital van Emelen,from theSchool of Arts and Crafts.The sculpture ensemble located on abeamabove thechancelbyAnton Langdates from 1921. Thehigh altaris made of marble from theLake Maggioreregion in Italy. Gressnicht also designed the Basilica'sstained glasswindows: The Evangelists at the entrance, the death of Saint Benedict in the monks' choir in thetranseptand Our Lady of the Assumption on the high altar.[4][9][11][10]

The images of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica on the high altar by FriarAgostinho de Jesus,the first Brazilian sculptor who lived in the monastery in the 17th century, a Crucified Christ sculpted by José Pereira Mutas from São Paulo in 1777 and the image of Our Lady of the Conception from the 18th century are the remains of the old church in the current basilica.[4][9]

Clock and organ

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The clock at the Monastery of Saint Benedict was made in Germany and installed in 1921. It was regarded as the most accurate clock in São Paulo until the advent ofquartz crystal clocks.It features acarillonwith six tuned bells that chime the full and fractional hours. The church organ dates from 1954 and is also German. It was produced by theWalckerfactory and has over 6,000 pipes. It stands on the left side of the transept of the monastery church, supported by two large columns carved fromoakcreated byHeinrich Waderé.[4][12][13]

Conservation and restoration

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Scaffolding during restoration work on the transept.

In 2006, the Monastery of Saint Benedict underwent restoration work to accommodatePope Benedict XVIduring his visit to Brazil. At the time, the most intensive work occurred in the school chapel, inaugurated in 1937 and closed for 20 years due to leaks, which destroyed a large part of the mural paintings by the monk Thomaz Scheuchl. The wooden ceiling, carved with stars, was cleaned and the faces and silhouettes of biblical characters were partly recreated. Four murals narrating theParable of the Prodigal Son,florets with musical angels and 14 altar paintings have been restored.[14]

Between 2011 and 2013, the 12 images of the apostles, the chapel of theBlessed Sacrament,the side chapels and the organ with 6,000 pipes, which was installed in 1954 during the celebrations of São Paulo's fourth centenary, were restored. The six panels in the chancel depicting scenes from the life of Mary, the sacred sculptures and the images of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, sculpted in 1650 by Agostinho de Jesus, were also restored. In 2016, the Crucified Christ, made ofcedarby José Pereira Mutas in 1777, was restored after being damaged by pollution and grease from people's hands. The wall where the sculpture is located was also recovered.[15][16][17][18]

College and School of São Bento

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The basilica, the monastery in the center and the college on the left.

Founded in 1903 as the Gymnasium of São Bento (Gymnasio de São Bento), the school was the initiative of Abbot Dom Miguel Kruse. The inauguration occurred on St. Benedict's Day, March 21, and the first school year began on February 15, 1903. From 1906 onwards, it housed aboarding schooland, in 1908, it shared space with the School of Philosophy. In 1943, it was renamed College of São Bento. Since the 1970s, it has also provided education for girls.[7][19]

In 1908, the Faculty of Philosophy, Sciences and Letters, the first free faculty of philosophy in Brazil, was founded. At first, it had an affiliation with theUniversity of Louvainin Belgium. In 1940, after the creation of national legislation for higher education, the faculty's programs were recognized by theMinistry of Education(Ministério da Educação -MEC). In 1946, at the request of theArchdiocese of São Paulo,the school joined the original nucleus of thePontifical Catholic University of São Paulo(Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo -PUC), but philosophy courses remained within the monastery. In 1999, the monastery asked the MEC to authorize the implementation of theAcademic degreein Philosophy, which was approved in December 2001. TheBachelor's degreein Philosophy gained authorization on October 23, 2013 and began its activities in February 2014.[20][21]

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In 1999, the Monastery of Saint Benedict started selling cakes, breads, jams and cookies, whose recipes were stored for centuries in the abbey's archives. It also houses a library with over 100,000 titles, one of the oldest in the city of São Paulo. The collection contains 581 titles published before the 19th century, including six rareincunabula,the oldest is aNew Testamentdated 1496. It also contains a collection of tiny manuscripts with spines less than a centimeter long, which contain a biblical passage or a prayer, as well as rare editions of books that were banned by the Catholic Church. Access to the collection is restricted to monks and students, but researchers and scholars can apply for special permission.[22][23][24][25][26]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^Ponciano, Levino (2004).São Paulo: 450 bairros, 450 anos.Senac. p. 160.ISBN978-85-7359-353-2.Retrieved30 August2012.
  2. ^abcdefg"Basílica Nossa Senhora da Assunção - Mosteiro de São Bento".ArquiSP.28 August 2014.Retrieved2024-03-06.
  3. ^"Papa Bento XVI visitou o Brasil em 2007; veja hospedagem do papa na ocasião".CNN.2022-12-31.Retrieved2024-03-06.
  4. ^abcdefghij"O MOSTEIRO DE SÃO BENTO DE SÃO PAULO E A ARTE BEURONENSE".Biblioteca do Mosteiro.2011-12-14. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-08.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  5. ^"Aclamação de Amador Bueno".UOL.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  6. ^"Fernão Dias Paes Leme".UOL.2006-02-20.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  7. ^ab"Conheça o Colégio de São Bento de São Paulo".Cultura Geral Saiba Mais.2009-12-15.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  8. ^Molina, Sandra Rita (2006)."A morte da tradição: a Ordem do Carmo e os escravos da santa contra o Império do Brasil (1850-1889)"(PDF).USP.
  9. ^abc"Mosteiro de São Bento (1598-1600)".Aprenda 450 anos.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-08-23.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  10. ^abYang, Klency Kakazu (2016)."A pintura beuronense na basílica do mosteiro beneditino de São Paulo: 1914-1922".UnifeSP.
  11. ^abConceição, Rosângela (2018)."Thomaz Scheuchl, the Trajectory of a Disciple of Beuron: From the Restoration of the Cathedral of the Ascension in Satu Mare to the Paintings of Churches in Brazil".Research in Medieval Culture and Art.5(1).
  12. ^"O Grande Órgão do Mosteiro de São Bento de São Paulo".Cultura Geral Saiba Mais.2010-04-05.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  13. ^"Mosteiro de São Bento promove live especial com um concerto de órgão".Blog Amaury Junior.2020-05-03.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  14. ^"Mosteiro de São Bento vive frenesi de restauros".Folha de S. Paulo.2007-03-11.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  15. ^"Igreja do mosteiro de São Bento tem maior restauro em 1 século".Veja.2014-07-27.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  16. ^Gandra, Alana (2014-04-21)."Restauração de igreja preserva arte de monges e escravos".Agência Brasil.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  17. ^Veiga, Edison (2016-03-26)."'Crucificado' de 1777 do Mosteiro de São Bento é restaurado ".Estadão.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  18. ^Welter, Roseane (2022-08-12)."Basílica Abacial Nossa Senhora da Assunção: Há 100 anos, um itinerário de fé aos peregrinos na região central da cidade".O São Paulo.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  19. ^Romão, Ira (2023-07-02)."Colégio de São Bento completa 120 anos alicerçado nos valores beneditinos".O São Paulo.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  20. ^"História da Faculdade de São Bento".Faculdade São Bento.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  21. ^Ferreira, Alexandre Marcos."A criação da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciência e Letras da USP - um estudo sobre o início da formação de pesquisadores e professores de matemática e física em São Paulo"(PDF).SBHC.
  22. ^"Biblioteca do Mosteiro".Cultura Geral Saiba Mais.20 April 2009.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  23. ^Veiga, Edison (2017-09-11)."As boas novas da divina padaria do Mosteiro São Bento".Estadão.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  24. ^Veiga, Edison (2016-03-29)."Os livros censurados do Mosteiro de São Bento".Estadão.Retrieved2024-03-07.
  25. ^Araújo, André de (2008)."Dos livros e da leitura no Claustro: elementos de história monástica, de história cultural e de bibliográfia histórica para estudo da Biblioteca-Livraria do Mosteiro de São Bento de São Paulo (Sécs. XVI-XVIII)"(PDF).USP.
  26. ^"Padaria".Mosteiro de São Bento.Retrieved2024-03-07.
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