View source for Monastery of the Holy Saviour

{{short description|Historic monastery in Lecceto, Tuscany, Italy}}
{{Refimprove|date=August 2023}}
[[File:SienaLeccetoEremoSanSalvatore2.jpg|thumb|350px|Monastery of the Holy Saviour]]

The '''Monastery of the Holy Saviour''' at Lecceto in [[Tuscany]], was the principal House of the order of [[Augustinians#The order of the Hermit Friars of Saint Augustine|the Hermit Friars of Saint Augustine]] (not to be confused with the Augustinian [[Canons Regular]]) in 1256, when [[Pope Alexander IV]] constituted the Augustinian order internationally.  It was dedicated to Jesus as Saviour.

==History==
[[File:SienaLeccetoEremoSanSalvatore5.jpg|thumb|Entrance]]
The earliest-known reference to any sort of hermitage at Lecceto is dated 1223. It is about a mile from S. Leonardo al Lago, which lies to the northwest.

The hermitage was first known as San Salvatore di Foltignano. Later it was called San Salvatore di Selva di Lago, a reference to the surrounding thick forest of holm oaks. A church was built in 1227. In 1228, Bishop Bonfilius of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Siena–Colle di Val d'Elsa–Montalcino|Siena]] gave the various groups of hermits in the area the [[Rule of Saint Augustine]]. In 1243 the Tuscan hermits petitioned [[Pope Innocent IV]] to unite them all as one group, which he did with the papal bull ''Incumbit Nobis''.<ref name=augnet>[http://www.augnet.org/en/history/places/4231-italy-lecceto/ "4231 Italy – Lecceto", Augnet]</ref>

On 4 May 1256 [[Pope Alexander IV]] issued a [[papal bull]] "Licet ecclesiae catholicae"  uniting five monastic congregations into the Tuscan community of Lecceto. The other four were the houses of St. William, of Brother John Bono, of [[Favale]] and of [[Brettine]]. From this act of union, the modern Order expanded rapidly, and it is from this act of union that Tuscany is regarded as the homeland of the modern Augustinian Friars, and Lecceto is its principal monastic house.<ref name=augnet/>

Probably the most famous member of the Lecceto community was [[William Flete]], an English friar. In 1359, when Flete was about to attain his Master of theology degree at [[Cambridge University]], he had a change of heart and chose to leave England and go to Lecceto to intensify his experience of [[contemplation]]. A little beyond the monastery are caves to which some of the friars would retreat for solitude. One such was William Flete, a friar from England. He would spend his days in study and contemplation in one of these caves, and return to the monastery at night to sleep.<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06102a.htm Steele, Francesca. "William Flete." The Catholic Encyclopedia] Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 23 August 2023 {{PD-notice}}</ref> He was regarded by his contemporaries as a master of the spiritual life. A number of friars opted to withdraw themselves from the monastery to small hermitages or caves in the surrounding forest.<ref name=augnet/>

In 1385 Lecceto was designated as the first Augustinian house of strict observance.  Lecceto became a centre of reform for the Augustinians, and developed methods of encouraging a more faithful practise of the [[Augustinians#The Augustinian Rule|Augustinian Rule]], and the Constitutions of the Order. From Lecceto, other like-minded groups developed over the centuries.<ref name=rano>[https://books.google.com/books?id=TikbAAAACAAJ&q=Monastery+of+the+Holy+Saviour,+Tuscany Rano O.S.A., Balbino. ''Augustinian Origins, Charism and Spirituality'', Augustinian Press, Villanova, Pennsylvania, 1994] {{ISBN|9780941491761}}</ref> 

[[Pope Pius II]] visited Lecceto in 1459  on his way to the Diet at Mantua. [[Giles of Viterbo]] spent four years at Lecceto, before responsibilities as vicar-general of the order drew him away.<ref name=rano/>

Between 1317 and 1345 the church was enlarged and a cloister built. The tower was begun in 1405. A new refectory and dormitory was built in 1484. In 1554 during war between Florence  and Siena near Lecceto, troops of Florence sacked the hermitage. In the seventeenth century, the monastery owned eleven farms, but the land was poor; it also owned some property in the city of Siena.<ref name=rano/>

During the turmoil of the Napoleonic era, the monastery was suppressed and the sixteen Augustinians resident were forced out. The building was abandoned.

==Present day==
By 1968 of the modern era, the monastery had declined, and the roof had fallen in. In that year, the Dominican bishop of Siena decided that he wanted to revitalise Lecceto Augustinian spirituality at Siena. He began a project to restore it, and to invite the Augustinian contemplatives to transfer their community there. [[Augustinian nuns]] arrived back in 1972.

The re-established community of Augustinians there have revived the Augustinian tradition of contemplation. The monastery welcomes overnight guests, who are also welcome to join the nuns at the [[Liturgy of the Hours|Divine Office]].

==Notes==
<references />

==Sources and external links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110926210016/http://www.osanet.org/ Order of St Augustine, International Homepage]
*[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07281a.htm Catholic Encyclopaedia –  Hermits of St. Augustine]
*[http://www.opatbrno.cz/ Augustinian Abbey of St. Thomas at Brno]
*[http://www.midwestaugustinians.org/saints/s_anthonypatrizi.html Bl. Anthony Patrizzi and the Blessed of Lecceto (Augustinians of the Midwest)]
{{commonscat|Eremo di San Salvatore di Lecceto}}

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[[Category:Augustinian monasteries in Italy]]
[[Category:Augustinian nunneries]]