Trinitarians

Trinitarians
Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives
Latin: Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis et Captivorum
AbbreviationOSsT
NicknameTrinitarians
Formation17 December 1198; 825 years ago (17 December 1198)
FoundersJohn of Matha and Felix of Valois
TypeMendicant order
PurposeTo ransom Christian captives
HeadquartersBasilica of San Crisogono Rome, Italy
Membership (2018)
610 (415 priests)[1]
Minister General
Luigi Buccarello, OSsT
Parent organization
Catholic Church
Websitetrinitari.org

The Trinitarians, formally known as the Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (Latin: Ordo Sanctissimae Trinitatis et Captivorum; abbreviated OSsT), is a mendicant order of the Catholic Church for men founded in Cerfroid, outside Paris, in the late 12th century. From the very outset, a special dedication to the mystery of the Holy Trinity has been a constitutive element of the order's life.

Papal documents refer to the founder only as Brother John, but tradition identifies him as John de Matha, whose feast day is celebrated on 17 December. The founding-intention for the order was the ransom of Christians held captive by Muslims, a consequence of crusading and of piracy along the Mediterranean coast of Europe.[2]

  1. ^ "Order of the Most Holy Trinity and of the Captives (O.SS.T.)". GCatholic.
  2. ^ "About the Trinitarians: Our Roots". www.trinitarians.org. Retrieved 2017-06-19.