Prosper Guéranger
Prosper Louis Pascal Guéranger (; 4 April 1805, in
Sablé-sur-Sarthe, France – 30 January 1875, in
Solesmes, France) was a French priest and
Benedictine monk, who served for nearly 40 years as the
abbot of
the monastery of Solesmes (which he founded among the ruins of a former priory at Solesmes). Through the new
Abbey of Solesmes, he became the founder of the French Benedictine Congregation (now the
Solesmes Congregation), which re-established
Benedictine monastic life in France after it had been wiped out by the
French Revolution. Guéranger was the author of ''
The Liturgical Year'', a popular commentary which covers every day of the
Catholic Church's
liturgical cycles in 15 volumes. He was well regarded by
Pope Pius IX, and was a proponent of the
dogmas of the
Immaculate Conception and of
papal infallibility.
Guéranger is credited with reviving the
Benedictine Order in France, and with promoting the adoption of the liturgical books of the
Roman Rite throughout France, an important element in the
Liturgical Movement, which led to further development of aspects of the Mass of the Roman Rite beyond the form practised in his day. The cause for his
canonization is currently being studied by the
Holy See, which has accorded him the title of
Servant of God.
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