LAZ'ARISTS, or CONGREGATION OF •IIE lltsstox. An Order of missionary priests in the Roman Catholic Church, founded by Saint Vin cent de Paul. Being for a time in the country, he found great need for religious instruction to exist among the peasants, and gathered several priests around him to forward this work. As it grew, Adrien Le Bon, Prior of Saint Lazaire, offered his priory for their use; they took pos session of the house in 1632, and gut the name of Lazarists from it. The institution was offi chilly approved by the founder's patron, Fran cois de Gondi. Archbishop of Paris, in 1626, and in 1632 by Pope Urban VIII. As their primary object was to instruct and edify the peasants, it was stipulated in the original deed of endowment that they should "neither preach nor administer any sacrament in towns which are the seat of bishops, archbishops, or courts of justice, except in cases of extreme necessity." Besides their special work. they sought to reform the clergy by means of conferences and the estab lishment of seminaries. Saint Vincent prudently gave his rule no final shape until after many years of experience, in 1658. In his own lifetime mis sionaries had been sent to Italy in 163S, Tunis in 1643, Algiers, Ireland, and the Hebrides in 1646, and Madagascar in 1648; and before his death in 1660 the congregation numbered 622 members. The first house in Spain was founded by a colony from Rome in 1704; the Spanish Lazarists kept persistently at their work, in spite of difficulties with liberal and revolutionary gov ernments, and now possess sixteen houses. The
French congregation also suffered severely from the Revolution, but was restored in 1804, receiv ing 15,000 francs from the public exchequer and a hospital in Paris. Napoleon, however, abol ished them once more in 1809 and confiscated their property, which was restored by Louis XVIII. in 1816; they subsequently possessed fifty-six houses in France. They were invited to Germany in 1781 by the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore, who intrusted to them sonic institutions which had been eonducted by the -Jesuits before their suppression. They began work in Prussia in 1850, and had already eight houses when they were driven out by the Kultnrkampf of 1873. They maintained a mission in _Madagascar from 1648 to 1825. In China they have had a long and notable career frotn 1697 to the present day, and several of them have filled the office of vicar apostolic. The first Lazarist to work in North America came there in 1815 under the leadership of Dubourg, the future Bishop of New Orleans; the Order in the United States is now divided into two provinces, with over a dozen houses. See VINCENT DE PAUL. SAINT: and con sult the works mentioned there, and Reeuril des prineipales eireulaires des superieurs generaux de In Congregation de la Mission (3 vols., Paris, 1877) ; Memoires dr la Congregation de in Mis sion (9 vols., ib.. IS(33) ; :I unites Jr la Congre gation (le la Mission (55 vols., ib., 1834-89).