BOL'LANDISTS. An association or slimes sion of Jesuits by whom the .4 eta Sanclorum (q.v.) are collected and published. They derive their name from their head, Jean Bolland. who was born at Tirlemont. Belgium. August 13, 1596, joined the Jesuits in 1612, and was called to Antwerp in 1630 to edit and publish the ma terials for the lives of the saint' which had been collected by the Jesuit Beribert Rosweyd, who hail died the year before. Bolland chose as his collaborators Godfried Henschen and Daniel van Papenbroeek. The days of the saints, usually their days of death. were arranged chronologi cally. and so the lives follow this order, and sev eral volumes are given to one month. The first volume appeared in 1643. Bolland died in Ant werp. September 12. 1665. The work was car ried on by those associated with the original company. Some of them arc: C'. Jangling (died 1723), P. Bosch (died 1736). Suysken (died 1771). 1. Hubens (died 1782). A. Berthod (died 1788). and J. (died 1802). In 1773 the Jesuit order was suspended. and in 1775 the convent in which the Bollandists had lived was turned into a military school. It seemed as if their task must he abandoned: but in 177fi the Empress Maria Theresa came to their assistance. and secured for them the Caudenberg tery, in Brussels, and also for each Bollandist a modest pension. Her successor, the Emperor
Joseph 1I., ordered that they should produce a volume and as it was impossible for them to do so. expressed such great dissatisfac tion that in 1788 lie forbade them to bring out another volume. In 1789 their library and all their materials were sold to the Premon stratensian Abbey of Tengerloo. not far from Antwerp, for 25,000 francs, and there the work was continued for a -time. But in 1796, the French having invaded the country. the abbey was dissolved. The materials were not scattered, however. in 1825 they were removed to Brus sels. In 1836 it was reported in Brussels tlmt the work was to he continued in Paris. This so stirred the interest of the Belgians that the Go• ernment passed a yearly subsidy of 6000 francs to insure the continuance of the work on Belgian soil; a new company of Bollandists was formed. and ever since the volumes have been coining out.
In 1882 a supplement to the volumes already published. and preparatory studies for those not yet in press.. li•gan to appear under the title Anaiecta Bollandiana. principal collabora tors on this series are de Smedt, van llooff, and de Backer.