The Early Years

      adrien-marie-etienne gréa was born of well-to-do and influential parents on February 18, 1828 at Lons-le-Saunier in the Jura, about twenty miles from the French border with Switzerland. He was baptized nine days later in the parish church of Cordeliers. As a young man, he studied law at L’École des Chartes in Paris and was one of its most brilliant and outstanding students. It was during those early student days that he became a disciple and friend of Frederic Ozanam, the founder of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. No doubt this relationship had a profound influence on the rest of his life. Despite a very exacting social life, he always attended Mass and received Holy Communion daily, and remained faithful to his spiritual duties.

 

The “Little Brothers”

 

      There at Baudin he gathered around him a few young boys and established a junior clerical school with the chaplain teaching Latin and elementary education. Adrien gave them a Rule of Life, which was to be read three times a year and modeled his “Little Brothers” (as he affectionately called them) on those of St. Paul’s-outside-the-Walls in Rome. The Sacred Liturgy of the Church was given a place of honor in the daily program — Sung Mass and Vespers were celebrated each day, later sung Prime and Compline were added, and occasionally even Matins. Like real Religious, these “Little Brothers” had their own Chapter of faults — the public confession of faults against the Rule and Common Observance.

 

      Unfortunately, the first chaplain to the choir-school was not the right man for the job. “Never mind,” said the Bishop to Adrien, recognizing his worth, “I want your work to continue. I want you to be at the head of it. I want you in my diocese to carry it out.”

The Chapel of the Immaculate Conception at Baudin

 

Called to the Priesthood

 

      Owing to his extensive and deep research in the sphere of ecclesiastical history and to his activities at Baudin he felt himself drawn to the sacred ministry and priesthood. His father, however, being an unbeliever put many obstacles in his path; and so, because of this opposition he studied theology privately under the direction of a holy and devoted priest. On January 13, 1856 at the age of 28 he took the first steps towards the priesthood and received the tonsure and minor orders at St. Claude. He finally went to Rome where after a few months of supplementary study he took a doctorate in theology at the Sapientia University. Within ten months of receiving the minor orders he was raised to the sacred priesthood on September 20, 1856.

 

      Upon his return to France the newly ordained was appointed chaplain at Baudin and continued the exercises at the choir school. It is from that school, with its humble and almost insignificant beginnings, that one can see the dawn of the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception. The ideal of the restoration of the canonical life was glimpsed at early on, but it only took shape during these later years at Baudin.

Vicar General

of the Diocese of Saint Claude

 

     Msgr. Nogret, Bishop of St. Claude, held Father Gréa in high admiration and esteem and consequently offered him the office of Vicar General of his diocese. Dom Gréa tried to refuse saying he was too young, too inexperienced and having a great desire for the Religious life. “It is at St. Claude itself that you will accomplish your plans and establish the work for which you have been destined,” the Bishop advised him.

 

     In May 1863 he accepted the post and began the task demanded of him as Vicar General; he was then only 35 years old, but this did not deter or hinder him from accepting difficult assignments without flinching. He was once quoted as saying, “When it is the question of the good of souls, I change my parish priests like the books on the shelves of my library,” which shows with what paramount importance he held the good of souls.

 

      It was during this time that he realized, to a greater extent than before, how necessary it was for the clergy to live a common life and why many failures in the parochial ministry were due to the clergy not being united. How could the parish be a true Christian community when its pastors were not living any kind of community life whatsoever — even though they may perhaps have shared the same roof? He knew that the common life for the clergy had borne remarkable fruit in the past ages of the Church, to which Pope St. Pius X was later to testify, and was confident that the restoration of this mode of life would be an apt response to the needs of the time.

The Cathedral at Sainte-Claude

The First Vatican Council

 

      In 1869 Msgr. Nogret assisted at the First Vatican Council with Dom Gréa accompanying him as his theologian. He became one of the leading lights of the Council. In fact, Dom Gréa became one of the leading theologians of his day. He was a forthright defender of the Pope’s primacy and infallibility, but this did not prevent him from writing much on the episcopacy that he earned for himself, as Father Yves Congar, O.P., tells us, the title of “Theologian of the Local Church.” Almost prophetically he wrote to one of his spiritual sons, “The nineteenth century was the century of the Papacy and the Universal Church. It was first of all necessary that the pre-eminent position held by the Supreme Pontiff be brought to light. The twentieth century will be the century of the local Church. The time will come when the true mission of the episcopacy in union with the Head of the Church and in submission to his authority will be understood by both clergy and faithful alike” (De l’Eglise et sa divine Constitution). How many times was this idea expressed in the Second Vatican Council!

The Beginnings of the Congregation

 

       In 1865, Dom Gréa having only been Vicar General for a short time, the choir school was transferred to St. Claude under the shadow of its cathedral. In spite of the manifold duties of his office Dom Gréa continued to father little community with infinite patience and care.

 

      On November 21, 1865, with two companions who had joined him, he began putting into practice the full observance of the Canonical life as it had been practiced in the celebrated Canonical Institutes of the ages of faith: Matins celebrated at midnight, the traditional fasts and abstinences, etc. Together with the public prayer of the Church penance occupied a large place in the plan of the founder. This period was, so to speak, the novitiate of the first members of the Congregation. It was the period in which would be set the seeds of future fruit and on which the future life of the Congregation would very largely depend. Dom Gréa and his two disciples made their vows for one year in their own chapel on November 21, 1866 the feast of the Presentation. They progressed with great prudence gaining experience as they went along and always sought to know God’s will more clearly. The divine will seemed to manifest itself as new vocations slowly appeared. On September 8, 1871 the first five Canons Regular of the Institute made their perpetual vows in the oratory of St. Claude before the Bishop who at the same time gave ecclesiastical approbation to their Rule. In 1876 Bd. Pope Pius IX accorded to the new foundation the Decree of Praise, which had been asked for in the names of no less than thirty-five Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops.

 

     The community increased rapidly in numbers, the majority of the recruits coming from the ranks of the “Little Brothers,” whom Dom Gréa had himself formed so lovingly and painstakingly in the practice of the Religious life.

 

      “From the beginning the solemn celebration of the Sacred Liturgy was considered to be of prime importance. Along with the Holy Mass the Divine Office had precedence over everything else. Most of the Office was sung in Gregorian Chant, somewhat enhanced with a little four-part simple harmony. The singing was in a subdued voice, light, a good rhythm, fairly rapid, pleasant and soothing to the ear. The ceremonies of the Mass were performed with remarkable grace and naturalness that visitors were quick to notice. At least half a century in advance of his times, Dom Gréa brought his book The Holy Liturgy to life many years before he put it into print.” (Fr. Constant Robert, C.R.I.C. in Canonicorum Regularium Sodalitates, 1954).

 

      In 1877 he was proposed for a Bishopric at the age of 49. One Cardinal said, “He will be the most outstanding Bishop of France.” But in his deep humility he refused; in all, he declined to accept three different Sees. On the April 21, 1880 at the age of 52 he ceased to be Vicar General because the Bishop had vacated his diocese. He was then free to continue the task for which he had been destined.

The First Parish

 

      December 5, 1880 saw the birth of the first parish and priory: it was at Lescheres, about eight miles north of St. Claude, and was a parish of some three hundred souls. The full community of life was lived there by Dom Dunoyer and three companions. Unfortunately the priory had but a short life because the Religious Community was reported to the anti-clerical State authorities. This little tree, however, had borne remarkable fruit: the spiritual life of the Christian community had been raised to a new level; the children had sung Vespers in the church each day and numerous vocations had been produced. It served as the model for future priories, not only in France, but also in Canada and later in Peru.

De l’Église et sa Divine Constitution

 

      In 1885 he published a book of outstanding merit, which still remains a monument of glory to his name: De l’Église et sa divine Constitution. “The work of the Rev. Father Superior has been widely praised — but only by the great men … many have had difficulty in getting their teeth into it … because of the low theological level of France at the time,” wrote Dom Paul Benoit, Dom Gréa’s right-hand man. More recently Father Louis Boyer, a recognized scholar, wrote about it: “A truly exceptional book!…especially because of its scriptural, liturgical and patristic content…the holding of the Second Vatican Council, with its publishing of the decrees on the Church and Ecumenism, makes the thought of this precursor, who was a theologian at the First Vatican Council, more actual than ever before.” Father de Lubac, S.J., “A great book…an ardent defender of all the prerogatives of the Papacy, this does not in any way impede him to speak in many passages of the College of Bishops and of the Episcopal Collegiality … there is a long way to go before this book will be out of date.” It is only now, over one hundred years after it was written, that this book is being recognized as truly an exceptional and magnificent masterpiece.

Abbot of Saint Antoine

 

      In 1890, the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception (this title had been given by Bd. Pope Pius IX) left St. Claude, which had been their home for over twenty-five years and went to the ancient Abbey and Basilica of St. Antoine in the diocese of Grenoble. Six years later Dom Gréa was appointed Abbot of St. Antoine. There were three main reasons for his being raised to this dignity: 1) the growth of the Institute — it numbered 147 members and this after only thirty-one years of life! 2) the piety of the Religious, their love of study, zeal for sacred literature and their efforts to restore the ancient discipline of the Church; 3) the doctrine and virtues of the most eminent Superior General, his devotion to the Holy See, and to the person of Pope Leo XIII. The Abbatial Blessing was bestowed on December 8, 1896 in the presence of 150 clerics and a large crowd.

 

      On April 14, 1903 the community St. Antoine left France and went into exile at Andora, Italy (near Genoa), because of the religious persecutions. The life of prayer and penance began on Italian soil.

 

      It was on September 20, 1906 that the Founder celebrated the golden jubilee of his ordination to the priesthood, an occasion accompanied with celebrations, expressions of filial love from his sons and expressions of esteem and admiration from many eminent persons.

The Approval of the Constitutions

 

      In the Decree of Praise of 1876, mentioned above, the Roman Congregation for Religious had ordained that the Constitutions of the Institute should conform to those of the ancient Orders of Canons Regular, and should stress: 1) absolute poverty and common life; 2) full liturgical life; 3) the ancient abstinences, fasts and penances; 4) that the communities would form a kind of federation — large houses on which smaller ones would depend. The Congregation was not entirely like a new Order with a new Rule; everything had been drawn from ancient Canonical Statutes — “no one wanted to do better than the saints.” Indeed, Dom Gréa did not consider himself to be the founder of the Institute, but only its restorer modeling the Canons Regular of the Immaculate Conception (previously called the Canons Regular of the Strict Observance) on the Congregation of St. Victor and the Congregation of France, which became extinct as a result of the Revolution.

 

      The Decree of Approbation, which had been accorded by Pope Leo XIII in 1887 had said, “Let them carry out to the end that which they had set themselves,” but he also called for “a new and more complete drawing up of the Constitutions” (Msgr. Felix Vernet, La Vie de Dom Gréa, pg. 144). No changes were called for regarding penitential, liturgical or federal observances. Dom Gréa delayed on well-founded advice in preparing the new text of the Constitutions; the delay was unfortunate since it left him wide open to the charge of paying scant heed to the wishes of the Roman Congregation. Finally, on April 2, 1906 he presented the new draft of the Constitutions for inspection.

 

      A month earlier the Roman house had received a canonical visitation; a decision of Pope St. Pius X pertaining to all the Religious communities within the confines of the city. The visitation gave approval to certain mitigations of the Rule which had been introduced without Dom Gréa’s knowledge; soon the visitation was extended to all the houses of the Institute, but this was quite normal since the new Constitutions were about to be approved.

      In Canada, where there were thirteen foundations, the report of the visitation spoke of “the attachment of all to the person of the venerable founder” (Msgr. Felix Vernet, ibid, pg. 146-147). In Europe the Visitor said that he was of the opinion that Dom Gréa should remain as head of the Congregation, but with a council. Despite this, all things considered, it seemed that everything was going well and the new Constitutions would be approved without difficulty. This, however, was not to be the case.

 

      On January 26, 1907 Rome decreed “considering the advanced age of the Rt. Rev. Father Abbot Adrien Gréa, it would appear opportune that one of his principal disciples should gain the experience of governing the whole Institute. Therefore, Our Holy Father Pope Pius X ordains that Dom Augustine Delaroche be named Vicar General” (Msgr. Felix Vernet, ibid, pg. 147). On May 6 of the same year the Congregation for Religious announced that “the supreme and unique Superior to whom belongs the right and duty of governing the Institute is the Vicar General, Augustine Delaroche.” Only a primatial honor and consultative role remained for Dom Gréa. The Roman Congregation notified the Vicar General that he had the “responsibility of correcting the Constitutions and submitting them to a new examination by the Holy See.” The new text of the Constitutions was composed and communicated to Dom Gréa, who complained, but all to no avail.

The Great Trial of Dom Gréa

 

      These signs and their events, however, were not the signs of defeat, but rather of victory. Like many founders Dom Gréa was a victim, a sacrifice. It is appropriate that he should have been the first victim of the Congregation and its greatest. He was the grain of wheat; his immolation was necessary for the fecundity of his work. It was by his life as a victim, as a sacrifice, that the Congregation came to life. It is by this same victim, this same sacrifice, that the Congregation will live in the future. From sacrifice comes victory.

 

      On Sunday, October 11, 1908 the Cardinal Protector visited the Mother House at Rome to officially promulgate the new Constitutions, which had been approved “with a view to a more immediate orientation towards the pastoral ministry, combined with the integral profession of the traditional Religious vows, exercised in direct dependence upon the Bishops, and lived with a predominant concern for liturgical prayer, with and for the Christian people.” His Eminence spoke of the respect still owed to the venerable founder, but emphasized that Dom Delaroche was responsible for the government of the Institute. Four years later the Constitutions were finally approved and Dom Delaroche was appointed Superior General for a period of twelve years.

 

      It is true that the life that Dom Gréa had envisaged could not be said to be suitably adaptable to the requirements of the parish ministry, especially in the changing conditions of modern times. It was therefore necessary that certain modifications and changes — not ones to destroy, but to complete, Dom Gréa’s realizations — be made to fulfill better the vocation of caring for souls.

 

      “The aim of the Institute, however, remained unchanged — liturgy, parochial minsitry, … the observances, on the contrary, were extensively mitigated and in part suppressed. The Divine Office continued to be celebrated in choir, but the midnight office of Matins was suppressed. There still remained a few fast days and days of abstinence … In a word, the new Constitutions maintained the spirit of the founder, but completely adjusted his Rule to meet the exigencies of the parish ministry in modern times.” (Fr. Constant Robert, C.R.I.C., in Canonicorum Regularium Sodalitates, 1954.)

 

      Success came in a way different from how he had conceived it, but this has happened to many founders; but real success did come, in its fullest and truest sense. Triumph came through defeat. The letter of the old Constitutions had been changed, but the spirit — which is the more important — still remained. “The new Constitutions should be read in the spirit of Dom Gréa … they are intended to follow the eminent traditions of the Institute,” said the Secretary of the Sacred Congregation to Dom Cyprian Casimir, who had been appointed Vicar General upon Dom Delaroche’s being made Superior General.

 

      However, Dom Gréa, who by this time was turning eighty years of age, felt in his heart that he could not honestly accept the new Constitutions since he believed that they practically undid his life’s work; and so, although still officially belonging to the Congregation, he went into retirement with a Religious of his choice. The Holy Father gave him permission to retire in France and so he went to his nephew’s home at Rotalier in his native Jura. He returned to St. Antoine in 1916 to celebrate the diamond jubilee of his ordination.

A Man Dedicated to the Liturgy to the End

 

      By January 18, 1917 he was back at Rotalier and was stricken by a fatal illness no sooner than he had returned. He preached his last sermon on the feast of St. Agnes and on the feast of the Purification said his last Mass. From February 7, he received Holy Communion in his room, but always kneeling and immediately after midnight. He made his last Communion the day before he died.

 

      The nurse who began to take care of him on February 21, said, “He prayed almost continually. I didn’t understand all the prayers he said because he spoke in Latin, although I was forever hearing the ‘Sub Tuum.’ Sometimes, speaking in a very low voice, one had only to tell him that it was time for the Office and he would regain his faculties.” Up to February 19, he refused to say any of the hours of the Office in bed, but due to extreme weakness was forced to say the Vespers of that evening in bed, stopping at each verse. With extreme difficulty and excruciating pain the 89 year old Abbot managed to struggle as far as the fifth antiphon: Laetatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi, when he fell into a peaceful coma. He had spoken his last distinct liturgical words.

 

      Not only did Dom Gréa remain a man of liturgy right to the very end, but he also remained a man of penance. The testimony of his nurse bears witness to this: “I assure you that for any other sick person one would have been obliged to have recourse to doses of morphine; but with Dom Gréa there was never a question of it … I have never seen a more gentle patient, one so easy to take care of. He was always smiling, always happy. Never a complaint, always a ‘thank you’ on his lips for even the least service that one gave or offered him.”

 

      He died of old age and the gout at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, February 23, 1917 the feast of St. Peter Damien, one of the great restorers of the Canonical life in the eleventh century. The funeral took place on February 26, the Mass being sung by Msgr. Monnier and assisted by sixty priests. There were memorial services at Baudin and Paris. Later, he was buried at Rotalier in a simple tomb, bearing the inscription: 

 

Révérendissime Dom Adrien Gréa

Chanoine Régulier De L’Immaculée Conception

Abbe De Saint-Antoine

18 Février 1828 — 23 Février 1917

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

      Despite all his fame and all his wisdom, he was but a humble Canon Regular and this was how he wished to be buried. He has been called “a man of a single book — the book of the Canonical life.”

 

      But there is one fact that was not brought to light until a number of years after his death. In a letter to Dom Casimir, dated December 15, 1932 M. Emile Santona, a good friend of both Dom Gréa and the Congregation, wrote: “It is good that you should know that your illustrious Father [Dom Gréa] was to have been made a Cardinal in Curia by H.H. Pope St. Pius X. He let me into the secret on his return from Rheims (July, 1912), after seeing Cardinal Lucon, who had asked to see him for that very purpose. I could not take this secret with me to the grave.” He requested to be excused from accepting this dignity because of old age (he was 84), since he felt that he would not be able to serve the Church well.