Lacordaire's understanding of "restoration" in relation to his refounding of the Dominican Order in the 19th century France.

Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (1802--61) was one of the most important figures in the restoration of Catholicism in France after the Revolution. His most enduring contribution to French Catholicism was his re-establishment of the Dominican Order. In this dissertation, I attempt to demonstrate that among those who founded and refounded religious communities in France during the nineteenth century, Lacordaire's understanding of religious life was unique; this uniqueness was particularly evident in his understanding of "restoration" of religious life. Lacordaire, like almost all nineteenth century French Catholics, had been deeply influenced by the Romantic Movement. Like the secular and unlike the Catholic Romantics of nineteenth century France, Lacordaire loved liberty and the world that had emerged from the French Revolution. His Romantic perspective had a profound impact on his understanding of what it would mean to "restore" a religious order. In the first chapter of this dissertation, I discuss briefly the situation in which the Catholic Church in France found itself in the early nineteenth century aftermath of the Revolution which had sought to destroy it. The second chapter is devoted to the presentation of the importance of the restoration of religious life in France to the overall restoration of the church in that country. I emphasize the complicated situation that existed for religious communities in the early nineteenth century. In the third chapter, I discuss Lacordaire's pre-Dominican life. The fourth chapter is especially concerned with Lacordaire's restoration of the Dominican Order. The fifth chapter deals with the difficulties between Lacordaire and his most famous recruit, Alexandre Jandel, who was appointed by Pope Pius IX as head of the Dominican Order in 1850. The sixth chapter is devoted to evaluating Lacordaire's understanding of "restoration" of religious life. It emphasizes the affinity between his Romantic perspective and that of the secular Romantics of his day. I conclude by proposing Lacordaire's understanding of "restoration" as a model and guide for our time as the church and religious communities continue to grapple with questions of renewal and relevance. (Abstract shortened by UMI.