is indicative of their clerical origins. This has evolved in various ways among different congregations, from wearing the full rochet to the wearing of a white tunic and scapular. Confederation On 4 May 1959 Pope John XXIII founded the Confederation of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine with his apostolic letter "Caritatis Unitas" on the 900th anniversary of the First Lateran Synod. The Confederation is a "union of charity" which binds nine congregations of canons regular together for mutual aid and support. The initial four congregations were: The Canons Regular of the Lateran, officially styled "Congregatio SS. Salvatoris Lateranensis", takes its origin from the Roman Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the pope's own cathedral. Pope Sylvester I established in the basilica clergy living in common after the manner of the Primitive Church. In the year 492, Gelasius, a disciple of St. Augustine, introduced in the patriarchal basilica the regular discipline which he had learnt at Hippo. At the request of St. Peter Damian, Alexander II, called some canons from St. Frigidian at Lucca a house of strict observance, to the Lateran. The reform spread, till at length the houses that had embrace it were formed into one large congregation. The canons regular served the Lateran Basilica until secular canons were introduced. There are houses belonging to the Lateran Congregation in Italy, Poland, France, Belgium, England, Spain and America. Their work is essentially the recitation of the Divine Office in church, the administration of the Sacraments and preaching. In Italy they have charge of parishes in Rome, Bologna, Genoa, Fano, Gubbio and elsewhere. In England they were a major force in the re-establishment of the Catholic Church there during the late 19th century, staffing many of the new parishes being established, until the number of secular clergy native to the country could be developed. The Congregation of St. Nicholas and St. Bernard of Mont Joux (Great St. Bernard, Switzerland) is representative of the hospitaller movement by which canons responded to the call to care for travelers and pilgrims. They were founded by St. Bernard of Menthon, the archdeacon of Aosta, about the year 1050, under the patronage of St. Nicholas of Myra, patron saint of travelers. Communities of canons served the poor and the sick throughout Europe, through both nursing and education. They include the canons of the Great St. Bernard Hospice at Great St. Bernard Pass in the Alps on