CANON REGULARS OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. - This order is a restoration of the ancient Canons Regular, undertaken by d. Adriano Grea in 1866 at St-Claude in order to restore to canonical life many of the more rigorous practices of monastic life. After the Revolution, while d. Guéranger was re-establishing the Benedictine Order in France and Lacordaire that of the Preachers, d. Adriano Grea, then vicar general of St-Claude, conceived the plan of restoring the Order of C. r. assigned to the service of cathedrals and parishes. Having come to Rome for the Vatican Council in 1869 with his bishop, he presented his project to Pio IX, who encouraged and blessed him, giving the new institution the title of the Immaculate Conception. From that time onward the C. r. performed choral service in the Cathedral together with the Chapter. They were assisted by twelve young pupils, who gave rise to the Cathedral school.
Approved by Leone XIII in 1887, the new institute soon spread through France, Switzerland, Canada, and Peru; and in 1913 Pio X specified its twofold purpose: parish care and the education of the clergy. The C. r. take perpetual simple vows and devote special care to the liturgy, reciting the divine Office in choir and giving the ceremonies the utmost splendour. In the parishes and seminaries entrusted to them, they live in community.