Named the fifth mendicant order by Pope Martin V, it was founded in 1233 by
They were beatified on December 1, 1717 and canonized on 1887 as The Seven Holy Founders. On the Feast of the Assumption in 1240 the Founders received a vision of Our Lady. She held in her hand the black habit, and a nearby angel bore a scroll reading Servants of Mary Mary told them,
You will found a new order, and you will be my witnesses throughout the world. This is your name: Servants of Mary. This is your rule: that of Saint Augustine. And here is your distinctive sign: the black scapular, in memory of my sufferings.