From its historical background as descendants of the monastic religious tradition of St. Augustine, and the growth of the Mendicant Orders in the thirteenth century, the Order receives essential elements which constitute its charism: its fundamental principles emanating from the monastic ideals of the Bishop of Hippo, its eremitical roots, its special bonds arising from the intervention of the Holy See, and its condition as a Mendicant Order. These elements all fused together in such a way as to bring about the very essence of our apostolic brotherhood.