(Latin: dis, without; calceus, shoe)
A term applied to religious congregations of men and women who go unshod or wear sandals, as a form of austerity. The custom of going barefoot was introduced into the West by Saint Francis of Assisi for men, and Saint Clare for women. The Observantines, Minims, Capuchins, and Alcantarines followed the primitive custom, but most of the orders have returned to the use of sandals and even shoes. Both men and women of the Carmelite reform are discalced.
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