The exact period in which this devotion arose is difficult to pinpoint. In some sense this devotion to the sorrows of Mary is as old as the Church Herself, for its origins lie with Mary herself, whose heart was pierced by a sword (Lk 2:36) as she stood at the foot of the Cross (Jn 19:25-27). Indeed down through the ages various authors note in passing about the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but there is little to go on in tracing the devotion. That changes in the second millennium and by the 13th century it is very clear that there was a general devotion to the Sorrows of Mary as evidenced by such hymns as the Stabat Mater Dolorosa. While the Franciscans and Dominicans contributed to the spread of this devotion, it was the Servites who are chiefly responsible for its propagation. In 1233 seven wealthy gentlemen of Florence renounced their wealth for the service of God, and started the Order of the Servants of Mary, otherwise known as the Servites. Several years later, in 1240, these seven founders of the Servite Order took up the Sorrows of Mary as the principal devotion of their order. Since then the Servite Order has spread the devotion to the Sorrows of Mary throughout the world. In 1423, a synod at Cologne introduced a Mass text and prescribed a feast in honor of the Seven Sorrows to be annually held in western Germany. In 1727, Pope Benedict XIII (d 1730) extended this feast to the whole Church and it is still celebrated today on September 15. The Little Office below is from the writings of the Servite Order.