In 'A Canticle for Leibowitz', what is the name of the religious order that preserves knowledge?

In “A Canticle for Leibowitz,” the religious order that preserves knowledge is the Albertian Order.

Walter M. Miller Jr.’s 1959 post-apocalyptic novel follows the monks of the Albertian Order of Leibowitz, founded by Isaac Edward Leibowitz after a nuclear war. During the ensuing “Age of Simplification,” books and scientific records are destroyed, while the order hides, copies, memorizes, and safeguards surviving fragments of knowledge.

The story unfolds across thousands of years and three major sections, showing civilization gradually rebuilding and rediscovering science. The monks often preserve documents whose meaning they no longer understand, making the abbey both a library and a symbol of humanity’s fragile cultural memory.

A common mix-up is confusing the Albertian Order with real Catholic orders such as the Jesuits, Franciscans, or Benedictines. Miller’s fictional order draws on monastic traditions, but it is specifically devoted to preserving the remnants of pre-apocalyptic scientific knowledge.