In the context of Counter-Reformation, discuss the Priests and Religious Orders of the Precursor Catholic Reformation.
The regular orders made their first attempts at reform in the 14th century. The 'Benedictine Bull' of 1336 reformed the Benedictines and Cistercians. In 1523, the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona were recognized as a separate congregation of monks. 
In 1435, Francis of Paola founded the Poor Hermits of Saint Francis of Assisi, who became the Minim Friars. In 1526, Matteo de Bascio suggested reforming the Franciscan rule of life to its original purity, giving birth to the Capuchins, recognized by the pope in 1619. This order was well known to the laity and played an important role in public preaching. 
To respond to the new needs of evangelism, clergy formed into religious congregations, taking special vows but with no obligation to assist in a monastery's religious offices. These regular clergy taught, preached and took confession but were under a bishop's direct authority and not linked to a specific parish or area like a vicar or canon. In Italy, the first congregation of regular clergy was the Theatines founded in 1524 by Gaetano and Cardinal Gian Caraffa. This was followed by the Somaschi Fathers in 1528, the Barnabites in 1530, the Ursulines in 1535, the Jesuits, canonically recognised in 1540, the Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca in 1583, the Camillians in 1584, the Adorno Fathers in 1588, and finally the Piarists in 1621. 
At the end of the 1400s, a reform movement inspired by St Catherine of Genoa's hospital ministry started spreading: in Rome, starting 1514, the Oratory of Divine Love attracted an aristocratic membership of priests and laymen to perform anonymous acts of charity and to discuss reform; the members subsequently became the key players in the church handling the Reformation. 
In 1548, then-layman Philip Neri founded a Confraternity of the Most Holy Trinity of Pilgrims and Convalescents: this developed into the relatively-free religious community the Oratorians, who were given their constitutions in 1564 and recognized as a religious  order by the pope in 1575. They used music and singing to attract the faithful.
Gaetano Oratorians Italy Clerics Regular Jesuits Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona Jesuit Franciscan clergy Ursulines Benedictines Oratory of Divine Love Somaschi Fathers Theatines Camillians Cistercians religious congregation Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of Lucca Camaldolese priests regular clergy reform Adorno Fathers priest Clerics Regular of the Mother of God Rome Confraternity Catherine of Genoa Gian Caraffa Reformation Matteo de Bascio Philip Neri Barnabites Francis of Paola Capuchins Piarists Minim