St. Bernard of Esquermes

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The Saint Bernard Sisters of Esquermes are a small branch of the Cistercian order . They follow the Benedictine Rule and are mainly involved in school education. Today there are eight monasteries in six countries, which are linked by a central council.

History of the Order

The origins of the Saint Bernard can be found in the founding of the Cistercian order and its early days in Cîteaux. With the increasing spread of the order, which is due in particular to Bernhard von Clairvaux, more and more new branches of the order emerged. At the time of Bernhard's death in 1153 there were already 353 Cistercian monasteries. Women also wanted to follow the Cistercian ideal and numerous monasteries were founded - including in French Flanders .

The French Revolution and the Saint Bernard Sisters

Three of the Cistercian nunneries in Flanders were the Abbeys of Notre Dame de la Brayelle in Annay (1196), Notre Dame de la Woestine in St. Omer (1217) and Notre Dame Des Prés in Douai (1221). The nuns of this and other Cistercian women's convents in Flanders were known as Saint Bernard sisters.

In the course of the French Revolution , the three abbeys were abolished in 1792 - but for three sisters this should not be the end of their Cistercian way of life: Hippolyte Lecouvreur (1747-1828) from Les Près, her biological sister Hombeline Lecouvreur (1750-1829) from Annay and Hyacinthe Dewismes (1760–1828) from La Woestine. The three sisters came together in 1799 with the aim of continuing their Cistercian life and settled in Esquermes, a suburb of Lille . In order to have a livelihood and to prove their usefulness to the anti-religious regime, they founded a school. For two of the sisters who came from homes involved in the education of young girls, this continued their previous work.

In 1806 the construction work finally began on a new monastery for the sisters, 30 years later it had its official statutes and internal regulations, which were based heavily on Cistercian customs. The inauguration of the new Notre Dame de la Plaine monastery took place on May 28, 1827 - by that time it had already become a home for several other nuns.

The first hundred years

The Saint Bernard Sisters of Esquermes soon enjoyed a large number of visitors and the monastery grew, so that in 1846, at the invitation of the Archbishop of Cambrai, a new monastery and school was founded in Cambrai. Both monasteries and their schools flourished and their influence in the area grew. As anti-clericalism still existed in France , there were premonitions of renewed problems in the future for the sisters. A new monastery was therefore founded in France (Bonsecours, 1904) as well as houses outside France - in Belgium (Ollignies, 1883) and England (Slough, 1897) - which gave the sisters a place of refuge. The premonitions were confirmed as early as 1904: due to anti-clerical laws , the sisters were expelled from Esquermes and found refuge in their other settlements. Ollignies in Belgium became their new mother monastery.

The Saint Bernard Sisters of Esquermes had never originally planned to found an order, but the large growth and the establishment of new branches made a new structure and a constitution necessary, which was confirmed by Rome in 1909.

Later developments

The new canonical church law of 1917 enabled the sisters to resume their Cistercian identity, which had initially been lost under the influence of a chaplain, so that in 1937 new constitutions were confirmed which recognized the Saint Bernard Sisters as Cistercian Sisters. Since 1955, they have been able to make their solemn profession as Cistercians by confirmation , and there are close ties to both the Cistercians and the Trappists .

Spirituality and Religious Life

According to the Benedictine Rule and the Cistercian ideal, the Saint Bernard sisters live together in search of God. You live in simplicity, silence and solitude; their day is determined by the Liturgy of the Hours . The Virgin Mary is of the greatest importance to the St. Bernard Sisters - all religious houses are consecrated to her.

In addition to school education, lived hospitality is an important motive of the order: two monasteries run schools and all have guest houses where guests can live and participate in the lives of the sisters. There is also cattle breeding, monastery shops and kitchen gardens are operated.

management

Through the history of the origins of the order, a central management developed with its seat in the mother monastery of Notre Dame de La Plaine. The Prioress General is responsible for all higher-level decisions and administration, and is supported by a general council of four other sisters. The prioress is responsible for the organization of the individual monasteries . A general chapter takes place every six years.

Current branches

literature

  • Joseph-Marie Canivez : L'ordre de Cîteaux en Belgique, des origines au XXe siècle (1926) pp. 61, 506, 518, 519.
  • Canon Auguste Leman: Histoire de la Fondation du Monastère Notre Dame de La Plaine (1927).
  • André Louf : The Cistercian Alternative (1983).
  • Gordon Beattie: Gregory's Angels (1997).

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