Joan Bartlett

Joan Bartlett OBE DSG (born August 1, 1911 in Lancashire ; † September 9, 2002 ) was a prominent and highly decorated Catholic in Great Britain . She was the founder of the Servitan Secular Institute .

Life

Joan Bartlett converted to the Roman Catholic Church in 1941 and joined the Third Order of the Servites . During the Second World War she was employed in the British radio station British Broadcasting Corporation in the European department. In her spare time she worked for the British Red Cross . Shortly before taking her first religious vows , she resigned from her decision to join the Servite order. She donated a large amount of money to the Servite Order and supported the Servites' appeals for donations. With the amount collected, the religious order was able to purchase a property in 1946 . Here help was offered to the homeless, the elderly, the sick and other people in need. Sisters of the Servite Order also worked in this house .

Founding of the order

Coat of arms of the Servite Order

While searching for her personal vocation, Joan Bartlett met the religious priest Gerard Corr OSM , whom she had already helped several times in the church. Father Corr advised her to serve in the midst of the world. In 1947 the Holy See approved the establishment of the Secular Institute of the Servites. This was a new form of consecrated life , in which individuals could live an independent consecrated life in general society. In the same year Bartlett began to work out an order rule for the first time . The community spread first in England , followed in 1960 by Germany and Italy . In 1964 the institute was recognized by the Archbishop of Westminster John Carmel Cardinal Heenan and incorporated into the religious order of the Servites. In 1998 she became President of the Secular Institute.

Ribbon buckle of the Order of the British Empire civil award

Ribbon buckle of the Order of Gregory

Honors

In 1968 Joan Bartlett became a "Member of the Order of the British Empire " (MBE), in 1977 she was awarded the Queen's Medal . In 1984 she was promoted to "Officer of the Order of the British Empire" (OBE). In 1987 the Servitic Pontifical Theological Faculty "Marianum" awarded her an honorary doctorate . In recognition of her services, Pope John Paul II (1978-2005) awarded her in 1995 the women's class of the Order of St. Gregory the Great .

Web links

• The Telegraph October 2, 2002, obituary for Joan Bartlett accessed March 12, 2013
• The Servite Seculare Institut, History of the Institute (English)