Marienbrink Sisters' House

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The Marienbrink Sisters ' House on the Klingenberg, also called the Great Sisters' House of St. Monika zu Coesfeld , was a house of the sisters who lived together . It later adopted the more stringent Augustine Rule . It existed from 1424 until it was repealed in 1810.

history

The facility was named Marienbrink after the hill it was on. The Great Sisters' House and the Convent of the Great Sisters to separate them from the Franciscan convent was also common. What was unusual was that the house was also called a hospital. In a letter from Clemens XI. it was designated as Monasterium S. Monicae sub regula S. Augustini Mariaebrink . Despite the naming of Monika, it was consecrated to Maria .

Since 1424 sisters lived in Coesfeld, to whom the priest Johann Vischer made a house available in 1427. As in other places, the real impetus came from Heinrich von Ahaus . The founder also laid down certain rules for the sisters to live together. These included the norms of living chaste and communion, obedience to Church officials, and making a living by work. The origin of the first three sisters is not known. The foundation was finally confirmed in 1431 by Pope Eugene IV . A separate confessor was approved in 1436. Most of the priests came from the Fraterhaus in Münster . A separate chapel was consecrated in 1454. There was also a cemetery. In 1461, the sister house was exempt from all city taxes. In the years that followed, the growth of the community forced the purchase of additional buildings. The community owned large agricultural estates. This included various yards and hooves in the area.

In 1479 the community adopted the Rule of Augustine . At the height of development, over 60 sisters lived in the facility. Most came from Coesfeld itself and the surrounding area. Most of them were of the bourgeoisie. There were numerous sisters of rural origin. There were also some sisters from the nobility and there are also daughters of clergymen. At the head was the mother elected by the convent. This was supported by other sisters with special offices.

The temporary penetration of the Reformation in the city of Coesfeld initially ended the upward trend. A first visit to the house in 1571 revealed no complaints. In the following decades the community faced economic difficulties. Internal discipline began to decline, particularly during the Thirty Years' War . In 1660 there was talk of a life in Scandalo . During the visitation in 1670 there was talk of disobedience to the clergy, personal property of the sisters, work on their own account, non-compliance with the cloister and other misconduct. The mother Christiana Rickers complained in 1672 of refusal to obey and rioting against the father of the house and the mother. But there were also reasons for the protest, since father and mother lost their offices. As a result, admission was suspended until order was restored to the community. At that time there were 28 professed sisters . Compliance with the cloister remained a problem for the church authorities.

In 1701 the monastery chapel was renovated. In 1719 an indulgence was promulgated, probably because of further construction work. In economic terms, despite the wars in the 17th and 18th centuries, conditions were more stable than in comparable houses. In the second half of the 18th century, the number of sisters rose again from a sharply lower initial value.

After Coesfeld came to Salm-Horstmar , the new administration put the house under administration. The repeal took place in the context of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss 1810. Nothing of the complex has survived.

literature

  • Wilhelm Kohl: The Diocese of Munster Vol. 1. Berlin. New York, 1999 ( Germania Sacra NF 37) p. 494
  • Wilhelm Kohl: The sister houses according to the Augustinian rule. Berlin, 1968 (Germania Sacra NF 3) pp. 84-129
  • Franz Darpe: property and income registers of the monasteries Marienborn and Marienbrink in Coesfeld, the monastery Varlar and the donors Asbeck and Nottuln. Münster, 1907 ( Codex Traditionum Westfalicarum , Vol. 6)