Zwartsters Oostende

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The Roman Catholic sister community of the Zwartste family in Ostend belonged to the Cellite family , who were mainly involved in nursing.

history

Already at the beginning of the 15th century, the gray wisters, who lived according to the rule of St. Francis , were active in the city to care for the sick. After the sisters had consecrated their new monastery and an accompanying chapel to St. Laurence and St. Augustine on August 10, 1537 , they received a subsidy for their services from the city council from 1570 onwards .

In the years 1570 and 1577 the community was checked for its orthodoxy, which probably existed since we are not aware of any complaints. When the city was taken by the Geusen in 1570 , the sisters, like many of the citizens, fled the city. Since there were no more sisters, the monastery buildings were sold in 1580. We hear from the community, however, that in 1583 they found accommodation in the "Convente van S. Katheryne gheseyt de Maechdaleene" (also a monastery of Grauwsteers) in Sluis , which was under Spanish rule. When this city fell into the hands of the Geuzen in 1604, they moved to Bruges .

When the rule of the Geusen in Ostend came to an end, the sister asked the city magistrate to return, who gave them permission to do so in a letter dated May 21, 1609. With four sisters they returned to Ostend, where they wanted to take up the care of the sick and the instruction of children again. With the help of the city, they began to build a new monastery, which, according to a letter dated September 4, 1613 under the Bishop of Bruges, should live according to the rule of St. Augustine. Generally referred to as the Grauwstern, their chapel was consecrated to St. Laurentius and St. Augustine in July 1618. But that did not end their construction work. In 1623 they built a small hospital in which a few nurses were always on duty. After a new chapel was inaugurated on July 3, 1642, the bishop granted permission on July 1, 1663 to establish a brotherhood in honor of St. Lawrence at the chapel mentioned.

On May 24, 1642, the convent asked its bishop to accept the statutes of the Zwartsters of Bruges, which were handed over to him in the same year with a few revisions .

A few years later, namely from May to June 1652, the community accepted more than 60 English Poor Clares who had to flee from their monasteries. A new wing was added in 1692, and in July 1706 the monastery caught fire ten times as the city was besieged and bombed by the Austrians. The only thing left for the sisters to do to restore their monastery was begging. For this they moved to Ghent , Antwerp , Mechelen , Brussels and Leuven .

On June 18, 1709, the foundation stone for the new chapel was laid. But as soon as the monastery and chapel had been restored in 1712, the parish church caught fire and the chapel had to be made available for parish services.

When a hospital had been built in 1777 and no staff could be found, the city magistrate tried in 1781 to force the convent to send at least two or three sisters there. However, this was an impossibility for the community as it did not have enough members to support two houses.

On 7 February 1793 the monastery was the soldiers of the French Revolution in a war hospital converted and the Convention against an ultimatum asked. If the sisters agreed to take care of the soldiers, they could stay. Otherwise, however, they would have to leave the house. But they were expelled the next day, but were able to move into it again after the soldiers left it on March 30, 1793.

When the French returned, they had to vacate their monastery again on June 16, 1794, so they went to Middelburg . Since the French had already conquered Zeeland , they had to return to Ostend. Three sisters stayed in Middelburg, but two returned to Ostend, where they were given the opportunity to buy back their former monastery building for 15,000 guilders .

After Ostend had been bombed, the "Venerable Mother" and five sisters fled to Zeeland again and did not return until November of that year, when they were informed in January 1795 that they had to decide within 20 days to join the service of the French Republic kicking or leaving their home. Now they also had to give up their religious clothes, and on January 25, 1798 the abolition of their monastery followed.

On February 5, 1798, the 15-member convention was driven from its home. Without money, houses or furniture, the sisters were taken in by some of the town's citizens out of pity. The last superior of the monastery died on September 18, 1829.

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