The Canonesses of St. Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus (Augustinian Hospitallers) are a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
religious order of
canonesses who follow a semi-
contemplative life and are also engaged in the ministry of caring for the sick and needy, from which they were also known as the "Hospital Sisters".
History
The canonesses' origins were in the 13th century, when a group of women in France joined together to assist the
Augustinian Hermit friars who cared for the poor and the sick at the
Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...
of the fishing port of
Dieppe. Known originally as the "Hermit Sisters of St. Augustine", they formed a lay
confraternity following the
Rule of St. Augustine
The Rule of Saint Augustine, written about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church.
The rule, developed b ...
, wore a black habit, lived on goods held in common and on
alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of virtue or Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving, and it is a widespread p ...
, and under a set of constitutions drawn up for their use.
[Jacques, Mother Mary. "Hospital Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus." The Catholic Encyclopedia]
Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 26 May 2020 They cared for victims of scurvy, plague, leprosy and fever prevalent in the overcrowded town. Apart from the services they rendered to the Hôtel-Dieu, they were also employed in assisting the sick poor in all quarters of the city. They would visit and care for the destitute living in their hovels, or even lodging in caves hollowed into the cliffs of the region.
In 1625 they were formed into a
religious congregation
A religious congregation is a type of religious institute in the Catholic Church. They are legally distinguished from religious orders – the other major type of religious institute – in that members take simple vows, whereas members of religio ...
under the spiritual authority of the friars. They took on strict papal enclosure and changed to the white habits of the Canonesses of St Augustine. Monasteries were founded in Normandy, Maine, and Brittany.
The constitution of the new congregation established two classes of religious:
lay sisters
Lay brother is a largely extinct term referring to religious brothers, particularly in the Catholic Church, who focused upon manual service and secular matters, and were distinguished from choir monks or friars in that they did not pray in choir, ...
and canonesses. The former were employed at the manual tasks of the community, in order to relieve the canonesses. They were not obliged to recite the
Divine Office, nor did they nurse the sick.
[ The canonesses begin the day by singing Morning Office and Mass, and meet again at midday and in the evening for prayer and a meal, completing the day with Compline and recreation.
The ]General Chapter
A chapter ( la, capitulum or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings.
Name
The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the read ...
was composed of all who are ten years professed
A vow ( Lat. ''votum'', vow, promise; see vote) is a promise or oath.
A vow is used as a promise, a promise solemn rather than casual.
Marriage vows
Marriage vows are binding promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a weddin ...
. They elected a Superior General
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...
triennially, but her charge could not be prolonged beyond six years. They also elected the Assistant Superior General, the Mistress of novices, the treasurer, and four other advisers, thus forming a council of eight principal officers.[
]
New France
In 1639, the canonesses opened their first hospital outside of Europe in New France
New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...
, with the establishment of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec
The Hotel-Dieu de Québec is a teaching hospital located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, and affiliated with Université Laval's medical school. It is part of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec (CHUQ), a network of five teaching hosp ...
, which was the first hospital in North America north of Mexico. The sisters administered the hospital until 1962. A new hospital for the poor was built in 1693 by Jean-Baptiste de Saint-Vallier, the second Bishop of Quebec, known as the Hôpital-Général de Québec. Initially four canonesses were sent to help in running the hospital. The bishop formally entrusted it to the canonesses of the Hôtel-Dieu in 1698, and the Sisters who served there became an independent monastery in 1701. Catherine of St. Augustine
Mary Catherine of St. Augustine, OSA, (french: Marie-Catherine de Saint-Augustin) (3 May 1632 – 8 May 1668) was a French canoness regular who was instrumental in the development of the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec in service to the colony of N ...
, O.S.A., who was among the first volunteers to go to Quebec, was beatified by Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in 1989.
By the 19th century they had communities in France at Dieppe, Rennes, Eu, Vitré, Château-Goutier-St-Julien, Château-Goutier-St-Joseph, Malestroit, Auray, Tréguier, Lannion, Guingamp, Morlaix, Pont-l'Abbé, Gouarec, Fougères, Harcourt, and Bayeux; and in Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, in addition to the foundations in the city of Quebec, there were communities in Lévis and Chicoutimi. They became established as well in South Africa, where communities were founded at Natal, Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
, Ladysmith, and Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...
. Sisters from the Monastery of Pont L’Abbé in the Diocese of Quimper
The Diocese of Quimper (–Cornouaille) and Léon (Latin: ''Dioecesis Corisopitensis (–Cornubiensis) et Leonensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Quimper (–Cornouaille) et Léon'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Cathol ...
established a foundation at Estcourt.
Communities also were established in the Netherlands
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, image_map =
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
at Maasbracht
Maasbracht (; li, Brach ) is a town in the southeastern Netherlands. It was a separate municipality until 1 January 2007, when it became a part of the new municipality of Maasgouw.
History
The village was first mentioned in 1265 as "de Bragth ...
; and in Italy, at Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
. They arrived in Britain in 1902, establishing over the years nursing homes in Waterloo
Waterloo most commonly refers to:
* Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat
* Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place.
Waterloo may also refer to:
Other places
Antarctica
*King George Island (S ...
and in Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
(1921, Boarbank Hall).["History of the Canonesses", Welcome to Boarbank Hall]
/ref>
During the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the canonesses of Dieppe ran an underground hospital, La Bimarine, where they cared for wounded French and Allied soldiers.
Present day
Due to declining numbers, in 2015 the sisters closed Park House at Merseyside which had served as a convalescent home for soldiers during World War I. With the closing of Park House, the sisters from Liverpool joined with those of Boarbank and Ince Blundell Hall. The Sisters at Boarbank Hall in Cumbria run a Nursing Home and Guest House.
The sisters operate a health clinic in the Diocese of Maiduguri in North Eastern Nigeria.Augustinian Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus, Nigeria Conference
/ref>
References
{{Catholic, wstitle=Hospital Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus
Canonesses Regular
Catholic female orders and societies
Christian religious orders established in the 13th century
Catholic nursing orders