The Congregation of Our Lady of Calvary (Daughters of Calvary, ''Filles du Calvaire'', ''Calvairiennes'') is 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 ...

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

religious congregation, founded at

Poitiers Poitiers (, , , ; Poitevin: ''Poetàe'') is a city on the River Clain in west-central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and the historical centre of Poitou. In 2017 it had a population of 88,291. Its agglomerat ...

in 1617.

Foundation

The founders were Antoinette of Orléans-Longueville, assisted by the Capuchin

Joseph Le Clerc du Tremblay Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

. Antoinette was left a widow in 1596, and entered the convent of the

Feuillantines The Feuillants were a Catholic congregation originating in the 1570s as a reform group within the Cistercians in its namesake Les Feuillants Abbey in France, which declared itself an independent order. In 1630 it separated into a French branch ( ...

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

in 1599. After her profession she was commanded by the Pope to act as coadjutrix to the abbess of Fontevrault, and assist her in reforming her convent. Here Antoinette met Tremblay, who became her director: he had just reformed the monastery of l'Encloître, and when Pope Paul V ordered Antoinette to found a seminary for training religious, this convent was chosen for that purpose, and was soon filled with novices. In 1614 Antoinette founded and built a new convent at Poitiers, dedicated to

Our Lady of Calvary ''Our Lady of Calvary'' is a 17th-century painting situated in the shrine of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Poland. According to legend, the painting wept in 1641. The owner presented the painting to the Bern ...

, which became the cradle of the congregation. By permission of the Pope, she left Fontevrault to enter this monastery, and took with her those nuns who wished to follow the Benedictine rule in all its strictness. The abbess of Fontevrault at first consented to this, but afterwards objected, and it was not until Antoinette's death that Tremblay established the new congregation, gave them constitutions, and got

Pope Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV ( la, Gregorius XV; it, Gregorio XV; 9 January 15548 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 to his death in July 1623. Biography Early life Al ...

to issue a Bull erecting them into an independent congregation under the title of Our Lady of Calvary.

Later history

They were finally approved by the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

, 17 January 1827. The congregation succumbed to the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, but was restored afterwards and in 1860 had twenty houses in France. The Paris Métro station Filles du Calvaire takes its name from an old Paris convent.

References

;Attribution The entry cites: **Heimbucher, ''Die Orden und Congregationen der katholischen Kirche'' (Paderborn, 1907) **Braunmüller in '' Kirchenlexikon'' II, 358; ** Hélyot, ''Dict. des Ordres Religieux'' (Paris, 1860); **de Feller, ''Biographie Universelle'' (Besançon, 1848), VI; **''Constitutions des Bénédictines de la congrégation du Calvaire'' (Paris, 1635) {{Authority control Catholic female orders and societies 1617 establishments in France