Jacqueline-Marie-Angélique Arnauld, S.O.Cist. or Arnault, called La Mère Angélique (8 September 1591, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

– 6 August 1661, in Port-Royal-des-Champs), was

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of the Abbey of Port-Royal, which became a center of

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

under her abbacy.

Biography

Arnauld was the third of the 20 children of the lawyer

Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (; 6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, priest, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patr ...

, and one of six sisters of the philosopher

. From an early age, her family had determined that she should become not only a nun, but the superior of a convent. While Arnauld was being raised by

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s in the Abbey of Port-Royal-des-Champs, at the prompting of her maternal grandfather, Abbess Jeanne Boulehart selected her as her successor at the age of seven. The family forged her age on the documents forwarded to the Vatican. She was sent to be educated at Maubuisson Abbey, ruled by Angélique d'Estrées, sister of Gabrielle d'Estrées, mistress of Henry IV. On 5 July 1602, months before her 12th birthday, she became coadjutrix to the Abbess of Port-Royal. She lived a worldly life as a nun, reading popular novels and frequently leaving the monastery for society events. In 1608, a sermon preached by a visiting Capuchin prompted her to effect a reform in her monastery. She was instrumental in the reforms of several other monasteries, transforming them into place of ascetic rigor, with strict monastic enclosures, chapter of faults, silence, fasting, a diet without meat, and prayers beginning at 3:00 a.m. The spirituality practiced there encouraged a life of "abandonment" to God's providence. The picture of human nature was pessimistic, emphasizing sin as ompresence and salvation as a privilege for very few. Mother Angélique was counseled and sustained by

Francis de Sales Francis de Sales, Congregation of the Oratory, C.O., Order of Minims, O.M. (; ; 21 August 156728 December 1622) was a Savoyard state, Savoyard Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Geneva and is a saint of the Catholic Church. He became n ...

; she wanted to join the group of Visitation nuns close to him, but was not successful. In 1625, thinking that the valley of Port-Royal was unhealthy for her religious, Mère Angélique established them all in Paris, in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques. In 1635, Arnauld came under the influence of Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, the

Abbé ''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...

of Saint-Cyran, one of the promoters of a school of theology which the Jesuits called

. She continually wrote letters encouraging some and condemning others, among the latter including even

Vincent de Paul Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was an Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. In 1622, Vincent was appointed as chaplain to the galleys. ...

. During the 17th-century formulary controversy and the persecution of Port-Royal (1648–1652), she was forced to sign a document condemning the five propositions of

. She stepped down as abbess in 1630. Supporters persuaded her to write an autobiography, which was mostly the story of her community's resistance in the face of religious tribulations. It was of Mère Agnès and her religious that De Péréfixe, Archbishop of Paris, said: "These sisters are as pure as angels, but as proud as devils".

Portrayals in plays and fiction

Henry de Montherlant's play told the story of the nuns of Port-Royal.

Notes

References

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External links

Biographical study
at

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Project Continua: Biography of Jacqueline-Marie-Angelique Arnauld
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arnauld, Jacqueline-Marie-Angelique 1591 births 1661 deaths Nuns from Paris Cistercian abbesses Jansenists 17th-century French women 17th-century French clergy 17th-century Christian mystics French Roman Catholic abbesses Cistercian mystics Burials in Île-de-France 17th-century French nuns