Mechtilde of the Blessed Sacrament

Mechtilde de Bar ( baptismal name Catherine de Bar, * December 31, 1614 in Saint- Dié, Lorraine, † April 6, 1698 in Paris) was the founder of the Benedictine Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

Life

Catherine de Bar was the third child of Mr and Mrs Jean de Bar and Marguerite de Guillon, who belonged to the lower nobility.

1631 Catherine joined at the Annuntiatinnen in Bruyeres. Already at the age of 19 she became the sub-prioress and appointed a year later for " Ancelle " for superior of the small community. Meanwhile, the battles of the Thirty Years War had reached Lorraine and the community had to flee from the advancing troops. On the run, the sisters were admitted by the Benedictines of Rambervillers where Catherine met the Benedictine way of life and decided to transfer. Here they took the name Sr. Mechtilde, which they " from Blessed Sacrament " anfügte later.

The next few years were again drawn from the flight and expulsion. 1653 finally Mechtilde de Bar could settle down with her sisters in Paris. Driven by her personal devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged by the Eucharistic Adoration during the Counter-Reformation currents in the spiritual milieu in Paris -dispersive they added the Benedictine observances Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament added. Between 1666 and 1696, Mechtilde de Bar nine monasteries, or already existing monasteries led to aggregation ( affiliation ).

To give the charisma of worship on held to maturity, Mechtilde de Bar in Rome requested permission to build a congregation. This was approved on 29 May 1668 and undertook directly to the Holy See. As the tensions between the French Gallican episcopate and Rome made ​​it difficult to connect to the Holy See, the founder left the monasteries of the Institute in 1696 again assume the episcopal supervision.

Two years later, on April 6, 1698, died Mechtilde de Bar and left a composite of Benedictine nunneries, which dedicates itself in a special way the worship of the Blessed Sacrament.

Swell

Manuscripts and primary literature

Writings

In order to enable their monasteries to standardize the rituals and customs and to strengthen the unity Mechtilde de Bar in 1668, wrote the first part of a Ceremonial. 1671 could own festivals and Uffizi the Benedictines of the Blessed Sacrament will be published. 1683 published a collection of writings M. Mechtildes, the sisters of her community had assembled, under the means Title Le Véritable Esprit des Religieuses Adoratrices Perpétuelles du Très -Saint- Sacrement de l' Autel ( The true spirit of the Benedictine Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament ). This book was told in the following years, numerous editions. 1686 appeared the spirituels Exercices ou la pratique de la regle de Benoist see where it was the review of a book by Claude Martin, Benedictine of Saint- Germain -des- Prés by M. Mechtilde. Only much later published the Benedictines of the Blessed Sacrament 1833 La journée religieuse des filles du Très -Saint- Sacrement its content also decreased ( the Blessed Sacrament The agenda of the Benedictines ), the founder. In addition, from the rich correspondence more than 3000 letters Mechtilde de bars are obtained which are published only to a small extent. 2001, a comprehensive international bibliography of writings by and about Mechtilde de Bar and the Benedictines of the Blessed Sacrament was released.