This article is based on the Chronicle of the Bernardine Sisters of Lublin, kept in the library of the Higher Seminary in Sandomierz. The chronicle was brought to Sandomierz in 1912 by the regent of the seminary, Father Kubicki. It was given to him by Klara Gano, the last superior of the Bernardine convent in Lublin. Work on the history of the monastery began in the second half of the 18th century and was completed in the following years, when the most important events were added. The result is a work on the history of the monastery from its beginnings in 1618 to its dissolution in 1885.
The founders of the monastery were Marcin Sienieński and his wife and Piotr Czerny. They gave the nuns two houses, a wooden chapel and a piece of land in Rozkopaczôw. The convent was built on the site of the former Bernardine Tertiary monastery, which existed before 1535 and until the fire of 1580.
The construction of St Peter's Church was begun in 1636 by Sister Superior Marianna Kochanowska and consecrated in 1658. In the following years, the interior of the church was embellished and further renovations were carried out. In 1768 a fire caused so much damage that the first mass could not be celebrated until 1780, after the church had been rebuilt. Another major renovation took place between 1873 and 1875.
The convent buildings originally consisted of two houses, which were enlarged and modernised over the course of the convent community. The nuns owned land in Rozkopaczow, Bystrzejowice and Olesniki, which they used or leased. These properties were the subject of legal proceedings initiated by persons who wished to deprive the nuns of their property. The judgements in these cases were generally in favour of the nuns, with the exception of the expropriation law, which resulted in the property being taken over by the State Treasury.
The founding convent of the Lublin convent was the Bernardine convent of St Agnes in Krakow. The congregation was led by a superior who was elected every three years. The chronicle records 81 elections. At her side were the religious representatives, the most important of whom were the assistant vicars, followed by the mistress of spiritual life, the mistress of lay girls, the porter, the sacristan and the sister in charge of the refectory or cloakroom. In the 267 years of its existence, the convent has hosted 181 novices and nuns. The novices ranged in age from 17 years and 10 months to 26 years and 7 months, with an average of 21 years and 2 months over the period studied. The average age of the nuns was 56 years and 4 months, or 34 years and 8 months in the convent.
The chronicle is a valuable source of information about the history of the Bernardine nuns in Lublin. The discussions that have been initiated on this subject will probably lead to further research and work on the history of this congregation.