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Vol. 75 (1991): Our Past

Articles

The Carmelite nuns of the former observance in Poland. The history of a forgotten order

  • Małgorzata Borkowska
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52204/np.1991.75.91-116  [Google Scholar]
Published: 1991-06-30

Abstract

The Carmelite Brothers, present in Poland since around 1400, had eight monasteries for men, but no nuns for over a hundred years. Reformed around 1600 on a strictly post-Tridentine line (although independently of the Spanish "barefoot" reform), they founded almost 50 novice monasteries before 1772 and founded two for women. The first one in Lviv began in 1632 with the gathering of local candidates, educated and spiritually guided by the Fathers. This community existed until 1782, after which it was abolished by the Emperor of Austria, Joseph II, along with two thirds of the nunneries in Galicia. The sisters were dispersed, most finding shelter in unsuppressed religious houses. The second monastery was established in Dubno in Volhynia in 1688: several sisters were brought from Lviv, and the owner of the city, J. K. Lubomirski, helped with the construction. After the partitions of Poland, Dubno became part of the Russian Empire, and the monastery was liquidated in 1863 along with all other Polish monasteries. It served as a hospice for sisters of various orders until 1890, when its last residents were transferred to a similar facility. Little can be said with certainty about the spirituality and practices of these sisters, but by combining the scant data from their archives (and the known spirituality of the nuns), we get a picture of their zealous adherence to post-Tridentine ideals. Individual poverty, prayer and penance were strictly observed, the use of the sacraments was frequent, and retreats were practiced. In summary, it was a zealous and creative religious group that was unjustly forgotten.

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