Conceptionists

Last updated

Order of the Immaculate Conception
Ordo Immaculatæ Conceptionis
AbbreviationOIC
NicknameConceptionists
Formation1511;513 years ago (1511)
Founder Saint Beatrice of Silva
Founded at Toledo, Spain
TypeReligious Order of Pontifical Right for women
Members
1,409 members as of 2020
Website www.concepcionistas.info

The Order of the Immaculate Conception (Latin : Ordo Inmaculatae Conceptionis), abbreviated OIC and also known as the Conceptionists, is a Catholic religious order of Pontifical Right for nuns founded by Saint Beatrice of Silva. For some years, they followed the Poor Clares Rule, but in 1511 they were recognized as a separate religious order, taking a new rule and the name of Order of the Immaculate Conception. (In some areas they are still known as the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.) [1]

Contents

Origins

Painting of the apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary to Saint Beatrice of Silva. Santa Beatriz da Silva e a Imaculada Conceicao.jpg
Painting of the apparition of the Immaculate Virgin Mary to Saint Beatrice of Silva.

The order was founded in 1484 in Toledo, Spain, by Saint Beatrice of Silva, a noblewoman of Portugal and sister of the Franciscan friar, Blessed Amadeus. On the marriage of Princess Isabel of Portugal with King John II of Castile, Beatrice had accompanied the future Queen, her cousin, to the court of her new husband. After the marriage, however, her great beauty aroused the jealousy of the queen, for which she was imprisoned. [2] During that time of incarceration, Beatrice experienced an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, telling her that she wanted Beatrice to found a new Order in her honor.

Beatrice escaped with difficulty and took refuge in the Dominican covent at Toledo. There, for thirty-seven years, she led a life of holiness, however without becoming a member of that order. In 1484, Beatrice, with some companions, took possession of a convent in Toledo set apart for them by Isabella I of Castile. [2]

The Order of the Immaculate Conception was founded by the Portuguese Saint Beatrice of Silva ArbolConcepcionistes.jpg
The Order of the Immaculate Conception was founded by the Portuguese Saint Beatrice of Silva

In 1489, by permission of Pope Innocent VIII, the nuns adopted the Cistercian rule, [3] bound themselves to the daily recitation of the Divine Office, and they were placed under obedience to the ordinary of the diocese. [2] In 1501, Pope Alexander VI united this community with the Benedictine community of San Pedro de las Duenas, under the rule of St. Clare, [4] but in 1511 Julius II gave it a rule of its own and put them under the protection of General Minister of Friars Minor, for this reason the nuns were called Franciscan Conceptionist. Special constitutions were drawn up for the Order in 1516 by Cardinal Francisco de Quiñones. It was the foundress, Beatrice of Silva, who chose the white habit, with a white scapular and blue mantle. [5]

A second convent was founded in 1507 at Torrigo, from which, in turn, were established seven others. The order soon spread through Portugal, Spain, Italy, France; Spain's colony of New Spain (Mexico), starting in 1540 [6] and as well as in Portugal's colony of Brazil. (That community, however, later separated to become a religious congregation of missionary sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.). At its height there were some 2,000 convents of the order throughout the world. [5] As of 2020, there were about 1,400 members in 127 houses. [7]

The Conceptionist nuns martyrs Martires Concepcionistas.jpg
The Conceptionist nuns martyrs

The foundress, Beatrice of Silva, was canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1976. [5] In 2019, Pope Francis gave his approval to the declaration of the martyrdom of Maria del Carmen and 13 companions, all Conceptionists, who were killed in Madrid in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. [8]

Going back to the roots

Monastery of the Conceptionist nuns in Campo Maior, Portugal, birthplace of Beatrice of Silva, the foundress of the religious order Convento de Santo Antonio - Campo Maior - Portugal (52233617763).jpg
Monastery of the Conceptionist nuns in Campo Maior, Portugal, birthplace of Beatrice of Silva, the foundress of the religious order
The Conceptionists' religious habit. Coustumes - Conceptionnistes.png
The Conceptionists' religious habit.

The Second Vatican Council had instructed all religious institutes to go back to the inspirations and goals of their founders and to make sure that their current orientation and lifestyles of the communities were in keeping with these. [5]

Through the studies done by Mercedes de Jesús Egido y Izquierdo (1935–2004), a new direction was developed and tried on an experimental basis at her convent. After a trial of two years, new constitutions were drawn up out of the experience, which were submitted to Rome and approved by the Holy See in 1996 for this order, removing from it the noticeable Franciscan influence imposed upon it. [5] Egido successfully argued that the foundress' vision was that of a life lived in imitation of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She has become seen as a second foundress through her efforts. The process for seeking Egido's canonization was formally opened at the Monastery of the Immaculate Conception and St. Beatrice in Toledo on 8 November 2011.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carmelites</span> Roman Catholic religious order

The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel, known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Historical records about its origin remain uncertain; it was probably founded in the 12th century on Mount Carmel in what is now Israel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary of Jesus of Ágreda</span> Spanish nun (1602–1665)

Mary of Jesus of Ágreda , OIC, also known as the Abbess of Ágreda, was a Franciscan abbess and spiritual writer, known especially for her extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain and reports of her bilocation between Spain and its colonies in New Spain. She was a noted mystic of her era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frei Galvão</span> Catholic saint (1739–1822)

Anthony of St. Ann Galvão, O.F.M., commonly known in Brazil as Frei Galvão, was a Brazilian friar of the Franciscan Order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of the Immaculate Conception</span>

There are a number of Roman Catholic religious orders or congregations with Immaculate Conception in their name. Several of them are discussed here.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception</span> Roman Catholic clerical congregation

The Congregation of Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is a Catholic male clerical religious congregation founded, 1670, in Poland. It is also known as Marians of the Immaculate Conception. Its members add the post-nominal letters M.I.C. after their names to indicate membership in the Congregation.

The Third Order of Saint Francis is a third order in the Franciscan tradition of Christianity, founded by the medieval Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clare of Montefalco</span> Italian Roman Catholic saint

Clare of Montefalco, OSA, in religion Saint Clare of the Cross, was an Augustinian nun and abbess. She was formerly a member of the Third Order of St. Francis. She was canonized by Pope Leo XIII on December 8, 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amadeus of Portugal</span> Portuguese nobleman

Amadeus of Portugal, born João de Menezes da Silva, was a Portuguese nobleman who became first a Hieronymite monk, then left that life to become a friar of the Franciscan Order. Later he became a reformer of that religious order, which led to his founding of a distinct branch of the Friars Minor that was named after him, but later suppressed by the Pope in order to unite them into one great family of Friars Minor Observants (1568).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beatrice of Silva</span> Christian saint

Beatrice of Silva, born Beatriz de Menezes da Silva, was a Portuguese noblewoman who became the foundress of the monastic Order of the Immaculate Conception. Amadeus of Portugal's younger sister, she is honored as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cistercian nuns</span> Female members of the Cistercian Order

Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order of the Catholic Church.

The Order of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Sisters of the Annunciation or Annonciades, is an enclosed religious order of contemplative nuns founded in honor of the Annunciation in 1501 at Bourges by Joan de Valois, also known as Joan of France, daughter of King Louis XI of France, and wife of Louis, the Duke of Orléans, later King Louis XII of France.

Mercedes de Jesús Egido y Izquierdo, was a Spanish Roman Catholic nun of the Order of the Immaculate Conception who undertook a major reform of the Order's way of life. The cause for her beatification is being investigated by the Holy See.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Magdalen Bentivoglio</span> Foundress

Mary Magdalen Bentivoglio, OSC was an Italian Poor Clare. She was sent to the United States to found the first convent of the order in the country. She eventually established three of them before her death. Her beatification process has been opened and she has been granted the title of a Servant of God.

The Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God are an institute of religious sisters in the Roman Catholic Church. The congregation belongs to the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. They were founded in 1910 in Santarém, Brazil, by Armand August Bahlmann, OFM, and Mother Immaculata, both natives of Germany, to educate the children of the poor throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convent of the Franciscan Conceptionists</span> Historic site in Toledo, Spain

The Convent of the Franciscan Conceptionists is a Catholic convent of the Order of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1484 by Saint Beatrice of Silva and located in Toledo, Spain. It is protected by the heritage listing Bien de Interés Cultural. The Chapel of Saint Jerome, which forms part of the complex, was first protected in 1884.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception</span> Catholic religious institute

The Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception are members of a Roman Catholic religious institute of consecrated women, which was founded in Portugal in 1871. They follow the Rule of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. and, as the term “hospitaller” indicates, focus their ministries on a spirit of medical care. Their charism emphasizes hospitality and service under the model of the Good Samaritan. In this congregation, the postnominal initials used after each sister's name is "F.H.I.C."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Clara of the Child Jesus</span> Portuguese religious sister

Maria Clara of the Child Jesus — born Libânia do Carmo Galvão Mexia de Moura Telles de Albuquerque was a Portuguese religious sister in the Roman Catholic Church who established the Franciscan Hospitaller Sisters of the Immaculate Conception in Lisbon. She led the congregation as its superior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convento de Santa Clara la Real, Toledo</span> Convent in Castile-La Mancha, Spain

The Convento de Santa Clara la Real is a convent of the Poor Clares located in the city of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. The present convent was founded in the middle of the 14th century by Toledan noblewoman María Meléndez, and is located near other monasteries of note, such as the monastery of Santo Domingo el Real and the Convent of Capuchins of Toledo.

References

  1. "A life of contemplative prayer", O Heraldo, January 22, 2017
  2. 1 2 3 Bihl, Michael. "Conceptionists." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 4. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908 PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. Schoonebeek, Adriaan. Nuns of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady
  4. Eder, Manfred. "Conceptionists", Religion Past and Present, 2006 ISBN   9789004146662
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Saint of the Month: St Beatrice de Silva", Galway Cathedral
  6. Asunción Lavrin, Brides of Christ: Conventual Life in Colonial Mexico. Stanford: Stanford University Press 2008, p. 259
  7. "Order of the Immaculate Conception (OIC/OConc)", GCatholic.org
  8. Brockhaus, Hannah. "Pope advances sainthood causes of 17 women", CNA, January 15, 2019