Marie Angelique Arnauld
Encyclopedia
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
– August 6, 1661 in Port-Royal des Champs) was abbess
Abbess
An abbess is the female superior, or mother superior, of a community of nuns, often an abbey....
of Port Royal, a center of Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
.
She was the third of the twenty children of the lawyer Antoine Arnauld
Antoine Arnauld (lawyer)
220px|thumb|right|1594 pamphet by Antoine ArnauldAntoine Arnauld was a famous lawyer in the Parlement de Paris, and a Counsellor of State under Henry IV...
, and one of six sisters of the philosopher Antoine Arnauld
Antoine Arnauld
Antoine Arnauld — le Grand as contemporaries called him, to distinguish him from his father — was a French Roman Catholic theologian, philosopher, and mathematician...
.
While she was being raised by Cistercians in Port-Royal des Champs, abbess Johanna von Boulehart selected Angélique as her successor at the age of seven. Months before her twelfth birthday, Angélique became abbess of Port-Royal on July 5, 1602. She was better known thereafter as La Mère Angélique.
Mère Angélique reformed her convent shortly after becoming abbess, and she was instrumental in the reforms of several other convents.
In 1635, she came under the influence of Jean du Vergier de Hauranne
Jean du Vergier de Hauranne
Jean du Vergier de Hauranne, Abbé of Saint-Cyran was a French monk who introduced Jansenism into France.In the early 17th century, Jean du Vergier de Hauranne studied theology at the Catholic University of Leuven...
, the abbot of Saint-Cyran, one of the promoters of a Christian tradition that the Jesuits called Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
. During the 17th-century formulary controversy
Formulary controversy
The Formulary Controversy, in 17th century France, pitted the Jansenists against the Jesuits. It gave rise to Blaise Pascal's Lettres Provinciales, the condemnation by the Vatican of Casuistry, and the final dissolution of organised Jansenism.- Context :...
and the persecution of Port-Royal (1648–1652), she was forced to sign a document condemning the five propositions of Jansenism
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
.
Her niece Angélique de Saint-Jean and her nephew Antoine Le Maistre
Antoine Le Maistre
Antoine Le Maistre was a French Jansenist lawyer, author and translator. His name has also been written Lemaistre and Le Maître, and he sometimes used the pseudonym of Lamy.-Background and early life:...
persuaded Arnauld to write an autobiography, which was mostly the story of her community's heroic resistance in the face of its religious tribulations.
External links
- Biography at the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
- Biographical study at Google Books