Maude Petre
Encyclopedia
Maude Dominica Mary Petre (4 August 1863 – 16 December 1942) was an English Roman Catholic nun, writer and critic involved in the Modernist controversy
.
, Essex, to an old recusant family on her father's side; her mother was a convert. She was a granddaughter of the thirteenth Baron Petre
and the fourth Earl of Wicklow
. Petre was educated privately. In her early twenties she experienced some religious doubts and as a remedy she was advised by her Jesuit confessor Fr. Peter Gallwey
to go to Rome and study St. Thomas Aquinas. Reflecting many years later on her decision to follow this advice, Petre concluded that "it was a fairly crazy idea". Nevertheless in 1885, at the age of 22, she left for Rome where for a year, under the direction of accredited professors, she immersed herself in the thought of Aquinas and in the neo-scholastic
manuals then in use. Her aunt Lady Lindsay informed friends that "Maude has gone to Rome to study for the priesthood".
In 1890 Petre joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, a community founded in France during the Revolution and consequently more liberal than many of the more traditional female religious order
s. In particular, it allowed members to live in their own homes and wear street clothing instead of habit
s. She was named local superior in 1896 and provincial in 1900.
In 1900 she began a friendship with the Jesuit priest George Tyrrell
and they soon became part of a circle of questioning Catholic intellectuals. Petre already knew Friedrich von Hügel
from her childhood, when he was one of her mother's most favoured visitors. He introduced both her and Tyrrell to the work of Alfred Loisy
. She had got to know Henri Bremond
while visiting the headquarters of her religious community in Paris. Through her, Bremond and Tyrrell became acquainted. When Tyrrell was expelled from the Jesuits in 1906, Petre, who had bought Mulberry House in Storrington
, Sussex, had a cottage built for him in the garden and settled an annuity on him.
In 1907, when Petre's book Catholicism and Independence: Being Studies in Spiritual Liberty was published, she was refused permission to renew her vows in the Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Peter Amigo
, the then-Bishop of Southwark, refused Petre the sacrament
s in his diocese shortly thereafter. She dealt with this by worshipping regularly elsewhere.
After the death of George Tyrrell in 1909, Maude Petre was concerned to compile his biography. In 1912 she published this in two volumes, although the first was in fact Tyrrell's own autobiography of his earlier years. The evident sympathy that she showed for Tyrrell in his quarrel with the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church led to her work being placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Vatican
in 1913. This increased her own difficulties with the Catholic hierarchy, but her loyalty to Tyrrell's memory continued with her publication of his Essays on Faith and Immortality in 1914 and a collection of his letters in 1920.
Her book on the Modernist movement, Modernism: Its Failure and Its Fruits (published 1918 but completed in 1914), was one of the earliest analyses of the Modernist movement. It is not an objective study, but shows considerable sympathy for the Catholic Modernists, many of whom she knew personally, and is highly critical of the anti-Modernist movement then dominant in the Catholic Church.
In the Great War she was involved in nursing work in France and her writings show a growing interest in social and political themes. In her 1915 book Reflections of a Non-Combatant, she was critical of the unthinking patriotic euphoria of the early stages of the war and showed some sympathy for the ideals of pacifism. She wrote various articles during the war on similar themes. In 1918 she published Democracy at the Cross-Roads, in which she pointed to the limitations of democracy in a period when the suffrage was being considerably extended. In 1919 she published, with James Walker, State Morality and a League of Nations, a work on the then nascent League of Nations
in which she analysed the practical difficulties behind the ideals of the League. But her 1925 book The Two Cities, or Statecraft and Idealism showed her commitment to internationalism and the need for a genuine reconciliation of peoples beyond mere political agendas in the post-war period. She is important as the only English Modernist to write on social and political matters.
In the post-war period she revived her interest in theological and religious issues, continuing her commitment to the ideals of Catholic Modernism. This meant she was an isolated figure in the Catholic Church in this period, when Modernism was very much out of favour. Despite this, she never left the Church and indeed in her memoir My Way of Faith (1937) she spoke of her personal loyalty to the Church and her need of its spiritual guidance in her life.
In 1928 she published The Ninth Lord Petre, a study of her ancestor Robert Petre, 9th Baron Petre, which showed him as being as critical of the Catholic Church in his generation as she was in her own. Later she published major studies of Modernist figures, especially von Hügel and Tyrrell in Von Hügel and Tyrrell: The Story of a Friendship (1937) and the French Modernist, Alfred Loisy, of whom she was a personal friend, in Alfred Loisy: His Religious Significance (published posthumously in 1944).
She also published numerous articles on Modernism and related topics. Indeed she continued to write almost up to her sudden death in London in December 1942 at the age of 79.
She was accorded a Requiem Mass at the Assumption Convent, Kensington Square
, and was buried at Storrington near to George Tyrrell. Owing to her unrepentant Modernist views, the bishop of her diocese, Amigo, would not allow a Catholic priest to officiate at her burial.
Modernism (Roman Catholicism)
Modernism refers to theological opinions expressed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but with influence reaching into the 21st century, which are characterized by a break with the past. Catholic modernists form an amorphous group. The term "modernist" appears in Pope Pius X's 1907...
.
Life
Petre was born at the family estate of Coptfold Hall, near the village of MargarettingMargaretting
Margaretting is a small village in the Chelmsford District, in the English county of Essex.- Location :The village is located on the B1002 road approximately four miles from Chelmsford and two miles from the small town of Ingatestone. It is near the River Wid...
, Essex, to an old recusant family on her father's side; her mother was a convert. She was a granddaughter of the thirteenth Baron Petre
Baron Petre
Baron Petre , of Writtle, in the County of Essex, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1603 for Sir John Petre. He represented Essex in parliament and served as Lord Lieutenant of Essex...
and the fourth Earl of Wicklow
William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow
William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow KP was an Irish peer, styled Lord Clonmore from 1815 to 1818. He became Earl of Wicklow in 1818 on the death of William Howard, 3rd Earl of Wicklow and was appointed a Knight of the Order of St Patrick on 9 October 1846....
. Petre was educated privately. In her early twenties she experienced some religious doubts and as a remedy she was advised by her Jesuit confessor Fr. Peter Gallwey
Peter Gallwey
Peter Gallwey was an English Jesuit priest and writer.-Life:He was educated at Stonyhurst College, and joined the Society of Jesus at Hodder, 7 September 1836. He was ordained priest in 1852, and professed of four vows in 1854...
to go to Rome and study St. Thomas Aquinas. Reflecting many years later on her decision to follow this advice, Petre concluded that "it was a fairly crazy idea". Nevertheless in 1885, at the age of 22, she left for Rome where for a year, under the direction of accredited professors, she immersed herself in the thought of Aquinas and in the neo-scholastic
Neo-Scholasticism
Neo-Scholasticism is the revival and development of medieval scholastic philosophy starting from the second half of the 19th century. It has some times been called neo-Thomism partly because Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century gave to scholasticism a final form, partly because the idea gained ground...
manuals then in use. Her aunt Lady Lindsay informed friends that "Maude has gone to Rome to study for the priesthood".
In 1890 Petre joined the Daughters of the Heart of Mary, a community founded in France during the Revolution and consequently more liberal than many of the more traditional female religious order
Religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practice. The order is composed of initiates and, in some...
s. In particular, it allowed members to live in their own homes and wear street clothing instead of habit
Religious habit
A religious habit is a distinctive set of garments worn by members of a religious order. Traditionally some plain garb recognisable as a religious habit has also been worn by those leading the religious eremitic and anachoritic life, although in their case without conformity to a particular uniform...
s. She was named local superior in 1896 and provincial in 1900.
In 1900 she began a friendship with the Jesuit priest George Tyrrell
George Tyrrell
George Tyrrell was a Jesuit priest and a Modernist theologian and scholar. His attempts to evolve and adapt Catholic teaching in the context of modern ideas made him a key figure in the Modernist controversy within the Roman Catholic Church in the late 19th century.Tyrrell was born in Dublin,...
and they soon became part of a circle of questioning Catholic intellectuals. Petre already knew Friedrich von Hügel
Friedrich von Hügel
Friedrich von Hügel was an influential Austrian Roman Catholic layman, religious writer, Modernist theologian and Christian apologist....
from her childhood, when he was one of her mother's most favoured visitors. He introduced both her and Tyrrell to the work of Alfred Loisy
Alfred Loisy
Alfred Firmin Loisy was a French Roman Catholic priest, professor and theologian who became the intellectual standard bearer for Biblical Modernism in the Roman Catholic Church...
. She had got to know Henri Bremond
Henri Brémond
Henri Bremond was a French literary scholar, sometime Jesuit, and Catholic philosopher, one of the theological modernists.-Biography:...
while visiting the headquarters of her religious community in Paris. Through her, Bremond and Tyrrell became acquainted. When Tyrrell was expelled from the Jesuits in 1906, Petre, who had bought Mulberry House in Storrington
Storrington
Storrington is a village in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England, and one of two in the civil parish of Storrington and Sullington. Storrington lies at the foot of the north side of the South Downs. As of 2006 the village has a population of around 4,600. It has one main shopping street...
, Sussex, had a cottage built for him in the garden and settled an annuity on him.
In 1907, when Petre's book Catholicism and Independence: Being Studies in Spiritual Liberty was published, she was refused permission to renew her vows in the Daughters of the Heart of Mary. Peter Amigo
Peter Amigo
Peter Emmanuel Amigo was a Roman Catholic bishop in the Catholic Church in England and Wales.He studied at St Edmund's College, Ware, and St. Thomas's, Hammersmith. He was ordained priest on 25 February 1888...
, the then-Bishop of Southwark, refused Petre the sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s in his diocese shortly thereafter. She dealt with this by worshipping regularly elsewhere.
After the death of George Tyrrell in 1909, Maude Petre was concerned to compile his biography. In 1912 she published this in two volumes, although the first was in fact Tyrrell's own autobiography of his earlier years. The evident sympathy that she showed for Tyrrell in his quarrel with the authorities of the Roman Catholic Church led to her work being placed on the Index of Forbidden Books by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in 1913. This increased her own difficulties with the Catholic hierarchy, but her loyalty to Tyrrell's memory continued with her publication of his Essays on Faith and Immortality in 1914 and a collection of his letters in 1920.
Her book on the Modernist movement, Modernism: Its Failure and Its Fruits (published 1918 but completed in 1914), was one of the earliest analyses of the Modernist movement. It is not an objective study, but shows considerable sympathy for the Catholic Modernists, many of whom she knew personally, and is highly critical of the anti-Modernist movement then dominant in the Catholic Church.
In the Great War she was involved in nursing work in France and her writings show a growing interest in social and political themes. In her 1915 book Reflections of a Non-Combatant, she was critical of the unthinking patriotic euphoria of the early stages of the war and showed some sympathy for the ideals of pacifism. She wrote various articles during the war on similar themes. In 1918 she published Democracy at the Cross-Roads, in which she pointed to the limitations of democracy in a period when the suffrage was being considerably extended. In 1919 she published, with James Walker, State Morality and a League of Nations, a work on the then nascent League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
in which she analysed the practical difficulties behind the ideals of the League. But her 1925 book The Two Cities, or Statecraft and Idealism showed her commitment to internationalism and the need for a genuine reconciliation of peoples beyond mere political agendas in the post-war period. She is important as the only English Modernist to write on social and political matters.
In the post-war period she revived her interest in theological and religious issues, continuing her commitment to the ideals of Catholic Modernism. This meant she was an isolated figure in the Catholic Church in this period, when Modernism was very much out of favour. Despite this, she never left the Church and indeed in her memoir My Way of Faith (1937) she spoke of her personal loyalty to the Church and her need of its spiritual guidance in her life.
In 1928 she published The Ninth Lord Petre, a study of her ancestor Robert Petre, 9th Baron Petre, which showed him as being as critical of the Catholic Church in his generation as she was in her own. Later she published major studies of Modernist figures, especially von Hügel and Tyrrell in Von Hügel and Tyrrell: The Story of a Friendship (1937) and the French Modernist, Alfred Loisy, of whom she was a personal friend, in Alfred Loisy: His Religious Significance (published posthumously in 1944).
She also published numerous articles on Modernism and related topics. Indeed she continued to write almost up to her sudden death in London in December 1942 at the age of 79.
She was accorded a Requiem Mass at the Assumption Convent, Kensington Square
Kensington Square
Kensington Square is a garden square in Kensington, London. It was founded in 1685; hence it is the oldest such square in London.-Garden:The garden in the centre of the square is private but is accessible to the public through the Open Squares scheme....
, and was buried at Storrington near to George Tyrrell. Owing to her unrepentant Modernist views, the bishop of her diocese, Amigo, would not allow a Catholic priest to officiate at her burial.
Books
- 1896: Aethiopum Servus: A Study in Christian Altruism
- 1903: Where Saints Have Trod: Some Studies in Asceticism
- 1907: Catholicism and Independence: Being Studies in Spiritual Liberty
- 1910: Translation with Paul V. Cohn of "Songs of Prince Free-as-a-Bird" by Friedrich NietzscheFriedrich NietzscheFriedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, included as an appendix to vol. 10 The Joyous Wisdom ("La gaya scienza")The Gay ScienceThe Gay Science is a book written by Friedrich Nietzsche, first published in 1882 and followed by a second edition, which was published after the completion of Thus Spoke Zarathustra and Beyond Good and Evil, in 1887. This substantial expansion includes a fifth book and an appendix of songs...
of The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche edited by Oscar LevyOscar LevyOscar Levy was a German-Jewish physician and writer, now known as a scholar of Friedrich Nietzsche, whose works he first saw translated systematically into English. His was a paradoxical life, of self-exile and exile, and of writing on and against Judaism. He was influenced by the racialist...
. Edinburgh: T. N. Foulis - 1912: Autobiography and Life of George Tyrrell (in 2 volumes)
- 1915: Reflections of a Non-Combatant
- 1918: Modernism: Its Failure and Its Fruits
- 1918: Democracy at the Cross-Roads
- 1919: State Morality and a League of Nations (with James Walker)
- 1925: The Two Cities, or Statecraft and Idealism
- 1928: The Ninth Lord Petre, or Pioneers of Roman Catholic Emancipation
- 1937: My Way of Faith
- 1937: Von Hügel and Tyrrell: The Story of a Friendship
- 1944: Alfred Loisy: His Religious Significance
- 1998 A Week End Book of Thought and Prayer (edited by Peter C. Erb)
Further reading
- Crews, Clyde F. English Catholic Modernism: Maude Petre's Way of Faith, University of Notre Dame PressUniversity of Notre Dame PressThe University of Notre Dame Press is a university press that is part of the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States.-External links:*...
, 1984. ISBN 0-268-00912-0 - Leonard, Ellen. Unresting Transformation: The Theology and Spirituality of Maude Petre, Lanham, MarylandLanham, MarylandLanham is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America. Because it is not formally incorporated, it has no official boundaries, but the United States Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place consisting of Lanham and the...
:University Press of America, 1991. ISBN 0-8191-8220-6