Mother Mary More
Encyclopedia
Mother Mary More O.S.A. (1732–1807) was the ninth and last lineal descendant of Sir Thomas More and Prioress of the English Convent at Bruges
.
Mary More was born in Barnborough, near Doncaster
, to a recusant family. The daughter of Thomas More and Catherine Giffard. Her brother was Fr. John More (died 1794), Superior of the English Jesuits
.
She was sent to be educated at the Convent of Nazareth, Bruges (a house of English Augustinian Canonesses founded in 1629) where she was professed as a canoness in 1753. In 1766 she was elected to succeed Mother Olivia Darrell as seventh Prioress. Mother More helped English Jesuits and their pupils ejected from their school in Bruges (the predecessor of Stonyhurst College
) by the Emperor Joseph II in 1772.
In 1791 Bruges was overrun by the French Revolutionary Army
but Mother More and her community did not leave until July 1794 when they fled to England. Sir Thomas Gage, 6th Baronet, also a recusant, offered them the use of Hengrave Hall
near Bury St. Edmunds
in Suffolk where they stayed until 1802, when they returned to Bruges.
Mother Mary More died in 1807 and is buried in Bruges.
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
.
Mary More was born in Barnborough, near Doncaster
Doncaster
Doncaster is a town in South Yorkshire, England, and the principal settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster. The town is about from Sheffield and is popularly referred to as "Donny"...
, to a recusant family. The daughter of Thomas More and Catherine Giffard. Her brother was Fr. John More (died 1794), Superior of the English Jesuits
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
.
She was sent to be educated at the Convent of Nazareth, Bruges (a house of English Augustinian Canonesses founded in 1629) where she was professed as a canoness in 1753. In 1766 she was elected to succeed Mother Olivia Darrell as seventh Prioress. Mother More helped English Jesuits and their pupils ejected from their school in Bruges (the predecessor of Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College
Stonyhurst College is a Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition. It is located on the Stonyhurst Estate near the village of Hurst Green in the Ribble Valley area of Lancashire, England, and occupies a Grade I listed building...
) by the Emperor Joseph II in 1772.
In 1791 Bruges was overrun by the French Revolutionary Army
French Revolutionary Army
The French Revolutionary Army is the term used to refer to the military of France during the period between the fall of the ancien regime under Louis XVI in 1792 and the formation of the First French Empire under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804. These armies were characterised by their revolutionary...
but Mother More and her community did not leave until July 1794 when they fled to England. Sir Thomas Gage, 6th Baronet, also a recusant, offered them the use of Hengrave Hall
Hengrave Hall
Hengrave Hall is a Tudor manor house near Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England and was the seat of the Kytson and Gage families 1525-1887. Both families were Roman Catholic Recusants.-Architecture:...
near Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St. Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds is a market town in the county of Suffolk, England, and formerly the county town of West Suffolk. It is the main town in the borough of St Edmundsbury and known for the ruined abbey near the town centre...
in Suffolk where they stayed until 1802, when they returned to Bruges.
Mother Mary More died in 1807 and is buried in Bruges.
Source
- Young, Francis, "Mother Mary More and the Exile of the English Augustinian Canonesses of Bruges 1794-1802", Recusant HistoryRecusant HistoryRecusant History is an academic journal dedicated to the study of Catholic history in England and Wales since 1535, currently published twice yearly by the Catholic Record Society. The journal began publication in 1951 under the title Biographical Studies of English Catholics, under the editorship...
, Vol. 27 No. 1 (May 2004)