02/06/2024
https://teatrnn.pl/leksykon/artykuly/zakon-siostr-wizytek-w-lublinie-historia-zakonu/
The Order of the Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Latin: Ordo Visitationis Beatissimae Mariae Virginis – VSM), commonly known as the Visitationists, was founded in 1610 in the Duchy of Savoy by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne Françoise Frémyot de Chantal.
Convent of the Visitation Sisters. Lublin Cultural Centre (now the Centre for Culture in Lublin) at Peowiaków Street
Convent of the Visitation Sisters. Lublin Cultural Centre (now the Centre for Culture in Lublin) at Peowiaków Street (Author: unknown)
Table of contents[Collapse]
Visitation Sisters in Poland
Lublin Foundation
Dissolution of the Lublin monastery
Literature
Visitation Sisters in Poland
The founders of the community are St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne Françoise de Chantal. The main task of this order of women was to take care of the "fallen virgins" and to educate girls. The first religious house was founded in 1610 in Annecy, in the Kingdom of Savoy. The idea of the Order of the Visitation very quickly began to spread, mainly in France. The nuns ran shelters and so-called boarding schools for girls.
The Order appeared in Poland thanks to the efforts of Queen Marie Louise de la Grange, wife of Ladislaus IV, and then of his brother John Casimir. The first Visitation Sisters arrived in Warsaw in 1654. In contrast to the religious orders of the Franciscan family, the Visitation Sisters were less popular. For more than sixty years after their arrival in Warsaw, the Visitation Sisters were founded houses in Kraków (1681) and Vilnius (1694). The fourth foundation for this order was a bequest made for the construction of the Lublin monastery.
Lublin Foundation
The Lublin monastery, thanks to its generous and well-to-do founders, was given the opportunity to develop rapidly. Its donors were: Stanisław Chomentowski and his wife Dorota née Tarłów, Jan Szembek, Grand Chancellor of the Crown and his wife Ewa. The mother house of the Lublin community was the convent of the Cracow Visitation Sisters.
The foundation act was issued on 24 June 1723. The sisters were given land for the construction of a church and a convent (today's buildings of the Cultural Centre) and a large garden. In order to secure the monastery financially and to support its activities, the founders provided income from three estates: Motycz, Rury and Krężnica.
Church and Convent of the Visitation Sisters in Lublin (now the Cultural Centre)
The first superior of the convent was Dorota Chomentowska's sister, Maria Aniela Tarło. Her actions quickly led to the launch of a boarding school for girls. Children as young as a few years old were admitted to it. They mainly taught reading, writing, Latin and French. Some of the admitted habit boarders stayed in the convent for the novitiate.
Maria Aniela Tarło died in 1728. She was succeeded by Catherine Columbus Tarło – sister of Maria Aniela and Dorota Chomentowska.
On February 18, 1732, there was a great fire in the new monastery. Because the buildings were made of wood, the fire spread quickly and led to the death of many sisters and residents. Twenty-five deaths were counted at that time. The completely destroyed buildings were uninhabitable. The Visitation Sisters were helped by the Bridgettines, who hosted the Order of the Visitation for two years. The victims of the fire were also buried in the convent church of the Bridgettine Sisters.
The founders of the monastery were involved in the reconstruction. Ewa Shembekova made special expenditure in this regard. The quick reaction of the donors led to the er****on of monastery buildings. On June 4, 1734, the Visitation Sisters returned to their own convent. After the reconstruction, the sisters continued their educational activities.
The last stage of the foundation was the construction of the church. It was completed in the early 1850s. The church was consecrated by Eustachy Szembek, Bishop of Chełm, on 24 September 1752.
The usefulness of the monastery was not appreciated by the authorities of the Duchy of Warsaw. The buildings of the Visitation monastery were suitable for a military hospital. Therefore, on January 5, 1810, the sisters were moved to the convent buildings of the Discalced Carmelite nuns on Świętoduska Street. In addition, the sisters were forbidden to run the novitiate and all their landed estates provided for them in the foundation deed were taken away. In addition, the monastery did not meet the expectations of the Visitation sisters regarding strict enclosure. In these circumstances, the superior of the sisters, Anna Helena Kamińska, began efforts to move the nuns to the post-Bridgettine buildings, which had a large garden and the possibility of fully filling the cloister. Her efforts began to bear fruit only after a dozen or so years. In 1825, the Visitation Sisters were given back their estates and allowed to run the novitiate. On January 25, 1836, they were able to move to the post-Bridgettine monastery.
Dissolution of the Lublin monastery
In connection with the repressions of the tsarist government after the January Uprising, a number of dissolves of male and female religious orders were carried out for their direct or alleged participation in the uprising. Officially, the "uselessness" of some religious orders was demonstrated. This translation led to the dissolution of, among others, the Congregation of the Lublin Visitationists.
In the case of the Lublin community, however, the actual dissolution did not take place. The nuns were given a lay Orthodox curator, who, however, did not respect the internal order of the convent. The authorities appointed a curator because of the educational institution that the sisters were running.
In addition, the Lublin Curia actively joined the action of saving the consecrated life of the Visitation Sisters. The younger sisters of the congregation were assigned the function of founding a new congregation outside the borders of the partitioning countries. As a result, the Lublin Visitation Convent became the mother house of the Visitation Sisters in Himmelstuhr in the Kingdom of Hanover. After the reunification of Germany, due to persecution, the sisters of the new foundation moved to the Roselands near Walmer in Great Britain. Maria Kajetana Łukaszewiczówna and Maria Weronika Łojewska were particularly involved in the organisation of the new institutions. Despite the considerable distance of the new institution, which had been located near Walmer since 1874, a significant number of Polish women came to the community of the Visitation Sisters.
The founder of the new communities, Maria Kajetana Łukaszewiczówna, died in 1925.
The sisters, mostly older, left behind in Lublin, lived in the post-Bridgettine convent for several more years. In 1882, the remaining seven Visitation Sisters of Lublin were transferred to the Warsaw convent.
After 1918, the Visitation Sisters of Roselands tried to regain the buildings of their own convent. Due to the fact that the buildings were owned by the army, these efforts lasted for years and were not successful.
Currently, the buildings of the post-Visitation monastery house the Cultural Centre.
LiteratureBezpośredni odnośnik do tego akapituWróć do spisu treści
A Card of Memories in the Past, Łuck 1936.
K. Majewski, The Church and Monastery of the Visitation Sisters in Lublin, in: In the Circle of Research on Polish Art, Lublin 1983.
Knights of Mary. From the history of the wandering of the Sisters of the Visitation of Lublin, Łuck 1936.
M.M. Wójcik, Saint Francis de Sales and his work. The Order of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jasło 1996.
From the past of Lublin, "Gazeta Lubelska" 1886, No. 251.
Authors: Łukasz Fiuta
Editors: Monika Śliwińska
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Photos
Post-Visitation Church in Lublin
Post-Visitation Church in Lublin
Church of Our Lady of Victory in Lublin
Church of Our Lady of Victory in Lublin
Other Resources
St. Bridget's Monastery Complex
Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lublin
Keywords
Centre for Culture in Lublin
Dorota Chomentowska née Tarłów
Eustachy Szembek
Ewa Szembek
Jan Szembek
Catherine Columbus Tarło
Maria Aniela Tarło
Maria Kajetana Łukaszewiczówna
Marie Louise de la Grange
Maria Weronika Łojewska
Stanisław Chomentowski
Saint Jeanne Françoise de Chantal
Saint Francis de Sales
Subject: History of Lublin and the Lublin Region
Subject: Religious Orders in Lublin
Visitation Sisters in Lublin
The Order of the Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lublin
Visitation Order in Lublin
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Zakon Sióstr Nawiedzenia Najświętszej Maryi Panny (łac. Ordo Visitationis Beatissimae Mariae Virginis – VSM), zwanych potocznie wizytkami, założony został w 1610 roku na terenie księstwa Sabaudii przez świętego Franciszka Salezego i świętą Joannę Franciszkę Frémyot de Chantal.
