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====Entrance to the Order====
====Entrance to the Order====
⚫
In 1770, while the court prepares for the marriage of the new Dauphin (the future [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]]) and [[Marie Antoinette|Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria]], to general amazement, Louise asked her father to allow her to become a [[Carmelite]] [[nun]].<ref>Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert, ''North-Eastern France'', Macmillan, 1896, p. 143.</ref><ref>Markham, Jacob
Abbott, ''A History of France'', Harper & Brothers, 1863, p. 143.</ref> She approached to [[Christophe de Beaumont]], Archbishop of Paris to intercede on her behalf with her father, on 30 January 1770. The King, although afflicted by this decision, agrees and gave his written consent on 16 February.

His sentence: "''I Carmelite, and the King all to God''", reflects her sincere belief and willingness to redeem with her sacrifice the soul of her father, and to expiate his sins. Even before he entered the Carmel, she had begun in secret to wear religious dress in the palace, and live as it was a monastic life.

Louise chose to enter in the [[convent]] at [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]],<ref>Baedeker, Karl, ''Paris and Environs with Routes from London to Paris'', Dulau, 1898, p. 348.</ref> where the order's rule was obeyed strictly. This convent, which threatened to close because their too limited financial resources, was unexpectedly saved by the arrival of a nun with a large dowry, and likely also attracted significant donations. As religious name she chose the name '''Thérèse of [[Saint Augustine]]''', in honor of [[Teresa of Ávila]], a mystic and [[Discalced Carmelites|reformer of the Carmelite Order]].

Louise took the habit on 10 October 1770; was the recently married Dauphine who gave her the veil. She took her [[Religious vows|religious vows]] on 12 September 1771 and this time was another of her nieces-in-law, the [[Marie Joséphine of Savoy|Countess of Provence]] (wife of the future [[Louis XVIII of France|Louis XVIII]]), in a very formal ceremony, which gives her the black veil of Carmelite.


====Tasks====
====Tasks====
Line 63: Line 71:
===Death===
===Death===



⚫
In 1770, to general amazement, Louise asked her father to allow her to become a [[Carmelite]] [[nun]].<ref>Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert, ''North-Eastern France'', Macmillan, 1896, p. 143.</ref><ref>Markham, Jacob
Abbott, ''A History of France'', Harper & Brothers, 1863, p. 143.</ref> She believed that becoming a nun would compensate for her father's lax morals.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} Louise joined the [[convent]] at [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]],<ref>Baedeker, Karl, ''Paris and Environs with Routes from London to Paris'', Dulau, 1898, p. 348.</ref> where the order's rule was obeyed strictly, taking the name '''Thérèse of [[Saint Augustine]]'''. On 10 September 1770, she took the habit.<ref name="dussieux" /> On 1 October 1771, she gave her vows and was fully accepted into the order.<ref name="dussieux" />


Louise became [[prioress]] of the convent 25 November 1773.<ref name="dussieux" /> She served as prioress from 1773 to 1779, and a second term from 1785.<ref>Leathes, Stanley, ''The religion of the Christ, its historic and literary development'', Oxford University, 1874, p. 356</ref> She interceded with her father to allow Austrian Carmelites persecuted by the [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Joseph II]] to enter France. While at the convent, she tried her best to make sure that the other nuns treated her as an equal rather than the daughter of a king.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} As a child, she had an accident that affected her knee. As a result, she found it difficult to kneel, but when she was offered assistance, she refused.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} On 26 May 1774, two weeks after the death of her father, she was visited at Saint-Denis by her nephew, [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis XVI]].<ref>''[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k64483424/f3.image La Gazette de France]'' (27 mai 1774): 109.</ref>
Louise became [[prioress]] of the convent 25 November 1773.<ref name="dussieux" /> She served as prioress from 1773 to 1779, and a second term from 1785.<ref>Leathes, Stanley, ''The religion of the Christ, its historic and literary development'', Oxford University, 1874, p. 356</ref> She interceded with her father to allow Austrian Carmelites persecuted by the [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Joseph II]] to enter France. While at the convent, she tried her best to make sure that the other nuns treated her as an equal rather than the daughter of a king.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} As a child, she had an accident that affected her knee. As a result, she found it difficult to kneel, but when she was offered assistance, she refused.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} On 26 May 1774, two weeks after the death of her father, she was visited at Saint-Denis by her nephew, [[Louis XVI of France|King Louis XVI]].<ref>''[http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k64483424/f3.image La Gazette de France]'' (27 mai 1774): 109.</ref>

Revision as of 00:05, 22 September 2016


Ven. Louise of France
Later portrait of Madame Louise by Drouais
Born(1737-07-15)15 July 1737
Versailles
Died23 December 1787(1787-12-23) (aged 50)
Convent of Saint-Denis
Names
Louise Marie de France
HouseBourbon
FatherLouis XV of France
MotherMaria Leszczyńska
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SignatureVen. Louise of France's signature

Venerable Louise of France[1] (15 July 1737 – 23 December 1787), was the youngest of the ten children of Louis XV and his wife, Maria Leszczyńska. As a daughter of the king, she held the rank of a fille de France. From 1740 she was known as Madame Louise.[2] She entered the Carmelites in 1770 under the name of Thérèse of Saint Augustine, and there was in charge of the novices and the economy. She was elected prioress three times. She was declared venerable in 1873.

Life

Daughter of the King

Louise-Marie of France was born at Versailles on 15 July 1737. Her childbirth was particularly difficult for the 34-years-old Queen, and the physicians advised her that another birth could be fatal. However, afraid to completely lose the favor of her husband (who was a 27-years-old vigorous man), the Queen prefers to don't tell him about the warnings of the physicians, although she gradually refuse him the entrance to her rooms.

Around this time, Louis XV displays his first favorite, counting with the indulgence of his minister and former tutor the Cardinal de Fleury, who knows the only two major character flaws of the King: his increasing shyness and the propensity for boredom.

The King effectively ceased all corporal relationship with his wife, and those who wonder about a new pregnancy of the Queen he responds that the infant will be Madame Dernière (Madame the Last). Since her birth Louise was known as "Madame Septième"[3] (one of her seven older sisters died before her birth), and after her baptism, she was known as "Madame Louise".[4]

She was sent to be raised at the Abbey of Fontevraud with Louis' three other young daughters, Victoire, Sophie and Thérèse (who died at Fontevraud at the age of eight). On 20 December 1738 she was baptised at Fonevraud; her godfather was François-Marc-Antoine de Bussy, seigneur de Bisé; her godmother was Marie-Louise Bailly-Adenet, first woman of the chamber to her sister Madame Thérèse.[2]

Louise was early noted by her spirituality, but also by her pride. As a child, she didn't hesitate to demand that the people at her service get up when she enters in a room, because she was the "daughter of your King". However, the nun in charge of her education replied: "And I, Madame, I am the daughter of your God".

Madame Louise

In 1750, aged 13, Louise returns with her ​​sister Sophie to Versailles, where the King affectionately nicknamed her "Chiffe".

Slightly hunchbacked, she remains separated from the world, seeking comfort and courage in the religion. Louis XV had several marriage plans for her, notably in 1766 with Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, but none came to fruition. Already in 1748, when Louise, aged 11, was still in Fontevraud, rumors claimed that his father intended her to marry with Prince Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the throne of England. Louise then declared:

"Do I not worried about being good since destines me a husband, I, who don't want other than Jesus Christ? "

It's also said that, the princess didn't hesitate to exaggerate her physical deformation when she crosses with an ambassador, to avoid any matrimonial project. Moreover, Louise resents the court with its intrigues, jealousies and constant ceremonials, who originated in her feelings that she was an slave.

Mournings

The 1750s and 1760s are for the French Royal Family a time of mourning and for Louise a time of reflection and maturation:

In 1752 her sister Henriette, the favorite daughter of Louis XV, died of smallpox aged 24. It was during this period that the first signs of the King's unpopularity appear.

In 1759, the Duchess of Parma (Henriette's twin sister) died at Versailles soon followed by their nephew, the Duke of Burgundy, eldest son of the Dauphin in 1761, and then by their niece Isabella of Parma (wife of the future Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II), who died in childbirth in 1763 aged 21.

The only son of the royal couple, the Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand, died in December 1765 aged 36 and their maternal grandfather, Stanisław Leszczyński (former King of Poland and later Duke of Lorraine) died in the Château de Lunéville in February 1766. Her sister-in-law, Dauphine Maria Josepha died in 1767, and finally, the death of Queen Maria Leszczyńska in June 1768 concludes this series of family tragedies.

Some time later, the presentation at court of the Comtesse du Barry, the new favorite of Louis XV, pushes Louise to formally expressed her desire to enter in the Carmel, a cloistered and austere Order; far from the superficial and perverse court, was her wish to pray for the salvation of her father.

Carmelite Nun

Entrance to the Order

In 1770, while the court prepares for the marriage of the new Dauphin (the future Louis XVI) and Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria, to general amazement, Louise asked her father to allow her to become a Carmelite nun.[5][6] She approached to Christophe de Beaumont, Archbishop of Paris to intercede on her behalf with her father, on 30 January 1770. The King, although afflicted by this decision, agrees and gave his written consent on 16 February.

His sentence: "I Carmelite, and the King all to God", reflects her sincere belief and willingness to redeem with her sacrifice the soul of her father, and to expiate his sins. Even before he entered the Carmel, she had begun in secret to wear religious dress in the palace, and live as it was a monastic life.

Louise chose to enter in the convent at Saint-Denis,[7] where the order's rule was obeyed strictly. This convent, which threatened to close because their too limited financial resources, was unexpectedly saved by the arrival of a nun with a large dowry, and likely also attracted significant donations. As religious name she chose the name Thérèse of Saint Augustine, in honor of Teresa of Ávila, a mystic and reformer of the Carmelite Order.

Louise took the habit on 10 October 1770; was the recently married Dauphine who gave her the veil. She took her religious vows on 12 September 1771 and this time was another of her nieces-in-law, the Countess of Provence (wife of the future Louis XVIII), in a very formal ceremony, which gives her the black veil of Carmelite.

Tasks

Prioress

Death

Louise became prioress of the convent 25 November 1773.[2] She served as prioress from 1773 to 1779, and a second term from 1785.[8] She interceded with her father to allow Austrian Carmelites persecuted by the Emperor Joseph II to enter France. While at the convent, she tried her best to make sure that the other nuns treated her as an equal rather than the daughter of a king.[citation needed] As a child, she had an accident that affected her knee. As a result, she found it difficult to kneel, but when she was offered assistance, she refused.[citation needed] On 26 May 1774, two weeks after the death of her father, she was visited at Saint-Denis by her nephew, King Louis XVI.[9]

She died at Saint-Denis, suffering from a stomach complaint. Her last words were the following:

Au paradis! Vite! Au grand galop!" ("To paradise! Quickly! With full speed!)

Along with other royal tombs at Saint-Denis, her remains were desecrated during the French Revolution. Pope Pius IX declared her venerable on 19 June 1873. Her life is celebrated on 23 December.

Gallery

Ancestry

Family of Louise of France
16. Louis XIV of France
8. Louis, Dauphin of France
17. Maria Theresa of Austria
4. Louis, Dauphin of France and Duke of Burgundy
18. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria
9. Maria Anna of Bavaria
19. Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
2. Louis XV of France
20. Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
10. Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia
21. Princess Marie Jeanne of Savoy
5. Princess Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy
22. Philippe I, Duke of Orléans
11. Anne Marie d'Orléans
23. Princess Henrietta of England
1. Princess Louise of France
24. Bogusław Leszczyński
12. Rafał Leszczyński, Duke of Lesno
25. Countess Anna von Dönhoff
6. Stanisław Leszczyński, King of Poland
26. Prince Stanisław Jan Jabłonowski
13. Anna Jabłonowska
27. Countess Marianna Kazanowska
3. Maria Leszczyńska
28. Count Krzysztof Opaliński
14. Jan Karol Opaliński
29. Countess Teresa Konstancya Czarnkowska
7. Countess Katarzyna Opalińska
30. Count Adam-Uryel Czarnkowski
15. Zofia Czarnkowska
31. Countess Teresa Zaleska

Notes

  1. ^ Achaintre, Nicolas Louis, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de Bourbon, Vol. 2, (Publisher Mansut Fils, 4 Rue de l'École de Médecine, Paris, 1825), 154.
  2. ^ a b c L. Dussieux, Généalogie de la maison de Bourbon de 1256 à 1871 (Paris: Jacques Lecoffre, 1872), 107.
  3. ^ Ravel, Jeffrey, Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007, p. 125, ISBN 0-8018-8598-1
  4. ^ Gratay, Alphonse-Joseph-Auguste, "Henri Perreyve", Pvi, C. Douniol, 1872.
  5. ^ Hare, Augustus John Cuthbert, North-Eastern France, Macmillan, 1896, p. 143.
  6. ^ Markham, Jacob Abbott, A History of France, Harper & Brothers, 1863, p. 143.
  7. ^ Baedeker, Karl, Paris and Environs with Routes from London to Paris, Dulau, 1898, p. 348.
  8. ^ Leathes, Stanley, The religion of the Christ, its historic and literary development, Oxford University, 1874, p. 356
  9. ^ La Gazette de France (27 mai 1774): 109.

Further reading

External links

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