Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Living in Hammersmith, she and her mother were close neighbours of the queen dowager, Catherine of Braganza , and of a convent and girls' school run by the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (the...

From the time of the suppression of the Institute in 1631, MW 's letters teem with code names (the Pope is the Scouf or Antony). One letter, written invisibly in lemon juice in England...

MW spoke about her Institute to a pair of senior clerics appointed by Pope Urban VIII to advise him; they were not, as he supposed, neutral or favourable towards it.

The companions now settled into the good works which were to be an important feature of their mission. Living austerely, gathering more women to join them, they offered free education to local children as well...

An iron chest full of papers belonging to MW 's Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary was lost at sea; this has obscured the early history of the Order.

MW , during her first bout of measles, found her plans clarified and solidified: she announced that God had told her to found an Institute for women and to adopt a Rule.

MW 's petition or memorial to Pope Paul V about founding her Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary reached Rome, carried by Thomas Sackville .

MW 's Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary was officially approved by Jacques Blaes , Bishop of St Omer.

A century after MW 's death, Pope Benedict XIV in the Bull Quamvis justo ensured her Institute 's survival by confirming the office of General Superior, but forbade the honouring of her as Foundress.

The Institute 's 81 Rules were confirmed by Pope Clement XI in 1703—but not the Institute itself.

The Institute was confirmed by Pope Pius IX in 1877, and the ban on honouring MW as foundress was finally revoked by Pius X in 1909. It seems that no papers presenting an unbiased view...

The meditations of 1618 dwell on her love for her infant Institute , and her reliance both on free will and grace to give her strength to endure opposition and suffering. A later one is...

Her letters about business take pains to praise individuals for work well done. She varies her tone according to the occasion, opening one letter to Winefrid WigmoreRevd. my truly dear Mo[the]r, and...

The life in English (unlike that in Italian) sometimes diverges from narrative into a passage of prayer or direct address to God. The life in Italian ends on the vision of God's glory which came...

These texts too—MW 's clearest statement of a pro-woman, perhaps a proto-feminist, position—are preserved in the archives of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Nymphenburg. Jennifer Cameron prints the Verity Speech...