Dame Mary Joseph Butler (December 1641 – 22 December 1723) was the first Irish

Abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa'') is the female superior of a community of nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic, Lutheran and Anglican abbeys, the mod ...

of the Irish

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Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

of Our Lady of Grace, at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

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Early life

Butler was born at

Callan, County Kilkenny Callan () is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Kilkenny in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated 16 km (10 mi) south of Kilkenny on the N76 road to Clonmel, it is near the border with County Tipperary. It is ...

, Ireland. Lady Abbess Knatchbull of the English Benedictine Dames at

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

was her aunt and Butler was sent to her for her education. Butler petitioned, when she was twelve years old to be allowed enter the order. She was allowed to enter two years later.Nolan, Patrick. "Mary Joseph Butler." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1908 She made her religious profession 4 November 1657, at the English Benedictine convent at

Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

, at the age of sixteen.

Ypres

In 1665 Ypres was founded from the mother-house of Ghent. Dame Beaumont was abbess, when she died in 1682, the decision was made to convert the house at Ypres into a national foundation for the Irish Benedictine

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service and contemplation, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 5 ...

s of the various houses founded from Ghent. Dame Butler accordingly was sent to Ypres in 1683, and, on the death of the second abbess Dame Flavia Cary, in 1686, she was elected Abbess of the Irish Dames of Ypres on the 29 August.

Dublin Convent

King James II was looking to set up foundations in Ireland and Butler was asked help found a new Benedictine foundation in Dublin. By letters-patent or charter, which is dated in the sixth year of his reign, and still preserved in the convent of Ypres, King James confers upon this his "first and chief Royal Monastery of Gratia Dei", an annuity of one hundred

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to be paid forever out of his exchequer, and appoints his "well-beloved Dame Mary Butler" first abbess. Her brother was King James's Chief

Cup-bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person had to be regarded as thor ...

for Ireland, a hereditary title in the Butler family, as their name implies. Abbess Butler set out for Dublin in 1688. She and her nuns were presented, in the Benedictine habit, to the Queen,

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. Towards the end of the year she arrived in Dublin, and took up residence in a house in Great Ship Street. Here the Divine Office and regular observance began and a school was opened. About thirty young girls of the first families came to the nuns for their education and no less than eighteen of them expressed a wish to become religious. This was interrupted by the entry of the

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. On ...

forces into Dublin, after the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. The convent was sacked by his soldiers, and the nuns forced to seek refuge nearby. The church valuables were saved by the presence of mind of a lay sister, Placida Holmes, who disguised herself in secular clothes, and mingled with the plunderers. As a result, the Dublin convent was closed. Dame Butler's cousin, the

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

, although

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, offered her his special protection if she would remain in Ireland. However she decided to return to Ypres. The Duke arranged a passport (still preserved at Ypres) from the Prince of Orange which permitted her and her nuns to leave the country without molestation. Dame Butler hoped that time would allow her to return to Ireland to continue the foundation of the monastery. But in fact the community remained in Ypres for the next 200 years.

Return to Ypres

The community made their way back to Ypres. The house in Ypres was poorly funded until 1700, several new and wealthier women joined the house and assisted Butler in keeping up the choir and regular observance. She continued to govern her flock until when she died in 1723. Butler was succeeded by Margaret (Xaviera) Arthur who was another Irish born nun who had joined the Ypres community in 1695. Despite surviving the French revolution, the only religious house in the Low countries to do so, a result of the Great War was that the community left Ypres in 1920 and moved to Ireland to

Kylemore Abbey Kylemore Abbey () is a Benedictines, Benedictine Monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The Abbey was founded for Benedictine nuns who fled Belgium in World War 1. Today, Kylemore Abbe ...

where they currently remain.

References

* The entry cites: *NOLAN, Hist. of Royal Irish Abbey of Ypres (from MSS. in Convent archives). {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Mary Joseph 17th-century Irish nuns Irish Roman Catholic abbesses People from Callan, County Kilkenny 1641 births 1723 deaths Benedictine nuns Mary Joseph Benedictine abbesses History of Ypres Nuns from the Austrian Netherlands