Agnes Baliques (1641–1700) was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

from

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who founded the religious order of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, commonly known as the Apostolines.L. De Ridder, C.ss.R., ''De Godminnende Agnes Baliques, Stichtster der Vergadering der Dochters van de Onbevl. Ontvangenis der Allerh. Maagd en Moeder Gods Maria (genaamd Apostolinnen)'', Ghent, 1912

Life

Born in

in 1641 to a family of Spanish ancestry, Baliques was from a young age attracted to a life of religious devotion and penitence. Wishing to share her religious convictions with like-minded women, she founded the congregation of the ''Dochters van de onbevlekte ontvangenis der Allerheilige Maagd en Moeder Gods Maria'' (Daughters of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Most Blessed Virgin and Mother of God) in Antwerp in 1682. E.-H.-J. Reusens, "Baliques, Agnès", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 1
(Brussels, 1866), 668-669. She was supported in her endeavour by her confessor, the

Friar Minor The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest contem ...

Henricus van Geldorp, and by the local bishop. She had rented a house behind the Minderbroederstraat in Antwerp for the congregation. In a short period of time she was joined there by fifteen women. In 1682 a woman gave the congregation the free use of a house behind St. James' Church, Antwerp, to which they then moved. The group grew until 1689, when a dispute arose because some sisters wanted to live by a stricter rule. Baliques then moved with the sisters that supported her to a house that she had acquired on the Paardemarkt, leaving behind the sisters who wanted the stricter rule. She later acquired two more houses to accommodate the growing congregation.Joannes Baptista Krüger, ''Kerkelijke Geschiedenis van het Bisdom van Breda; dat is van het Noord-Brabandsch deel van het voormalig Bisdom van Antwerpen'', M. D. van Leeuwen, 1872 The motto of the congregation was ''pati et mori'' (suffer and die). Its principal object was the education of the poor, and of other classes of society, caring for the sick and the poor, and operating homes for the aged and orphanages. The basis of its rule is the

Rule of Saint Augustine The Rule of Saint Augustine, written in about the year 400, is a brief document divided into eight chapters and serves as an outline for religious life lived in community. It is the oldest monastic rule in the Western Church. The rule, develop ...

.Francesca M. Steele, ''The Convents of Great Britain'', St. Louis, B. Herder, 1902 Members of the congregation wore a very simple

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

. The congregation soon set up houses in Antwerp, Brussels, Mechelen and Oudenaarde, where they provided education for poor girls and former prostitutes, with a particular focus on needlework and lace-making. The sisters were traditionally believed to have given their name to the working-class neighborhood of the Marolles in Brussels. In reality, this is because the congregation was confused with a similar organisation called the Congregation of the Maricolen Sisters, popularly called "Marolles" or "Marullen," which never operated in Brussels. The name Maricolen is derived from the Latin "Maria colentes" (protecting Virgin). Both orders were dedicated to the Virgin Mary, hence perhaps the confusion. The house in the Marolles only existed from 1691 to 1715, if at all.Mary Anne Evans, ''Frommer's Brussels and Bruges Day by Day. First Edition'' (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), 71. Baliques died in her congregation's house in Mechelen on 15 October 1700.

The congregation's rule

The congregation's

rule of life Religious institutes generally follow a rule of life, i.e., one of the great religious rules as guidance to their life and growth in their religious journey. These are: the Rule of St. Basil, the Rule of Saint Benedict, the Rule of Saint Augusti ...

as revised by Thomas Philip, Cardinal Archbishop of Mechelen was published in Mechelen in 1736 in two volumes under the title ''Den Godvruchtigen Regel van de geestelycke dochters der vergaederinghe van de onbevleckte ontfangenisse van de H. M. ende Moeder Godts Maria, genoemt Apostelinnen''. This publication also contains a brief (auto)biography of Agnes Baliques entitled ''Kort begryp van het leven der jouffrouw Agnes Baliques'' (Brief summary of the life of Miss Agnes Baliques).''Den Godvruchtigen Regel van de geestelycke dochters der vergaederinghe van de onbevleckte ontfangenisse van de H. M. ende Moeder Godts Maria, genoemt Apostelinnen''
Mechelen, Laurentius Vander Elst, 1736

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baliques, Agnes 1641 births 1700 deaths 17th-century educators from the Holy Roman Empire 17th-century women educators 17th-century Christian religious leaders Founders of Catholic religious communities