Anne Worsley religious name Anne of the Ascension (1588 – 1644) was an English catholic nun. She was the founding prioress of the English

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

convent in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) 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 Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

Life

Worsley's parents were John and Eleanor (born Hervey) Worsley. Her father had lived on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

. They were persecuted because they were Roman Catholics and they went into exile in the low countries. Anne decided on a religious life at the age of fifteen when she was living abroad. She decided to be a nun and opted for the Carmelites. This was not unusual, her cousin Edward Worsley was a Jesuit and three of her siblings Thomas, William and Elizabeth became a Jesuit, a priest and a nun respectively. She initially chosen to become a poor Clare but her mother said the life was too austere so the Carmelites gained a novice. She was the founding prioress of the English Carmelite convent in

where her first novice was younger sister Theresa. She had visited Antwerp with her mentor Anne of Saint Bartholomew and other sources attribute the leadership of the Antwerp convent to her until she died in 1626. She had been separated from her mentor Anne of St Bartholomew and so when

Mary Lovel Mary Lovel (1564November12, 1628), born Jane Roper and also known as Mary Roper and Lady Lovel, was the founder of the English Carmelite convent in Antwerp. Life Lovel died in Bruges. Her parents were Elizabeth (born Parke) and John Roper, Bar ...

created a new English Carmel in Antwerp she transferred. The new organisation was established in May 1619 and her initial unhappiness was compounded when she was elected prioress just five weeks after her arrival. The exiled recusant Mary Lovel was not always pleased with the way Anne organised the new convent and she found the management difficult. Lovel would speak outside of the convent against it management. In 1622 Lovel returned to England to raise more funds and when she returned she was livid that two Flemish nuns had joined the community. Lovel threatened to cease her funding so the Flemish nuns had to be ejected. Lovel effectively left the convent in 1625. Worsley died in 1644.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worsley, Anne 1588 births 1644 deaths Women founders Carmelite nuns People from the Isle of Wight People from Antwerp English emigrants to Belgium Nuns from the Spanish Netherlands English founders