Magdalena of Austria (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Magdalena von Österreich''; 14 August 1532 – 10 September 1590) was a co-founder and first

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 Ladies' Convent of Hall (''Haller Damenstift)'', born an archduchess of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

from the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

as the daughter of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...

. She is a

Venerable ''The Venerable'' often shortened to Venerable is a style, title, or epithet used in some Christianity, Christian churches. The title is often accorded to holy persons for their spiritual perfection and wisdom. Catholic In the Catholic Churc ...

in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Life

Early life

Archduchess Magdalena of Austria was born on 14 August 1531 as the sixth child and fourth daughter of

(1503–1564) and his wife, born Princess

Anne of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (23 July 1503 – 27 January 1547), sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, List of Bohemian consorts, Bohemia, and List of Hungarian consorts, Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife o ...

(1503–1547). She had a strict, religious upbringing with a heavy influence from

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Life as an abbess

Archduchess Magdalena and her younger sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

had long expressed a desire to remain unmarried and create a community of pious women, which their father had a difficult time accepting. After his death in 1564, Magdalena took a

vow of celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term ''celibacy'' is applied ...

and founded the Ladies'

Convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

of Hall ''(Haller Damenstift)'' in

Hall in Tirol Hall in Tirol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn (river), Inn valley, it has a population of 14,77 ...

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an Imperial State, estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with th ...

, a place for like-minded women to lead a reclusive, pious and God-fearing lives under the supervision of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. She became the first

of the new convent where she was joined by her younger sisters Archduchesses Margaret (1536–1567) and Archduchess Helena of Austria (1543–1574).Johann Jacob Staffler: ''Tirol und Vorarlberg: in 2 Theilen. Tirol und Vorarlberg, statistisch : mit geschichtlichen Bemerkungen''. vol. 1, Rauch, 1839, p. 512. Magdalena died on 10 September 1590 at the age of 58 after a short sickness. She was buried in the Jesuit Church ''(Jesuitenkirche)'' in Hall in Tirol. In 1706, her remains were transferred to the church of the convent.

Veneration

Magdalena's cause was formally opened on 23 August 1905, granting her the title of

Servant of God Servant of God () is a title used in the Catholic Church to indicate that an individual is on the first step toward possible canonization as a saint. Terminology The expression ''Servant of God'' appears nine times in the Bible, the first five in ...

. Her spiritual writings were approved by theologians on 10 June 1914. She was later granted the title of

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalena of Austria 1532 births 1590 deaths Roman Catholic abbesses 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century Austrian women 16th-century Roman Catholic nuns Daughters of emperors Austrian princesses Bohemian princesses Hungarian princesses Children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings People from Innsbruck Austrian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns Daughters of dukes