Blessed Beatrice of Nazareth or in Dutch Beatrijs van Nazareth (c. 1200 – 1268) was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Cistercian nun. She was the first prose writer using an early

Dutch language Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-Europea ...

, a mystic, and the author of the notable Dutch prose dissertation known as the ''Seven Ways of Holy Love''. She was also the first prioress of the Abbey of Our Lady of Nazareth in

Nazareth Nazareth ( ; ar, النَّاصِرَة, ''an-Nāṣira''; he, נָצְרַת, ''Nāṣəraṯ''; arc, ܢܨܪܬ, ''Naṣrath'') is the largest city in the Northern District of Israel. Nazareth is known as "the Arab capital of Israel". In ...

near Lier in

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

Sources

Evidence for her life comes from both her biography, published in

Crisóstomo Henríquez Crisóstomo Henríquez (1594 – 23 December 1632) was a Spanish Cistercian monk and ecclesiastical historian, who belonged to the Spanish congregation of that order, and who worked in the Spanish Netherlands. Biography Early life, education, ...

's ''Lilia Cistercii, the origins, lives and deeds of the holy virgins of Cîteaux'', (Douai 1633), and from her own work ''The Seven Ways of Holy Love'' (''Seven Manieren van Heilige Minnen''). The latter is a work of early mystic literature that describes seven stages of love, as it is purified and transformed, before it can return to God. It has a simple and balanced prose style, and is associated with the emergence of the ' bridal mysticism' movement.

Life

Beatrice was born in Tienen, Belgium, of a wealthy family. At the age of seven, her mother died, and she was sent to live with the Béguines in nearby Zoutleeuw, where she attended the local school. A little over a year later, her father arranged for her to return home.Lindemann, Kate. "Beatrice of Nazareth 1200 - 1268 CE", Women-Philosophers
/ref> Wishing to join a monastery, her father took her to the

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

nuns at Bloemendaal/Florival, where at the age of ten, she became an

oblate In Christianity (especially in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person who is specifically dedicated to God or to God's service. Oblates are individuals, either laypersons or clergy, normally livi ...

. She continued her education at the monastery in Florival. At the age of fifteen, Beatrice asked to be allowed to enter the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, and was initially refused due to her young age and delicate health. However, the following year she was admitted as a novice. Later, in 1236, she was sent to commence the new foundation at Nazareth, a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

near Lier, Belgium. She practised very severe austerities, wearing a girdle of thorns and compressing her body with cords. In her visions,

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

is said to have appeared to her and to have pierced her heart with a fiery dart. Her devotion to the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

resulted in bleeding and physical collapse. She died in 1268 and was buried at the convent of Nazareth. Legend says that after Nazareth was abandoned during a time of disturbance, the body of Beatrice was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

by angels to the city of Lier.Thurston, Herbert. "Beatrix." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 24 August 2021

Veneration

She is known as

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

within the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church. Her feast day is 29 July.

References

External links

Belgian university web page of Beatrice's life

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beatrice of Nazareth 1200 births 1268 deaths 13th-century venerated Christians 13th-century women writers 13th-century writers Beguines and Beghards Belgian beatified people Cistercian nuns Middle Dutch writers Flemish Christian mystics People from Tienen Women mystics People from the Duchy of Brabant People from Nazareth, Belgium

Sources

Life

Veneration

References

Further reading

External links