The Congregation of Our Lady of Calvary (Daughters of Calvary, ''Filles du Calvaire'', ''Calvairiennes'') is 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 ...

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

religious congregation, founded at

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

in 1617.

Foundation

The founders were Antoniette d'Orléans-Longueville, assisted by the Capuchin Joseph Le Clerc du Tremblay. Antoinette became a widow in 1596, and entered the convent of the Feuillantines at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

in 1599. After her profession she was commanded by the Pope to act as coadjutrix to the abbess of

Fontevrault The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French Duchy of Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preach ...

, and assist her in reforming her convent. Here Antoinette met Tremblay, who became her director: he had just reformed the monastery of l'Encloître, and when

Pope Paul V Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...

ordered Antoinette to found a seminary for training religious, this convent was chosen for that purpose, and was soon filled with novices. In 1614 Antoinette founded and built a new convent at Poitiers, dedicated to Our Lady of Calvary, which became the cradle of the congregation. By permission of the Pope, she left Fontevrault to enter this monastery, and took with her those nuns who wished to follow the Benedictine rule in all its strictness. The abbess of Fontevrault at first consented to this, but afterwards objected, and it was not until Antoinette's death that Tremblay established the new congregation, gave them constitutions, and got

Pope Gregory XV Pope Gregory XV (; ; 9 January 1554 – 8 July 1623), born Alessandro Ludovisi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 until his death in 1623. He is notable for founding the Congregation for the ...

to issue a Bull erecting them into an independent congregation under the title of Our Lady of Calvary.

Later history

They were finally approved by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, 17 January 1827. The congregation succumbed to the French Revolution, but was restored afterwards and in 1860 had twenty houses in France. The Paris Métro station

Filles du Calvaire The Congregation of Our Lady of Calvary (Daughters of Calvary, ''Filles du Calvaire'', ''Calvairiennes'') is a Roman Catholic Benedictine religious congregation, founded at Poitiers in 1617. Foundation The founders were Antoniette d'Orléans-Lon ...

takes its name from an old Paris convent.

References

;Attribution The entry cites: **, ''Die Orden und Congregationen der katholischen Kirche'' (Paderborn, 1907) **Braunmüller in ''

Kirchenlexikon ''Wetzer and Welte's Kirchenlexikon'' is an encyclopedic work of Catholic biography, history, and theology, first compiled by Heinrich Joseph Wetzer and Benedict Welte. The first edition in 12 volumes was published from 1847 to 1860, by Verlag H ...

'' II, 358; ** Hélyot, ''Dict. des Ordres Religieux'' (Paris, 1860); **

François-Xavier de Feller François-Xavier de Feller (1735–1802) was a Belgium, Belgian Jesuit who after the suppression of his order worked as a prolific and internationally influential journalist and encyclopedist who opposed radical Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenme ...

, (Besançon, 1848), VI; **''Constitutions des Bénédictines de la congrégation du Calvaire'' (Paris, 1635) {{Authority control Catholic female orders and societies 1617 establishments in France