Elizabeth Knatchbull (religious name Lucy) (1584 – 5 August 1629) was the founding English abbess of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) 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 the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

Life

Knatchnull was born in 1584. Her parents were Ann Elizabeth (born Crispe) and Reginald Knatchbull of

Saltwood Castle Saltwood Castle is a castle in Saltwood village, one mile (2 km) north of Hythe, Kent, England. Of 11th century origin, the castle was expanded in the 13th and 14th centuries. After the Norman Conquest, the castle was appropriated by the A ...

. In 1604 she joined the English Benedictine convent in Brussels in 1604 and was professed seven years later when she was given the religious name of Lucy. She would write of the anguish she felt at the commitment she had made but in time she took the idea of being a nun joyously. In 1608

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 ...

became a nun at the English Benedictine convent in Brussels. She left the convent in 1609 as the prioress Joanne Berkeley did not agree with her view about confessors being Jesuits. Berkeley had wanted to found a new convent to house difficult nuns such as Lovel, but she could not get permission. Berkeley had decided to ban Jesuit special assistants at confession and this caused Lovel, Knatchbull and Elizabeth/Magdelan Digby to leave. Another sister interceded for the prioress and Knatchbull and Digby returned in 1609 - but not Lovel. By 1624 she felt crowded at the convent in Brussels and she was given leave to go to Ghent with three other nuns to establish a small convent there. The four nuns were Knatchbull, Magdalen Digby, Eugenia Poulton, Mary Lovel/Roper. Two of the early nuns were her nieces

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

and Margaret Knatchbull. Within a year they had twenty postulants and the dowries that these recruits bought to the convent. With these funds Knatchnull was able to commission a new building on the banks of the River Scheldt which they moved to in 1628. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

broke out in 1640, the Catholic convert

Tobie Matthew Sir Tobie Matthew (also sometimes spelt Mathew; 3 October 157713 October 1655), born in Salisbury, was an English member of parliament and courtier who converted to Roman Catholicism and became a priest. He was sent to Spain to promote the ...

was falsely accused. Matthew, by now in his sixties, left England in 1641. He took refuge with the English

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 ...

at their house at

. Whilst he was there he became the spiritual adviser to Knatchbull. He admired her and wrote her biography, ''The life of Lady Lucy Knatchbull'', that was first published in 1931.

Death and legacy

Knatchbull died in

on 5 August 1629. In 1650 Knatchbull's niece Mary was elected Abbess. The Ghent community had to flee to the UK in 1794 and they initially settled in Preston, moving to Caverswall Castle and then to Oulton in 1853 where it continues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knatchbull, Elizabeth 1584 births 1629 deaths Nuns from the Spanish Netherlands People from Folkestone and Hythe District