Joanne Berkeley (1555 or 1556 – 2 August 1616) was an English abbess of the Convent of the Assumption of Our Blessed Lady, Brussels which was established by and for English Catholic women.

Life

Berkeley was born in

Beverston Castle Beverston Castle, also known as Beverstone Castle or Tetbury Castle, was constructed as a medieval stone fortress in the village of Beverston, Gloucestershire, England. The property is a mix of manor house, various small buildings, extensive gar ...

in Gloucestershire. Her parents were Frances (born Poyntz) and Sir John Berkeley. On 14 September 1580 Berkeley received the Benedictine

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

at the French monastery of Saint-Pierre-les-Dames, Reims, in a clothing ceremony that was recorded in some detail. Berkeley spent seventeen years as a nun at Rheims. In 1598 Mary Percy, desiring to live as a nun in an English community, decided to found an English Benedictine monastery in Brussels. This was the first community of English nuns to be established since the Reformation, but it was followed by over a dozen others within the subsequent few decades. Percy asked Berkeley to join the monastery and lead it. On 14 November 1599

Mathias Hovius Mathias Hovius (1542–1620), born Matthijs Van Hove, was the third Archbishop of Mechelen from 1596 to 1620. As Archbishop, Hovius presided over implementing the Catholic Reformation in the Spanish Netherlands. Early career Hovius was born in ...

, the third Archbishop of Mechelen, installed Berkeley as the first abbess of the English Benedictine monastery in Brussels. The new convent had been approved by the pope and the local authorities and it was funded by novice nuns, Mary Percy, Dorothy and Gertrude Arundell. Percy who was one of the first nuns. 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 ...

entered the English Benedictine convent in Brussels, attracting criticism for giving her two children into the care of others in order to do so. Lovel left the community again the following year, as Berkeley sought to limit nuns' access to outside confessors. The abbess first sought to establish a separate house for those nuns who insisted on having Jesuit confessors, but was unable to get the necessary permission. She then decided to ban Jesuit confessors from visiting, which caused Lovel,

Elizabeth Knatchbull Elizabeth Knatchbull (religious name Lucy) (1584 – 5 August 1629) was the founding English abbess of the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Ghent. Life Knatchnull was born in 1584. Her parents were Ann Elizabeth (born Crispe) and Regina ...

and Elizabeth Digby to leave the house in protest. After another sister interceded, Knatchbull and Digby returned to the community in 1609, but Lovel did not. Berkeley died in 1616 and she was succeeded by Mary Percy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, Joanne 1550 births 1616 deaths People from Gloucestershire English Roman Catholic abbesses People from Brussels