Park Abbey
Encyclopedia
Premonstratensian
The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré, also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines, or in Britain and Ireland as the White Canons , are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded at Prémontré near Laon in 1120 by Saint Norbert, who later became Archbishop of Magdeburg...
abbey
Abbey
An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...
in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, at Heverlee
Heverlee
Heverlee is a town in Belgium. It is a deelgemeente of the city of Leuven. Heverlee is bordered by Herent, Bertem, Oud Heverlee and several other municipalities that are part of Leuven ....
just south of Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
, in Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant
Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...
.
The Annales Parchenses were written here in the 12th century.
History
The abbey was founded in 1129 by Duke GodfreyGodfrey I of Leuven
Godfrey I , called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the landgrave of Brabant, and count of Brussels and Leuven from 1095 to his death and duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129...
, surnamed "Barbatus" ("the Bearded"), who possessed an immense park near Leuven and had invited the Premonstratensians to take possession of a small church he had built there.
Walter, abbot of St Martin's, Laon, brought a colony of his canon
Canon (priest)
A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....
s and acted as their superior for nearly three years, until the canons, now in sufficient number, elected Simon, another canon of Laon, as their abbot. The canons performed the general work of the ministry in the district of Leuven, in opposition to the heretic Tanchelm
Tanchelm
Tanchelm , also known as Tanchelm of Antwerp, Tanchelijn or Tanchelin, was a heretical itinerant preacher, critical of the established Roman Catholic church, active in the Low Countries around the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries....
.
In 1137 the abbot was able to found the Abbey of Our Lady and SS. Cornelius and Cyprian at Ninove
Ninove
Ninove is a city and municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of East Flanders in the Denderstreek. It is situated on the river Dender...
. Godfrey made the Abbot of the Park and his successors his archchaplain
Archchaplain
An Archchaplain is a cleric with a senior position in a royal court. The title was used in the Frankish kingdom in the Carolingian period....
s. Simon died on 30 March 1142 and was succeeded by Philip, whose correspondence with Saint Hildegard of Bingen
Hildegard of Bingen
Blessed Hildegard of Bingen , also known as Saint Hildegard, and Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath. Elected a magistra by her fellow nuns in 1136, she founded the monasteries of Rupertsberg in 1150 and...
was preserved in the Park Abbey archives. Philip and his successors enlarged the buildings and prepared the land for agriculture. At the time there a canon living in the abbey, Blessed Rabado, whose devotion to the Passion
Passion
-Emotion:* Passion * Passions , emotional states as used in philosophical discussions* Stoic Passions, various forms of emotional suffering in Stoicism-Crucifixion of Jesus Christ:...
was attested by miracles.
Abbot Gerard van Goetsenhoven (1414–34) had much to do with the establishment of the Catholic University of Leuven
Catholic University of Leuven
The Catholic University of Leuven, or of Louvain, was the largest, oldest and most prominent university in Belgium. The university was founded in 1425 as the University of Leuven by John IV, Duke of Brabant and approved by a Papal bull by Pope Martin V.During France's occupation of Belgium in the...
, and was also delegated by John IV, Duke of Brabant
John IV, Duke of Brabant
John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine of Burgundy, Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg.John IV was the second Brabantian ruler of the House of Valois....
to transact state affairs with the King of England and the Duke of Burgundy. Abbot van Tulden (1462–94) was successful in his action against commendatory abbots being imposed on religious houses in Belgium. Abbot van den Berghe (1543–58) managed the contributions levied in support of the Belgian theologians present at the resumed Council of Trent
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was the 16th-century Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church. It is considered to be one of the Church's most important councils. It convened in Trent between December 13, 1545, and December 4, 1563 in twenty-five sessions for three periods...
.
The abbey frequently suffered during the wars waged by William of Orange
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...
and the Calvinists. Abbots included Loots (1577–1583), van Vlierden (1583–1601), Jean Druys
Jean Druys
Jean Druys was a Belgian Norbertine canon regular and 30th Abbot of Parc Abbey.-Life:...
(1601–1634), Maes (1635–1647), De Pape (1648–1682), and van Tuycum (1682–1702). They all favoured higher education at the University of Leuven, and academic study flourished in the abbey.
Under Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 1765 to 1790 and ruler of the Habsburg lands from 1780 to 1790. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I...
, the abbey was confiscated, because Abbot Wauters (died 23 November 1792) refused to send his religious to the general seminary erected by the emperor at Leuven. In the successful revolution against the emperor, the religious returned to their abbey. Wauters was succeeded by Melchior Nysmans (1793–1810).
Under the French Republic the abbey was confiscated again on 1 February 1797. At the request of the people the church was declared to be a parish church and was thus saved. The abbey was bought by a friendly layman who wished to preserve it for the religious, in better times. One of the canons, in the capacity of parish priest, remained in or near the abbey.
When Belgium was made a kingdom and religious freedom was restored, the surviving religious resumed community life and elected Peter Ottoy, then rural dean of Diest, as their superior.
In 1897 the abbey undertook the foundation of a priory in Brazil.
The canons of Park Abbey published the following reviews:
- (1) "Analectes de l'Ordre de Prémontré" (four times a year);
- (2) "Revue de l'Ordre de Prémontré et de ses missions" (six times a year); "'T Park's maandschrift" (monthly).