Marie Christina Nollet

Translation:

 I recently learned from Dr J Wilhelm that the last superior, Mother Elisabeth Schmitt, lived in 1803 with Sister Maria Kirch and another who is only referred to as Mme Thérèse in the newly acquired monastery of the Sisters of Providence, now the motherhouse in St Johann Basel in Immingen Sister Maria was highly valued for her medical knowledge One of the last nuns Caecilia Nollet came from Cologne She was born on May 4th, 1745 in the parish of St Mauritius as the daughter of Roman N and his wife Anna Katharina Verners Caecilia died in Teterchen on the 30th Nivôse of the year IV

Pages 122-134 of A rule of the Third Order in German from the second half of the XV century By JB Kaiser in Franziskanische Studien. Vierzehnter Jahrgang (1927)

Source: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Franziskanische_Studien/qcFrX46QFAIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Teterchen+%22Soeurs+Grises%22&pg=RA5-PA122&printsec=frontcoverhttps://www.google.com/books/edition/Revue_d_histoire_franciscaine/MN4TAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Nollet

See Revue d'Histoire franciscaine III (1926) pages 70-113 "Le Couvent des soeurs grises de Teterchen: at this link: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Revue_d_histoire_franciscaine/MN4TAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Nollet

Page 104

MARIE CÉCILE NOLLET born and baptized Marie Christine N on May 4, 1745 in Cologne parish of Saint Maurice de Romain N master in organ and Anne Catherine Verners is examined after having been a postulant for a year before the vestment by Mr. Hennequin priest of Téterchen on March 4, 11 and 18, 1762 and after her novitiate on April 8, 16 and 24, 1763 made profession on May 5, 1763 mistress of novices 1783 1786 remained after the evacuation of the convent in 1762 in Téterchen where she died on Nivôse 30 year IV Arch of Téterchen arch of the Mos G 330.

We were surprised by this near unanimity 2 It may be that a certain number of nuns entered the convent only to obey the orders of their parents But either the number was small judging by the number of desertions or the taste for religious life had come to change the forced vocations The main cause of the good spirit which reigned in the women's convents was, it seems to me, the great care which was taken not to admit all the people who presented themselves This is at least what was practiced at Téterchen We do not know the number of postulants who were sent away Among those who were admitted many had to wait a long time for example Marguerite Weiss 4 months Anne Rihl II months Cécile Nollet 3 and Irmine Schmitt one year Antoinette Bet tinger 16 months 4 In accordance with the Council of Trent 5 they weretinger 16 months 4 In accordance with the Council of Trent 5 they were examined by an episcopal commissioner three times before the vestment and three times before the profession Before having them appear before him, he first saw according to his commission separately the superior, the mistress of novices and the old mothers to learn about the dispositions of the postulant or novice Then you will have her come to continue one of these commissions which are all similar and you will see her three times nine or ten days apart after having made her take the oath to tell the truth you will question her 1o about her name, her age and her family 2 about the reasons which lead her to take the side of religion 3o if she chooses it of her own accord and with what view 4o if she has not been induced, constrained or forced by her parents or by those under whose authority she is 5o if she has not been attracted to it by the nuns of the monastery 6o if she knows the extent of the obligations she contracts by the three vows of religion 7o if she does and has practiced the mortifications prescribed by the rule and if no one has hidden them from her 8o if she knows how to read and write well and recite the divine office 9o if care has been taken to correct her and correct her faults during the time of her novitiate 4

Unfortunately, only a few copies of the double report drawn up after the examination remain, one of which remained in the convent and the other was sent to the episcopal chamber. But there is a very natural spirit in the answers given by the young girls. All of them, without exception, pursue only one goal: to save themselves. Far from entering the convent on the orders of their parents, more than one only comes there in spite of them. Elisabeth Schmitt, for example, declares that she, so to speak, forced her parents with prayers and tears not to oppose her pious designs.

This regularity was certainly due in large part to the women who were in charge of running the house. They did not shine outside the monastery, and their names were scarcely mentioned in any public document, but they were filled with the spirit that makes for saints At the head of the monastery was the superior, called mother 2 at first, as elsewhere, and then superior. and assisted by a vicar The mistress of novices was primarily responsible for young girls wishing to enter the religious life. Her task was to supervise, take up, and encourage, in a word, to initiate souls into the religious life.  Material affairs were entrusted to the procurator or bursar In the houses of the Third Order of St. Francis, one or two discreet mothers were generally admitted to the council. 

The good nuns did good in silence, and no writings from the convent reveal their benefits, but they were not forgotten by the population. Still, around 1840, Father Laglasse, a native of Téterchen, wrote In the convent's time, a sister rendered great service to the local population by giving bloodletting when necessary, and gave salutary advice to the sick And he adds The sisters gave a great deal of alms to the poor The way in which they did so depended on the superior Some distributed soup every day, while other superiors gave out less. 

The ordeal to which the Revolution subjected them was borne by the sisters as worthy daughters of the Poverello of Assisi. At the time, they numbered eighteen, including seventeen choir nuns and one converse sister Mother Cunégonde Kraut superior Mother Madeleine Neumann vicar Mother Viridiane Edinger the sisters Thérèse Weisse Cécile Nollet Élisabeth Schmitt procurator Antoinette Bettinger Delphine Fotré Victoire Albert Charlotte Fotré Louise Schwartz Marie Jésus Kirch Claire Albert Sophie Claissienne Françoise Fisené Félicité Burtin and the converse sister Anne Catherine Crauser Sister Marie Joseph Schmitt had been transferred to Lunéville in a house of the same order 1 with a pension from the monastery of Téterchen 377 lb 8 s We have not been able to find out why she was sent there. the reason why she was sent there The local municipality having failed to make an inventory of the house, the Boulay district administration appointed two commissioners, Pierre Jager and Jean Bettinger, on September 6, 1790, at the request of the public prosecutor, to carry out the inventory in execution of the King's letters patent of March 26. RP Bisch, the community's confessor, and the Mother Superior were ordered to call a meeting of all the nuns to declare, one by one, their feelings. They all declared, one by one and unanimously, that they wished and wished to live and die in their monastery and according to their rule. 

The Téterchen convent was, according to Abbé Lesprand 2, one of the poorest in the Moselle department, and in fact the inventory makes no mention of great wealth The daughters of the Poor of Assisi had, like their Seraphic Father, married Poverty Their church was poor It possessed only two chalices, a third so small and weak that it was only used in case of necessity a ciborium and a monstrance with a copper foot a small box for the holy oils In addition to two very mediocre white copes, the commissioners found a black one a chasuble with dalmatics another embroidered one in red velvet one in black velvet two other honest ones. white copes the commissioners found one of black color a dauphine chasuble with dalmatic covers another embroidered one of red velvet one of black velvet two others honest the rest very common In terms of church linen we were reduced almost to the bare essentials eight albes four surplices tablecloths to cover the three altars If we add two small bells a small organ two copper censers eight mediocre copper candlesticks ten of wood and a few paintings we have all the furniture of the church. 

The house itself is no richer The community has no silver crockery There is neither silk nor damask nor tapestry nor armchairs nor furnished rooms In the guest rooms there are three communal beds with green serge curtains Straw and wooden chairs make up the entire decoration 1 In terms of linen, the monastery had seven pairs of fairly good hemp linen sheets for foreigners six pairs of sheets and six pairs of towelling bedcases for the servants and six pairs of bolster covers three feather beds and three bolsters seven dozen towels twelve tablecloths, both large and small, for the apartments. six pairs of towelling bed covers for servants and six pairs of bolster covers three feather beds and three bolsters seven dozen towels twelve tablecloths, both large and small, for the confessor's apartments and those of foreigners twenty pairs of tablecloths for the refectory fifteen hand towels for the community No library, just chant and devotional books for the nuns' use. 

The sisters indicated that their invested capital amounted to 11912 lb, which included the unpaid dowries of several nuns 2 and two debts whose annuities were paid only very irregularly. These annuities were used to say 24 foundation masses every year and to pay the pension of sister Marie Joseph Schmitt in Lunéville, amounting to 377 lb 8 s On September 10, the commissioners visited the convent house itself Facing the road from Sarrelouis to Metz, it consists of a small church with three small altars inside, a small organ and sacristy, then lower rooms for the refectory, collidors where there is a clock, upper rooms for the accommodation of eighteen nuns, and attics above, the living quarters for the nuns, and a small library. and the attics above, the confessor's lodgings on the other side, also facing the aforementioned road, barn and stables, a small courtyard with a fountain, a lower courtyard and, next to it, the farmhouse, consisting of a main building, barn and stables, adjoining the convent and belonging to it. All this is between the widow Jean Molter on one side and the turning road on the other. Behind the convent house there was a small walled vegetable garden of about five quarters A small orchard of about a quarter of a meadow 1 was located behind the lower courtyard Entering the said convent house there is a small garden planted with all kinds of flowers and some espaliers for the confessor's enjoyment 

Let's move on to the kitchen, where the same poverty reigns as in the rest of the house The few pieces of furniture listed in the inventory are partly old, even very old, and partly of little value The 18 small bowls 22 dishes the 7 dozen plates the 4 dozen spoons used by the sisters were made of pewter the forks of iron iron In the cellar, there were at the time 50 hoods of red wine In the barn, 244 sheaves of meslin, 1534 sheaves of wheat, 1334 sheaves of barley and oats, and around 9 quartes of peas The farmyard contained 6 cows, 10 pigs, 20 ewes and around 100 hens In terms of real estate, the monastery owned five small farms The Téterchen farm, 167 days of ploughed land, and the Téterchen farm, a large area of land with a large number of trees. 

In the cellar, there were then 50 red wine hoods in the barn 244 sheaves of meslin 1534 sheaves of wheat 1334 of barley and oats and about 9 quarters of peas The farmyard had 6 cows 10 pigs 20 ewes and about 100 hens In terms of real estate, the monastery owned five small farms The Téterchen farm 167 days of ploughed land. 

bles two pastures cultivated as arable land containing around 19 mown fields 19 other mown fields, including 6 in pastures and 13 in vegetable gardens and orchards, and 17 mown fields of meadows, was farmed at half fruit On the Brettnach and Welfling ban, the convent's farm yielded 78 days' arable land 12 swaths of meadow 3 3 1 days of pasture 22 quarters of wheat and 6 quarters of oats The Reimling farm 87 days of arable land, meadow and garden and 12 swaths of pasture yielded 12 quarters of wheat and the same amount of meslin, one quart of peas and one quart of oats, measured in Sarrelouis The Boulay farm 18 days of land and land and 4 swaths of meadow yielded 8 quarts of wheat, 7 quarts of oats, one quart of peas and two wagons of hay. Of the 31 days of land in Ottonville, the Téterchen farmer cultivated 12 in half and the Ottonville farmer the rest. of the seasons four pairs of quartes (Sarrelouis measure) In addition, they owned 11 carts of meadow, which the farmer enjoyed in full The Ottonville farmer had 8 carts in pasture 3 This is a summary of the inventory drawn up on September 9 and 10, and deposited in the Boulay district archives on September 15 1. 

This is the summary of the inventory drawn up on September 9 and 10, and deposited in the Boulay district archives on September 15 1 On September 11, the nuns pointed out to the administrators that if they were to be pensioned, as they were established in a village far from the markets, in order to have vegetables, their garden of about five quarters was not sufficient to provide them with vegetables for their use, as they could not live in a village without a farmyard, for which they needed stables, a barn and a yard, and they asked them to leave them the necessary gardens and the stables, barn and farmyard adjoining their house. In general, how could they live on such a minimal income, amounting in all to 2182 lb 11 s 3 d, which for each nun gave an income of 121 lb 5 s Under these conditions, says M Lesprand, the nuns were right to ask the administrators to leave them the necessary gardens and the stables, barn and yard adjoining their house. 

They therefore requested authorization, relying on the decree of April 20, 1790, which temporarily allowed nuns caring for the sick to administer their own property. of Boulay did not hesitate on November 16, 1790 to support their request, especially as the department of Meurthe had on the previous September 22 granted this favor to nuns of the same institute established in Nancy and other towns in Lorraine The department of Moselle having also accepted these views on December 2, the nuns continued to enjoy the meager income from their lands 1 

But on July 1, 1791, the Sarrelouis district board, unmindful of the Moselle département's decree, sold their farm at Reimling 2 The purchaser had the right to the canon according to the decrees 3, which meant a reduction in income of around 200 livres. The nuns therefore applied to the département to have the sale annulled Their house, they claimed, was excepted by article 8. Against all expectations, on January 4, 1792, after taking the advice of the Sarrelouis directorate, the département dismissed the sisters' claim and confirmed the sale of the farm The decree of December 2, 1790 having been annulled, the sisters of Téterchen were thereby returned to the ordinary class of nuns Moreover, they were informed that from now on they would receive pensions like all nuns It was therefore necessary to hand over all titles of ownership. 

In these circumstances, the only thing left for the sisters to do was to ask for the pension granted to them by the law of October 14, 1790 1 This they did, presenting on March 22, 1792 an account of the income received during 1791 and a list of the nuns who made up the Téterchen community, all of which was certified by the local municipality on March 25 2. showed a revenue of 455 lb 8 s 6 d in silver annuities and 1697 lb 10 s in grain and hay, for a total of 2152 lb 18 s 6d, to which sum should be added 632 livres reimbursed during the year 1791. Expenditure amounted to 225 lb 6 s 6 d On April 13, the district verified the details and found for the first item the sum of 486 lb 14 s 9 d, so that the net income of the nuns exceeded the sum of 2152 lb 18 s 6d. that the sisters' net income exceeded by a few pounds that indicated by the convent Instead of 2784 lb 18 s 6 d we arrived at 2816 lb 4 s 9 d The income exceeded the expenditure by 2590 lb 18 s 3 d This was all the nuns' income whereas to reach the minimum of their salary they needed an income of 5074 lb 10s namely 300 lb for each of the sixteen choir nuns 4800 124 lb 10 s for sister Sophie Claissienne who died on May 27, 1791 4 months 27 days and 150 lb for the converse sister The district granted them the difference of 2483 lb 11 s 9 d for 1791 and decided to make them pay the minimum pension starting in 1792 3 On May 22, 1792 this decision was approved by the department's directoire 4 

All these steps had been taken by the new superior, Elisabeth Schmitt, as Mother Marie Cunégonde Kraut had died on January 19, 1792, and was replaced by the person most familiar with the situation, Sister Victoire Albert, who was appointed bursar. Under the new leadership, the nuns continued their life as Franciscan Tertiaries as before, as they had done on September 9, 1790 before the commissioners deputised to carry out the in ventary, and on December 18, 1790 1 and June 8, 1791 before the district of Boulay for common life. district of Boulay for common life, and a nominative statement dated October 14, 1792 shows that up to that time they had persevered on the right path 2 But they were soon to leave the house that was so dear to them On October 19, the municipality received two letters dated October 13 from the district, one concerning the nuns' statements to be provided, the other concerning the evacuation of the convent and the transport of the silverware to Boulay 3 The sisters probably left the very next day. 

Four days later, on October 24, the municipality rushed to the district secretariat to deposit the furniture, vases and ornaments used for worship in the church of the former convent of the nuns of the said Téterchen, as listed in the inventory of September 9 and 10, 1790, with the exception of a white cope retained by the former nun Antoinette Bettinger on the pretext that she had provided it from her pecuniary 4 The monstrance, the three chalices and the ciborium, weighing 6 livres 5 onces 6 gros et demi for the silver and 2 livres 3 onces 3 gros for the copper, were sent to Metz with the sacred vases of the Récollets of Boulay on October 30. ounces 3 gros for the copper were shipped to Metz with the sacred vessels of the Récollets de Boulay on October 30 The gold and silver braids were removed from the church ornaments, some of which weighed 5 marcs 2 ounces and others 2 marcs 3 ounces. copper utensils found in the house, and the whole lot, along with the two small bells 5, was taken to the Metz mint on January 18, 1793 by Dominique Wagneur, a Boulay ploughman 6 No sooner had the convent been evacuated than it was occupied by troops and considerably damaged. 

The furniture that had not been sold was looted Various thefts were committed with breaking and entering on November 20, 1792 The municipality reported them on the 22nd to the district, which reported them to the department on the action to be taken in the circumstances to discover the thieves The Moselle directorate decided on December 15 that the report would be sent immediately to citizen Altmayer, the department's public prosecutor, to pursue the perpetrators of the theft in accordance with the law. immediately to citizen Altmayer, public prosecutor of the département, to pursue the perpetrators of the theft in question in accordance with the law 1 The thieves were never found On April 26, 1793, the municipality reported further thefts. The confessor's apartments had been entered through the cellar, and a furnace had been removed. 

The house was probably used as barracks whenever a troop passed through, or it was used as a warehouse by the military authorities In June 1793, cattle were put into the convent's stables Meanwhile, the buildings remained unoccupied, and this state of affairs lasted for some time The first property to be sold was the farm run by Jacques Crauser It had been appraised on May 20-21, 1723 by Louis François Breck, an expert appointed by the Boulay district, at the sum of 18. 733 lb 9 s 2 d 2 On the basis of the observations made, the part of the fruit garden and the courtyard from the upper corner of the farmhouse to the lower corner of the barn of the convent house and along the gable to the street was added, on condition that the successful bidder demolish the wall separating this part of the garden and the courtyard, and that the wall separating the garden and the courtyard be demolished. of the garden and the courtyard and to rebuild it on the part separatif sic cy dessus énoncée and this to the height of six feet at his expense The estimation price increased by 800 lb and rose to 19533 lb 9 s 2 d The farm was awarded on 21 nivôse year II to Hubert Dauphin justice of the peace and owner in Pange for 103. 400 livres 3 As for the convent house, it was more than On 15 Nivôse An III, the guest rooms and those of the chaplain above the stables and the carriage gate leading to the lower courtyard were rented to Jacques Henning, former parish priest of Kirchnaumen, who had retired to Téterchen, for 215 lb in scrip. The gardens were also rented, perhaps to the same person, for 34 lb in cash. perhaps to the same person for 34 lb in cash 1 On several occasions, the municipality also sought to rent the monastery and its outbuildings for 3, 6 or 9 years, but no takers came forward. Taking advantage of this circumstance, Henning, who had in the meantime become secretary of the municipal administration of the canton of Ottonville, explained in a letter to the central administration of the Moselle department on 14 Prairial An IV that the monastery and its outbuildings could be rented for 3, 6 or 9 years. central administration of the Moselle department that he intended to tender the barns, stables, part of the courtyard and gardens of the convent, together with the entire new building forming the confessor's and guest's quarters, which had been joined to the main building, with the common passageway for entering both the main building, by creating an entrance door to the new building, and by masonry work on the connecting doors, as well as on the door to the guest's quarters. The department ordered an inquiry to be carried out by the township administration, which on 7 Messidor An IV gave a favourable opinion of 2 

At the time of the Revolution, our nuns all declared that they wished to continue living together, and this was the case in almost all the women's convents in Lorraine. We have been surprised by this near unanimity 2 It may be that a certain number of nuns entered the convent only to obey their parents' orders, but either the number was small, judging by the number of desertions, or the taste for religious life had changed constrained vocations. main cause of the good spirit that reigned in the women's convents was, it seems to me, the great care taken not to admit all those who presented themselves This was at least the practice at Téterchen We do not know the number of postulants who were turned away Among those who were admitted, many had to wait a long time, for example Marguerite Weiss 4 months Anne Rihl 11 months Cécile Nollet 3 and Irmine Schmitt one year Antoinette Bettinger 16 months 4 

de Téterchen declared to the département that he wished to acquire the entire convent, the convent house, barns, stables, gardens and church, the barn adjoining the house of the parish priest of the aforementioned place, as well as the garden behind the aforementioned barn, following the alignment of the gable separating it from the aforementioned house, and the outhouses and stables in front of the aforementioned barn. The appraisal of these buildings was carried out on 13 and 14 thermidor year IV by Joseph Meurin de Boulay, an expert appointed 1 by the département, and Pierre Kieffer de Gomelange, an expert chosen by Steinmetz. chosen by Steinmetz The document is worth quoting in part, as it gives us a fairly detailed description of the former convent The convent house, it is said, is composed of the entrance facing north onto the road from Metz to Sarrelibre 2, nineteen toises long by six and two feet wide from north to south, facing from east to west, the wing facing north to south onto the road, nine and a half toises long by three and a half feet wide, the wing on the back onto the church, again facing south, nine and a half toises wide by three and a half feet. on the church facing south at nine and a half toises long by three and a half wide In the said building are seventeen rooms with kitchen facilities, including the two refectories, all on the ground floor Below the said building is a cellar five toises long by two and a foot wide, with two smaller cellars, all vaulted On the second floor are twenty-six rooms with bathroom facilities, not including the corridor, and an attic containing the entire length of the said building, covered in flat tiles. In the middle of the building is a small courtyard eleven toises long by nine wide Beside the said building to make the fourth face giving on one side on the small courtyard and on the other to the east 3 taking the entrance on the roadway ten toises long by four and four feet wide by four toises high also covered in flat tiles 4 the choir of the church 1 Named on 28 Floréal 2 This is the name that the Revolution had given to Sarrelouis 3 In the margin we have added The church is 13 to long by 5 wide.