History of the Province
With dates of foundation and changes
Belgium, an independent country since 1830, has two main language groups:
French speakers in the south (Wallonia) and Dutch speakers in the north (Flanders). A German-speaking minority makes up about 1% of the population. Brussels, the capital, is bilingual: Dutch and French.
1.1. Arrival of the Sisters of Our Lady in the north of the future Belgium (Flanders)
(This text is an extract from “Multiculturality: an international congregation”, Marie Felten, Archivist General of the SND of Namur and Sr Chrîstiane Houet, Coordinator of the Heritage Center of the SND of Namur, December 2019. https://SNDdeNsjb50.org/2019/12/01/multiculturalism-an-international-congregation/ (translated)
During her vision in Amiens on February 2nd, 1806, Julie Billiart realized that her sisters would spread beyond France to other countries of the world. Although Julie had never left France, she did have a multicultural experience in Flanders.
Nouveau-Bois boarding school in Ghent. AGM SND, Namur.
The first of Julie’s journeys outside French territory was her journey with Father Leblanc in June 1806 to Flanders (a region that had been annexed to France for 12 years).
Julie and Father Leblanc met Monseigneur Fallot de Beaumont, Bishop of Ghent from 1802 to 1807. He expressed to her his desire to have a house of the Sisters of Our Lady in his diocese.
Mère Julie founded three schools in the diocese of Ghent (in Flanders). On December 9th, she founded a community in Sint-Niklaas. Three sisters were sent there, including Sister Marie Steenhaut who was in charge of the Flemish classes. In May 1809, the sisters were forced to leave the house because it was unsanitary. They eventually arrived in Ghent, where Mère Julie found it difficult to find them shelter. It was not until November 21st, 1809, that the sisters settled in Ghent and founded the school “Nieuwen Bosch”, (Nouveau-Bois) on February 15th, 1810. This makes Nieuwen Bosch the oldest Catholic school in Ghent.
On November 11th, 1811, the sisters founded a school in Zele.
Monastery and chapel of the Sisters of Our Lady in Zele, circa 1900. AG of the SND, Namur.
Specific references about the two schools founded by Julie Billiart:
https://www.gent-geprent.com/bijzondere-gebouwen/gebouwen-n/nieuwenbosch-nouveau-bois
https://www.dekleuterkouterzele.be/een-stukje-geschiedenis
https://inventaris.onroerenderfgoed.be/themas/12572
Once installed, the sisters had to work and integrate into the local community and adapt to local customs.
Language was one of the main obstacles they encountered when they arrived in Flanders. A letter from Sister Catherine Daullée to Sister Saint-Jean in St-Hubert states: “Among the children we receive, there are only five or six who understand French, and this out of a large number of children” (December 29, 1809). To overcome this obstacle, the Superior General immediately requested the formation of Flemish postulants. She also shortened their novitiate to two months so that the sisters could teach the children’s language as quickly as possible (Annals of Sint-Niklaas). The sisters adapted their needs and customs to the population in which they resided.
In Flanders (annexed by France for 12 years), the language spoken was incomprehensible to Julie. French is the language of the occupying forces, not the language of the people. (See her letters)
“I had someone read her letter in Flemish” Letter 106 (February, 1809). “I had some difficulty in finding it, for while I could not speak Flemish, the good Lord permitted me to address a man who could not could say a word to me. Finally I went straight to the church of St. Peter, where I asked another man, who could not give me an answer either” (Letter 113, April 1809)
On the return journey from Ghent, Julie Billiart asked the young Marie Steenhaut what the population said behind her back, and in particular, about her habit.
Marie Steenhaut wrotes:
The next day our Mother took me to high mass and on the street she was insulted more than once by the boys because of her special traveling clothes. They called her all kinds of names: black witch, hamlap, adventuress, sorceress, etc. Our mother made me repeat the Flemish catchphrases in French. She laughed about it, while I felt so humiliated. When I entered the church I let her go and attended mass far away from her, or rather, confused and humiliated, I gave in to my absent-mindedness. It wasn’t until we left church that our mother noticed. She questioned me on the street and I told her about my pride. Pleased with my sincerity, she gave me some advice about humility. My esteem for her grew and I stood stronger in other trials that awaited me.
“First Trip of Mère Julie in Flanders (1806)” Handwritten report from Sr. Marie Steenhaut.
Mère Julie thinks the Flemish people are generous and hard workers.
She wrote in her letters:
“All these good Flemish people are so deliberate in going about their business; and they don’t mind delays, even if I don’t have time to listen to them”(Letter 47, January 1807).
But the Flemish also made life difficult for her; there are some not so flattering expressions… (see above)
Flanders was important to Mère Julie. There she received many young women as postulants in whom she discovered solid qualities.
“I must tell you that many Flemish girls want to come with us. But I think I will only take one back with me, and my good little sister Marie will be very surprised to see her, because it is her good sister Franciska”(Brief 43, November 1806).
She wrote this to sister, Marie Steenhaut, and her sister Ciska (Franciska).
“You did well to speak to the confessor of the Flemish girls about their communion, as I asked you, so that some order can be established. I am glad that you are satisfied with Marie’s sister (Steenhaut) and I am also very satisfied with Marie herself. She is a good sister and very useful to us with all our Flemish girls”(Brief 46, December 1806).
1.2. History of our Belgian Sisters Over the Years
The timelines give you insight into the history of the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur in the Belgian province.
1.3. 1968: birth of a new province: Northern Belgium
Pope John XXIII saw the need for new impetus in the Roman Catholic Church and the Sisters of Our Lady of Namur enthusiastically welcomed the spirit of Vatican II in Flanders. At the same time, the desire to work according to one’s own character and culture grew in the north of Belgium.
- At the provincial chapter of 1967, the Flemish delegates advocated the division of the Belgian province and the creation of the province of Northern Belgium. The agreement of the Provincial Chapter was confirmed at the first session of the General Chapter in 1968.
- On February 21st, 1968, the General Chapter decided to grant autonomy to the group of Flemish communities and to establish the Province of Northern Belgium.
- On March 21st, 1968, the General Council elected the provincial superior – Sr Marie Alice (Lea) Huyghebaert, head of the humanities department at the Berchem school, the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw Institute. She will become the first provincial superior of Northern Belgium.
The Belgian sisters have officially split their congregations in Belgium/France into two autonomous provinces.
Northern Belgium for the Flemish sisters and Aouthern Belgium/France for the French-speaking sisters.
This decision must be seen in the special context:
- The 1960s, a revolutionary period (agricultural revolutions, modernization of the Catholic Church, student uprising leading to May 68, the Prague Spring, the Woodstock Festival and its aftermath, man’s first steps on the moon in 1969, international treaties on the dismantling of nuclear weapons, etc.)
- The language issue in Belgium. This desire for separation is also connected to the history of Belgium and Flanders’ desire for emancipation. In 1962, various Belgian laws established the language border in Belgium, with Flanders in the north and Wallonia in the south. The battle for “Leuven Flemish” at the university was born.
- The “Leuven” split, encouraged by Flemish students at the Catholic University of Leuven, reached its peak on January 15, 1968, a few months before the student revolt of May 1968. The result of the split was a fully Dutch-speaking university (KULeuven) in Leuven and a French-speaking Université catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain) in the new city of Louvain-la-Neuve.
- The desire for vitality and renewal of the congregation against the background of “a changing Church in a changing world”, as Sister Loretto Julia, superior general of the congregation in the 1960s, put it.