Agnes Haegens

Agnes Haegens
TitleAbbess of Rozendaal
Personal life
Born1703
Died21 May 1788(1788-05-21) (aged 84–85)
OccupationCistercian Nun, Abbess
Religious life
ReligionRoman Catholic
OrderCistercian Order

Agnes Haegens (1703 – 21 May 1788), also written as Agnes Haeghens, was a Cistercian nun who served as the 40th Abbess of Roosendael Abbey from 1754 to 1788. In total she spent around 66 years of her life in religious life and 34 years in prelacy.

Biography

The gatehouse (top) and coach house (bottem) built by Haegens.

Haegens was elected unanimously in 1754 as the successor to Abbess Norberta de Berghe. She is considered an important benefactor of the Roosendael Abbey, commissioning the construction of farms and rectories (in Niel, Grobbendonk, Brecht) that were dependent on the Abbey. She also had a monumental gatehouse (1777) and a coach house (1781) built on the Abbey grounds. Faced with the threat of the Abbey's dissolution under the edict of Emperor Joseph II, she was forced to establish a boarding school to ensure the Abbey's survival.1703

Haegens died on 21 May 1787. Her remains were interred in the Waelhem cemetery.

After her death, she was succeeded in 1789 by Theresia de Coninck [nl], the last abbess of Rozendaal before the Abbey was abolished by the French in 1797.

Recognition

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "De intrede van Anna Elisabeth De Ruysscher in Roosendael" (PDF). Erfgoedcel Kapelle-op-den-Bos (in Dutch). pp. 2–6. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 hr (2019). "Zwart goed" (PDF). Heemkundige Kring Dr. Croquet - Walem (in Dutch) (53): 19. Retrieved 2025-05-04. De monumentale poort werd gebouwd in 1777 door Agnes Haegens, veertigste abdis der abdij. Dit blijkt uit de chronogram dat zich ook nu nog op de arkade bevindt. [The monumental gate was built in 1777 by Agnes Haegens, the fortieth abbess of the Abbey. This is evident from the chronogram that can still be found on the arcade.]
  3. ↑ Mevrouw Agnes Haegens, abdisse der vermaerde Abdy van Roosendal (in Dutch). 28 September 1778 – via Google books.
  4. 1 2 Bulletin du Cercle archéologique, littéraire et artistique de Malines (in French). Malines : H. Dessain. 1889. pp. 270–271. Retrieved 5 May 2025 – via archive.org.
  5. 1 2 A. Goetstouwers, De oorkonden der Abdij Rozendaal der orde van Cîteaux, Vol. 1, Tongerlo, 1956
  6. ↑ "Een monumentaal verhaal | Domein Roosendael" (PDF). putte.be (in Dutch). Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "Opgetekend Verleden 1 | En toen viel de bom". Mechelse Vereniging voor Stadsarcheologie (in Dutch): 66. 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2025 – via academia.edu.
  8. ↑ hr (2019). "De molen van de Meulenberbossen" (PDF). Heemkundige Kring Dr. Croquet - Walem (in Dutch) (52): 10. Retrieved 2025-05-04. Links onderin ziet men het wapenschild van de abdis Agnes Haegens (1754-1788) [At the bottom left one sees the coat of arms of the abbess Agnes Haegens (1754-1788)]
  9. ↑ "Nieuw buurtspeelterrein in Elzestraat". RTV (in Dutch). 10 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Abdij van Rozendaal: infirmerie, poortgebouw met ommuring, wagenhuis en ijskelder". Flanders Heritage Agency (in Dutch). 12 January 1987. Retrieved 6 May 2025.